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==='''Olympiacos'''===
==='''Olympiacos'''===
On the 24th of July 2013, Olympiacos' Fans dreamt that Javier Saviola signed with their team "as this was the best offer he had" and also gave him the opportunity to play again at the Champions League.
On the 24th of July 2013, Javier Saviola signed with their Olympiakos as this was the best offer he had and also gave him the opportunity to play again at the Champions League.


==International career==
==International career==

Revision as of 07:55, 24 July 2013

Template:Spanish name 2

Javier Saviola
Saviola with Benfica in 2011
Personal information
Full name Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández
Date of birth (1981-12-11) 11 December 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Olympiacos F.C.
Youth career
Parque Chas
River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 River Plate 86 (45)
2001–2007 Barcelona 123 (49)
2004–2005 → Monaco (loan) 29 (7)
2005–2006 → Sevilla (loan) 29 (9)
2007–2009 Real Madrid 17 (4)
2009–2012 Benfica 69 (24)
2012–2013 Málaga 26 (8)
International career
2001 Argentina U20 7 (11)
2000–2007 Argentina 40 (11)
Medal record
Representing  Argentina
Olympic Games
Men's football
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2013

Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker.

Known for his speed and his ability to score from almost any attacking position in the field, he represented both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and was named as the youngest player, on Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers. Due to his Spanish ancestors, he also holds Spanish nationality since 2004.

An Argentine international for seven years, Saviola represented the country at the 2006 World Cup and the 2004 Copa América.

Club career

River Plate

Nicknamed El Conejo (The Rabbit), Buenos Aires-born Saviola made his debut for Club Atlético River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club.[1]

He helped River to the 1999 Apertura and 2000 Clausura championships, and earned the 1999 South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect.

Barcelona

In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for FC Barcelona in a £15 million transfer.[2] He obtained Spanish citizenship shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each club. Under coach Carles Rexach, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing joint-fourth top scorer in La Liga.

Saviola with Barcelona

Saviola's second year at the club did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season. When van Gaal was fired and Radomir Antić became the new Barcelona manager, he went on to net 11 goals in the latter half of the campaign; at the start of the following season Frank Rijkaard was appointed as new manager, and the player scored 14 times in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club as longtime offensive partner Patrick Kluivert.

Saviola was sent on loan in the summer of 2004, moving to AS Monaco FC in Ligue 1. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans he was again loaned out the following year, this time to Spanish club Sevilla FC, in order to replace Real Madrid-bound Júlio Baptista; with his new club he won his first title in Europe, conquering the UEFA Cup — he also scored nine times in the league, good enough for fifth.

Saviola returned to Barcelona for the 2006–07 season, playing in 18 league games (six as a starter) and netting five goals. He benefited greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably to Samuel Eto'o, and added five in as many matches in that season's Copa del Rey, notably a hat-trick against Deportivo Alavés (3–2 win at home, 5–2 aggregate).[3]

Real Madrid

On 10 July 2007 Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal.[4] Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Real, being mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league and the UEFA Champions League.

The arrival of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar limited Saviola's opportunities even more, and he finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.

Benfica

Saviola's official presentation as a Benfica player

On 26 June 2009, S.L. Benfica and Real Madrid agreed on a €5 million deal that would see Saviola play in Portugal for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. He scored his first goal for the club on a penalty in a friendly match against FC Sion and, on 16 July, netted twice to send his team into the Guadiana Trophy finals.

On 22 October 2009 Saviola scored two goals for Benfica, guiding them to a 5–0 victory over Everton for the UEFA Europa League (he would also score in the club's 2–0 win in Liverpool in the second match),[5] adding another brace four days later as the Encarnados hammered C.D. Nacional 6–1 in the domestic league.[6]

On 6 December Saviola scored through a chip shot against Académica de Coimbra, in a 4–0 home win.[7] On 20 December he netted the game's only goal as Benfica defeated main rival F.C. Porto at home;[8] during the victorious campaign, he formed a deadly offensive partnership with Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo, with the pair combining for more than 50 goals overall.

On 3 January 2010, after receiving the Portuguese Liga Player of the Month award, Saviola scored another winning goal against Nacional, again being the game's only scorer in an away defeat of Rio Ave FC, netting in the 46th minute. He netted his 19th goal overall in a 3–1 home triumph against F.C. Paços de Ferreira on 7 March,[9] and the Encarnados were eventually crowned league champions after a five-year wait.

Málaga

In the last hours of the 2012–13 summer transfer window, Saviola agreed on a move to Málaga CF.[10] He played 45 minutes in his first appearance, a 1–0 win at Real Zaragoza on 1 September.[11]

On 15 September 2012, Saviola scored once and provided one assist in a 3−1 home win against Levante UD.[12] He continued with his streak the following game, Málaga's first-ever in the Champions League group stage, netting in a 3–0 home win over FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.[13]

Olympiacos

On the 24th of July 2013, Javier Saviola signed with their Olympiakos as this was the best offer he had and also gave him the opportunity to play again at the Champions League.

International career

Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the national team won the competition; with 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in World Youth Cups history. His vintage performance earned himself many offers from European clubs but, surprisingly, he lost his place in the Argentina national football team squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in favour of veteran Claudio Caniggia.

Two years later, Saviola played in the 2004 Olympic Games and won the gold medal. Under coach Marcelo Bielsa, he was given few playing opportunities for the senior team but, after Bielsa's resignation in 2004, new coach José Pekerman, who also coached the player at youth level, turned the tide in the player's favour.

Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at the 2006 World Cup. Luciano Figueroa and winger Luciano Galletti were also in contention for a place on the roster, but Saviola's excellent form for Sevilla secured his place in the squad. He made his presence felt at the tournament, as he scored a goal against Côte d'Ivoire in Argentina's opening game, and made two assists in the 6–0 victory against Serbia and Montenegro.

Saviola retired from international football on 5 December 2009, although not yet 28. He stated that he felt his career as an Argentina player had come to an end, and that he wanted to concentrate on club football.

International goals

Argentina's goal tally first

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 April 2003 June 11 Stadium, Tripoli, Libya Libya Libya 1–0 3–1 Friendly
2. 8 June 2003 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan  Japan 1–0 4–1 Friendly
3. 11 June 2003 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea  South Korea 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4. 30 June 2004 Giants Stadium, New Jersey, USA  Peru 2–0 2–1 Friendly
5. 7 July 2004 Estadio Elías Aguirre, Chiclayo, Peru  Ecuador 2–1 6–1 2004 Copa América
6. 7 July 2004 Estadio Elías Aguirre, Chiclayo, Peru  Ecuador 3–1 6–1 2004 Copa América
7. 7 July 2004 Estadio Elías Aguirre, Chiclayo, Peru  Ecuador 4–1 6–1 2004 Copa América
8. 17 November 2004 Estadio Antonio V. Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Venezuela 3–1 3–2 2006 World Cup qualification
9. 15 June 2005 RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany  Tunisia 2–0 2 – 1 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
10. 10 June 2006 Imtech Arena, Hamburg, Germany  Ivory Coast 2–0 2–1 2006 FIFA World Cup
11. 7 February 2007 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France  France 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Honours

Club

River Plate
Sevilla
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Benfica

International

Argentina

Individual

Statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
River Plate 1998–99 19 6 - - 19 6
1999–2000 33 19 - - 33 19
2000–01 34 20 - - 34 20
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
Barcelona 2001–02 36 17 1 0 - 11 4 48 21
2002–03 36 13 1 0 - 14 7 51 20
2003–04 33 14 5 2 - 7 3 45 19
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
Monaco 2004–05 29 7 0 0 1 0 7 4 37 11
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
Sevilla 2005–06 29 9 0 0 - 13 6 42 15
Barcelona 2006–07 18 5 5 5 - 1 0 24 10
Real Madrid 2007–08 9 3 6 0 - 2 0 17 3
2008–09 7 1 2 1 - 2 0 11 2
Portugal League Taça de Portugal Taça da Liga Europe Total
Benfica 2009–10 27 11 2 1 4 1 11 6 44 19
2010–11 24 9 6 3 3 1 12 1 45 14
2011–12 17 4 2 1 5 1 6 0 30 6
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
Málaga 2012–13 26 8 4 0 - 6 1 36 9
Argentina 86 45 — — 86 45
Spain 196 70 24 8 13 3 56 21 277 101
France 29 7 0 0 1 0 7 4 37 11
Portugal 68 24 10 5 12 3 30 8 119 39
Career total 375 145 24 8 13 3 93 33 515 193
Last update: 29 September 2012

International

Argentina national team
Year Apps Goals
2000 1 0
2001 0 0
2002 3 0
2003 8 3
2004 10 5
2005 8 1
2006 5 1
2007 5 1
Total 40 11

References

  1. ^ Interview with Javier Saviola; The Argentina Independent, 10 October 2008
  2. ^ Sky Sports profile
  3. ^ Sublime Saviola sinks Alavés
  4. ^ Saviola to sign off at Barça; UEFA.com, 18 June 2007
  5. ^ Europa League: Everton humbled, Fulham denied; ESPN Soccernet, 22 October 2009
  6. ^ Unstoppable Benfica crush Nacional; PortuGOAL, 26 October 2009
  7. ^ Cardozo and Saviola show fires Benfica to another big win; PortuGOAL, 6 December 2009
  8. ^ Saviola fires Benfica to victory in classico; PortuGOAL, 20 December 2009
  9. ^ Liedson hits four for Sporting; Benfica go three points clear at table top; PortuGOAL, 7 March 2010
  10. ^ Bonachera, Rocío (31 August 2012). "Saviola: "Trataré de aportar lo máximo al equipo"" (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 31 August 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Real Zaragoza 0–1 Málaga". ESPN Soccernet. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Mágico Saviola, histórico Málaga" (in Spanish). Marca. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Magical Málaga make it a debut to remember; UEFA.com, 18 September 2012
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