Javier Saviola

Javier Saviola
Personal information
Full name	Javier Pedro Saviola
Date of birth	December 11, 1981 (1981-12-11) (age 27)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	9
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–2001 2001–2007 2004–2005 2005–2006 2007–	River Plate FC Barcelona → Monaco (loan) → Sevilla (loan) Real Madrid	111 (55) 164 (70) 036 0(12) 043 0(14) 016 0(4)
National team2
2001 2000–	Argentina U20 Argentina	007 (11) 044 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:22, 27 Oct 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15:59, 25 June 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Javier Pedro Saviola (born December 11, 1981 in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine professional football player, who plays for Real Madrid. His usual position is as striker. He is known for his speed and ability to score from almost any position. He has scored 12 goals in 44 games for the Argentina national team, and represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2005, he was the youngest named on the FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers.

Club career

River Plate

Nicknamed El Conejito (The Little Rabbit), Saviola made his debut for Argentine side River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club. He helped River Plate win 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.

FC Barcelona

That summer, aged 19, he moved abroad to play for FC Barcelona in Spain. He obtained Spanish citizenship, and thereby wasn't restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each club. Under coach Louis Van Gaal, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing third best scorer in La Liga.

Saviola with Barcelona

His 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 new Barcelona manager, Saviola went on to score eleven goals in the latter half of the 2002-03 season. At the start of the 2003-04 season, Frank Rijkaard was appointed as new manager. Saviola scored 14 goals during the season, but was deemed surplus at the club.

Saviola was sent on loan the following year, as he moved to AS Monaco in the French Ligue 1 championship in the summer 2004. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans, Saviola was again loaned out in the summer of 2005, this time to Spanish club Sevilla FC, in order to replace attacking player Júlio Baptista who moved to Real Madrid. At Sevilla, Saviola won his first title in Europe, when the club won the 2006 UEFA Cup.

Saviola returned to Barcelona for the 2006/07 La Liga season, playing in 18 league games (6 as a starter, 12 as a substitute) and scoring 5 goals. In the Copa del Rey, he appeared in 5 games (3 starts, 2 substitutions), scoring 5 goals. He also made a solitary Champions League appearance.

Real Madrid

On July 10, 2007 it was reported that Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired. The club's website published Saviola's first interview in Madrid on July 12, confirming that he would be presented to the press the next day as a new Real Madrid player.^[1] On July 13, Saviola completed his free transfer to Real Madrid CF, signing a contract that ends in 2010.^[2] He scored a goal in a Copa Del Rey match loss against Real Union. He also scored in a league match against Getafe which ended in a 3-1 defeat for Real Madrid.

International career

Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the World Youth Cup, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the Argentine youth national team won the competition. With 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in World Youth Cup history. His vintage performance earned himself an offer from the European clubs, but surprisingly, he failed to get a call up of the Argentina national football team to take part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Two years later, Saviola played in the 2004 Olympic Games and won the Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentine squad. Under coach Marcelo Bielsa, Saviola was given few playing opportunities for Argentina, but after Bielsa's resignation in 2004, new coach José Pekerman, who was the Argentine youth national team in 2001, gave Saviola more chance to play for the national team.

Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup by José Pekerman. Striker Luciano Figueroa and winger Luciano Galletti were in contention for a place on the roster, but Saviola's excellent form for Sevilla, scoring a handy 20 goals in 55 games and winning UEFA Cup with the Andalusian team, secured his place in the squad. Saviola 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.

Career statistics

Honours and awards

Argentina

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2001
• Olympic Games: 2004

River Plate

• Primera División Argentina: 1999A, 2000C

Real Madrid

• Spanish League

• Winner (1): 2007-08

• Spanish Super Cup

• Winner (1): 2008
• Runner-up (1): 2007

Sevilla

• UEFA Cup: 2005-06

Personal awards

• Primera División Argentina Top Scorer: 1999A
• South American Footballer of the Year: 1999
• FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Scorer: 2001
• FIFA U-20 World Cup MVP: 2001

References

External links

• Guardian statistics
• Career details at National Football Teams

Argentina squad – 2004 Olympic Gold Medalists 1 Caballero • 2 Ayala • 3 Heinze • 4 Fernández • 5 K. Gonzalez • 6 Coloccini • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Figueroa • 10 Tévez • 11 Delgado • 12 Rosales • 13 Rodríguez • 14 Medina • 15 D'Alessandro • 16 L. González • 17 M. González • 18 Lux • Coach: Bielsa

Argentina squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Franco • 2 Samuel • 3 Sorín • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Tévez • 8 Riquelme • 9 Saviola • 10 Aimar • 11 Delgado • 12 Lux • 13 G.J. Rodríguez • 14 Milito • 15 Placente • 16 Coloccini • 17 Bernardi • 18 Santana • 19 Maxi Rodríguez • 20 Demichelis • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galletti • 23 Caballero • Coach: Pekerman

Argentina squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Coloccini • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Franco • 13 Scaloni • 14 Palacio • 15 Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Cufré • 18 Rodríguez • 19 Messi • 20 Cruz • 21 Burdisso • 22 González • 23 Ustari • Coach: Pekerman