Nicolás Pareja

Nicolás Pareja
Personal information
Date of birth January 19, 1984 (1984-01-19) (age 28)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Spartak Moscow
Number 21
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2006 Argentinos Juniors 53 (2)
2006–2008 Anderlecht 51 (1)
2008–2010 Espanyol 58 (3)
2010– Spartak Moscow 26 (1)
National team‡
2008 Argentina U23 5 (0)
2009– Argentina 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:50, 26 November 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:39, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Nicolás Martín Pareja (born January 19, 1984 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football defender and an Olympic gold medalist who plays for FC Spartak Moscow. Previously he played for Argentinos Juniors, RSC Anderlecht and RCD Espanyol.

Pareja was bought for €2 million by Anderlecht in 2006 as a replacement for Vincent Kompany.[1] Despite some injury problems, Pareja became a reliable force in the central defence of Anderlecht, alongside Roland Juhasz. He won the Belgian Jupiler League with Anderlecht in 2007. His performances resulted in a call up for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where Argentina won the tournament with Pareja in the central defense.

His outstanding play at the tournament resulted in interest from the big European leagues, as Espanyol and Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have put an offer for Pareja at Anderlecht. Espanyol won the struggle for Pareja, as Anderlecht and Espanyol agreed a fee of €4.5 million for the player. He has been called up to the national team by Diego Maradona for a friendly against Russia as well as for World Cup Qualifiers against Brazil and Paraguay.[2]

In August 2010, he joined Russian giants Spartak Moscow.[3]

Titles

Season Club Title
2006-2007 RSC Anderlecht Belgian League
2007-2008 RSC Anderlecht Belgian Supercup
2008 Argentina Olympic Olympic football tournament

References

  1. ^ uefa.com
  2. ^ Nicolas Pareja verlaat Anderlecht
  3. ^ "Spartak sign Pareja from Espanyol". UEFA. 30 July 2010. http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=1509521.html. Retrieved 4 August 2010. 

External links

FC Spartak Moscow – current squad