Martín Palermo

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Martín Palermo
Personal information
Date of birth 7 November 1973 (1973-11-07) (age 34)
Place of birth    La Plata, Argentina
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+12 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Boca Juniors
Number 9
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1991–1997
1997–2000
2001–2003
2003
2004
2004–
Estudiantes
Boca Juniors
Villarreal
Real Betis
Alavés
Boca Juniors
093 (32)
102 (91)
070 (18)
011 0(2)
014 0(3)
123 (71)   
National team2
1999 Argentina 007 0(3)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 417 May 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 2005.
* Appearances (Goals)

Martín Palermo (born November 7, 1973 in La Plata, Argentina) is a professional footballer currently playing for Boca Juniors of Argentina. Nicknamed "El Loco", he has also played in Argentina for Estudiantes de La Plata as well as in Spain in La Liga for Villarreal CF, Real Betis, and Deportivo Alavés.

His career started slowly at Estudiantes de La Plata and it was not until he transferred to Boca Juniors that he won international recognition due to his impressive goal average, and his excellent performances in international matches. The peak of his career was probably the Intercontinental Cup in 2000, when he scored two goals in Boca's 2–1 victory over Real Madrid, catching the attention of football clubs in Spain.


However Palermo then suffered a number of injuries that held him back from a transfer to Lazio in Italy, and also hindered his adaptation to European football when he was finally transferred to Spain:

  • On November 13, 1999 he had a complete tear of the cruciate ligament of his right knee, which required a six-month recovery period.
  • On November 20, 2001, after celebrating a goal, he stood on a small concrete wall, which collapsed under the weight of Villarreal's fans and broke both the tibia and fibula of his left leg, leading to two months of inactivity.

Boca Juniors fans consider him an idol, not only because of the number of goals he has scored for the team, but also for scoring many important goals against Boca's arch rivals River Plate.

On May 24, 2000, he returned to football after more than six months of inactivity after his first major injury. He played the last fifteen minutes of the quarterfinal match of the Copa Libertadores against River Plate, and scored the goal that sealed the victory with what he called "the most emotional goal of my career," leaving the score at 3–0 to Boca Juniors (the first match ended 1–2).

With the Argentine national team he played seven matches, and scored three goals. Rather less impressively, he holds the world record of three penalties missed in one single match, during the match between Argentina and Colombia for the Copa América 1999. The first penalty rebounded off the crossbar, whilst the second went over, causing TV commentators to remark, "Even higher than the first one." Though the third was on target it was saved.

He scored three goals against his former team Estudiantes in the 3-1 Boca's victory at La Plata, and he didn't celebrate any of them.[1] It was the fourth hat-trick of his career. A game later, on March 18, he scored a career high of four goals in the 5-1 victory against Gimnasia de la Plata,[2] Estudiantes de La Plata's archi-rivals. On September 16, 2007, in a game against Banfield, Martin scored four goals (again) in the 6-0 Boca's victory.[3] Palermo scored his fifth career hat-trick in a 3-0 Boca Juniors victory, this was a must win game that was played in Jalisco, Mexico, against the Mexican team Atlas on May 21, 2008.[4]

Contents

[edit] Achievements

[edit] Team

[edit] Individual

  • Argentine League Primera División Argentina topscorers 12th Top Scorer of All Time Career (191 goals) (34 with Estudiantes L.P. and 156 with Boca Juniors)[5]
  • Golden Shoe of America 2007-2008 (share with Giancarlo Maldonado)
  • Argentine First Division Top Scorer (11 goals, 16 matches) (2007 Clausura)
  • Best Player Intercontinental Cup (2000)
  • Best South American Player (1998)
  • Argentine First Division Top Scorer (20 goals, 19 matches -tournament record-) (1998 Apertura)

[edit] Facts

[edit] Career

Year Team Matches Goals
2006/07 Boca Juniors 22 24
2005/06 Boca Juniors 35 20
2004/05 Boca Juniors 25 12
/2004 Alaves 14 3
2003/ Real Betis 11 2
2002/03 Villarreal CF 34 7
2001/02 Villarreal CF 19 5
/2001 Villarreal CF 17 6
2000/ Boca Juniors 26 15
1999/2000 Boca Juniors 21 21
1998/99 Boca Juniors 39 35
1997/98 Boca Juniors 22 20
1996/97 Estudiantes La Plata 36 14
1995/96 Estudiantes La Plata 27 16
1994/95 Estudiantes La Plata 3 0
1993/94 Estudiantes La Plata 17 1
1992/93 Estudiantes La Plata 9 1
1991/92 Estudiantes La Plata 1 0

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Martín es de Boca" - Diario Ole (Spanish)
  2. ^ "Se volvió loco" - Diario Ole (Spanish)
  3. ^ "Peligro, Loco Suelto" - Diario Ole (Spanish)
  4. ^ "Y Dale con las Locuras" - Diario Ole (Spanish)
  5. ^ Still active. Updated June 11, 2008.
  6. ^ Still active. Updated June 8, 2008.

[edit] External links