| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damián Ariel Escudero | ||
| Date of birth | April 20, 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gremio | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vélez Sársfield | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2008 | Vélez Sársfield | 84 | (20) |
| 2008–2010 | Villarreal | 13 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | → Valladolid (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2010– | Boca Juniors | 13 | (0) |
| 2011– | →Gremio (loan) | 31 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | Argentina U-20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2008– | Argentina U-23 | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 5, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Damián Ariel Escudero (born 20 April 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Gremio on loan from Boca Juniors, as a left midfielder.
He is often nicknamed Pichi, the same used by his father Osvaldo Escudero, who was also a football player.
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A product of Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield's youth system, Escudero made his first-team debut in a 1–0 defeat to Newell's Old Boys, on March 4, 2006. He found himself at the centre of a controversy at the end of the year, when the club refused to release him, along Mauro Zárate, for the 2007 South American Youth Championship.
When the 2007 Libertadores Cup started, Escudero showed why the club was so keen in retaining his services, quickly becoming a dynamic part in the side's offensive movements; in the season's competition, he helped Vélez reach the round of 16, netting four times.
Escudero had an irregular 2007–08 season, during which his team failed to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana. However, he did score three goals in the Clausura, including an impressive strike against Boca Juniors.
For 2008–09, Escudero was bought by La Liga side Villarreal CF in a U$S12,000,000 move. However, he was quickly loaned to Real Valladolid because his club's non-EU quota was already full, appearing rarely throughout the campaign.
Escudero returned to Villarreal for the 2009–10 season, but continued to be barred by the likes of Robert Pirès and Santi Cazorla. Most of his appearances were due to injury problems to the latter, and he scored against Xerez CD on March 14, 2010 (2–0 home win), after only playing five minutes in the game.
In the 2010 summer, Escudero was sold to Boca Juniors, with Villarreal retaining 50% of the player's rights.
Nowadays, Escudero is playing at Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense from southern Brazil since february 2011. He is in the main squad playing left-wing and has scored 4 goals in the national league yet.
In 2007 Escudero was picked to join the Argentina under-20 squad to compete in the World Cup in Canada, but was hardly ever played due to injury.
The following year, he first played for the Olympic side against Guatemala, in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics; at this match, he appeared as a left back.
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