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Javier Pastore

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Javier Pastore
Pastore playing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2015
Personal information
Full name Javier Matías Pastore
Date of birth (1989-06-20) 20 June 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Córdoba, Argentina
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Paris Saint-Germain
Number 10
Youth career
2002–2007 Talleres
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Talleres 5 (0)
2008–2009 Huracán 31 (8)
2009–2011 Palermo 69 (14)
2011– Paris Saint-Germain 144 (25)
International career‡
2010– Argentina 27 (2)
Medal record
Copa América
Runner-up 2015 Chile Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:11, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2015

Javier Matías Pastore (born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentina national team as an attacking midfielder.

Pastore began his career with Talleres and then Huracán in his native Argentina before moving to Serie A team Palermo in 2009 for a reported transfer fee of €4.7 million.[1] In 2011, French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain bought him for a reported €39.8 million.[1]

Club career

Early life

Pastore was born in Córdoba in an Italian-Argentine family originally from Volvera, Turin.[2] He started his career in the youth system of the Argentine club Talleres, and slowly worked his way up to the first team. In 2007, he made his debut in the Argentine second division under the wing of manager Ricardo Gareca. In 2007, he only managed to play five games.

Huracán

During the 2008 season, Pastore was loaned to Huracán of the Argentine Primera. He made his professional debut for Huracán on 24 May 2008 in a 1–0 loss with River Plate. In the 2009 Clausura championship, he established himself as a regular first team player for the club under the management of Ángel Cappa. This was his breakthrough tournament, where his side narrowly missed out on the championship title. His performance against River Plate was particularly lauded where he opened the scoring with a 25-yard shot and then scored again with a piece of individual brilliance helping Huracán win 4–0 in the club's biggest win against River Plate in over 60 years. He ended up as the team's top scorer with seven goals and three assists. Pastore and teammate Matías De Federico were integral to Huracán's title challenge that season.

Palermo

On 11 July 2009 Palermo formally announced the signing of Pastore for five years until 30 June 2014, with the transfer fee listed at approximately €4.7 million.[1][3][4] Before his move to Palermo, the player was also linked to number of other top European clubs, including Manchester United, Porto, Milan and Chelsea.[5]

Pastore's debut was on 15 August in the Coppa Italia, while his debut in Serie A came eight days later. His breakthrough game was on 4 October against Juventus, when he assisted Edinson Cavani's goal in a 2–0 win, appearing in all the websites and national newspapers. He scored his first Serie A goal on 30 January 2010 in a 2–4 away defeat to Bari. In his first season at Palermo, Pastore proved himself as being a promising but inexperienced youngster, playing mostly as a second-half substitute under head coaches Walter Zenga and, later, Delio Rossi.

Pastore then established himself as a regular under the tutelage of Rossi, playing usually in a role behind the regular striking duo of Fabrizio Miccoli and Edinson Cavani. Thanks to his performances, all praised by fans and pundits, Palermo finished off the season in fifth place, thus qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. In the 2010–11 season, on 14 November, Pastore scored his first career hat-trick in a derby match against Catania.[6] On 30 July 2011, Palermo club president Maurizio Zamparini revealed that a fee had been agreed over Javier Pastore's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.[7]

Paris Saint-Germain

Pastore with PSG in August 2011

On 6 August 2011, Paris Saint-Germain formally announced the signing of Pastore, issuing him the number 27 shirt.[8] The transfer fee throughout was €39.8 million.[1] However, due to third-party ownership by his agent Marcelo Simonian, who would received €12.5 million (not known it included agent fee or not)[1] Palermo announced through its website that the club received only €22.8 million of the total fee.[9]

Palermo club president Maurizio Zamparini had started a legal action over the matter,[1] despite the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) prohibiting any Italian club from forming any ownership agreement with third parties, which Zamparini acknowledged risked a punishment for himself.[10]

Pastore scored his first goal in a Ligue 1 match against Stade Brestois in a 1–0 win on 11 September 2011.

International career

Following a string of good performances in his first season in Serie A, Argentina head coach Diego Maradona called up Pastore for an unofficial friendly match against the Catalonia "national" team on 22 December 2009. Pastore made his debut as a second-half substitute, scoring a goal in the process. Since the match was not a FIFA-recognized representative game, however, Pastore did not receive a cap.

Pastore was subsequently called up by Maradona again for a friendly game against Germany, but did not make an appearance. His official debut was against Canada on 25 May 2010, and he was subsequently included by Maradona in Argentina's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[11] On 22 June, he made his FIFA World Cup debut when he came on the pitch in the 77th minute against Greece, replacing Sergio Agüero. Argentina won the match 2–0.[12] On 27 June, he was again substituted on against Mexico in the 87th minute, this time replacing Maxi Rodríguez. Argentina won the match 3–1.[13]

Pastore was selected by coach Gerardo Martino for the 2015 Copa América[14] and started in the team's opening fixture against Paraguay in La Serena.[15] At the semi-final stage, Pastore scored the team's second goal and assisted Ángel Di María for the third as Argentina defeated Paraguay 6–1 to reach the tournament final.[16]

Style of play

An elegant, creative and technically gifted advanced playmaker, Pastore is capable of playing in several offensive roles, due to his ability to both score and create goals. Although he is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder due to his vision, passing and striking ability from distance, he is also capable of functioning as a winger, as a supporting striker or even as a forward, and has also been deployed in deeper midfield roles on occasion due to his work-rate and physical attributes.[17][18][19] A talented, strong, quick and hard-working right-footed player,[19] his playing style has drawn comparisons to Kaká, Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimović and one of his childhood idols, Enzo Francescoli, although Pastore has stated that his main influence is compatriot Juan Román Riquelme.[17][20][21][22] Nicknamed "El Flaco" (like Francescoli before him) due to his tall, slender build, in 2010 Don Balón named him as one of the 100 best young players in the world born after 1989.[17][22][23]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 September 2016[24]
Club Season League Cup[nb 1] Europe[nb 2] Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Huracán 2008–09 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2008–09 30 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 8 4
Total 31 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 8 4
Palermo 2009–10 34 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 35 3 5
2010–11 35 11 5 3 2 1 6 1 1 44 14 7
Total 69 14 10 4 2 1 6 1 1 79 17 12
Paris Saint-Germain 2011–12 33 13 6 3 1 0 7 2 2 43 16 8
2012–13 34 4 10 4 2 1 10 3 2 48 9 13
2013–14 29 1 3 6 1 1 6 1 0 41 3 4
2014–15 34 5 12 6 1 0 10 0 1 50 6 13
2015–16 16 2 6 4 1 0 6 0 0 26 3 6
2016–17 2 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 4 1 2
Total 148 25 37 24 7 4 40 6 5 212 38 46
Career totals 248 47 51 28 9 5 46 7 6 322 63 62

International

As of match played 16 September 2016[25]
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