Jonathan Cristaldo
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Ezequiel Cristaldo | ||
| Date of birth | 5 March 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bologna (on loan from Metalist Kharkiv) | ||
| Number | 99 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vélez Sársfield | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2011 | Vélez Sársfield | 85 | (21) |
| 2011– | Metalist Kharkiv | 62 | (27) |
| 2013– | → Bologna (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009 | Argentina U-20 | 8 | (2) |
| 2011– | Argentina | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 August 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Jonathan Cristaldo (born 5 March 1989), nicknamed "Churry", is an Argentine football striker who plays for Bologna on loan from Metalist Kharkiv in the Serie A.
Club career
Cristaldo made his debut for Vélez Sársfield in a 0–2 home defeat to Rosario Central on 22 April 2007, for the 2007 Clausura.[1] He scored his first goal also in a home game against Rosario Central (2–1 victory), for the 2008 Clausura.[2]
Cristaldo won his first Argentine league championship with Vélez on the 2009 Clausura. During the championship, he was at first a substitute for the striking partners Hernán Rodrigo López and Joaquín Larrivey; however as of the 11th fixture, he became a regular starter along López in the attack. Nonetheless, a meniscus injury suffered in the penultimate fixture against Lanús left him out of the final game against runners-up Huracán, in which the tournament was decided.[3] In total, the striker played 14 games and scored 4 goals during the competition.[4]
In the following semester, Cristaldo started by scoring in Vélez' 1–0 home victory over Boca Juniors in the first round of the 2009 Copa Sudamericana, securing his team's qualification.[5] He was also, along Maximiliano Moralez, his team's top scorer on that semester's league championship (2009 Apertura) with 5 goals in 13 games.[6] One of his goals was scored with a bicycle kick from outside the penalty area (6th fixture 2–0 win over Huracán).[7]
Cristaldo started 2010 suffering an injury that left him out of most of Vélez' Clausura tournament and Copa Libertadores games. He only played 4 league games in the semester, all of them coming on from the bench.[8] In the second semester, he was mostly a substitute for the striker partnership of Juan Manuel Martínez and Santiago Silva (who together scored 21 goals). However, he saw action regularly, coming on as a substitute in 16 of the 19 games of the tournament (he also played one as a starter).[9] He ended the semester with 5 league goals, and one more in the Copa Sudamericana.
On January 2011, Cristaldo joined Ukrainian FC Metalist Kharkiv, that bought 80% of the player's transfer rights from Vélez Sársfield for a US$5 million fee.[10]
International career
In January 2009, Cristaldo was selected to represent the Argentina national under-20 football team at the South American Youth Championship. During the first round, he was a starter in the attack along Andrés Ríos, but lost his place in the final round. Argentina did not qualify for the World Cup, and Cristaldo ended the tournament with 8 games and 2 goals.
One year later, in January 2010, the striker was selected by Diego Maradona, coach of the Argentine national team, to play a friendly match against Costa Rica, in a squad formed by Argentine league players. Cristaldo was an unused substitute in the game.
New manager Sergio Batista handed Cristaldo his full international debut in the 2–1 defeat against Poland in June 2011.
International appearances and goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Final Score | Goal | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 June 2011 | Warsaw, Poland |  Poland | 2–1 | 0 | Lost | Friendly |
Honours
- Vélez Sársfield
- Argentine Primera División (1): 2009 Clausura
References
- ↑ "Closing '07 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "March report". Argentine Soccer. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Jonathan Cristaldo sufrió rotura de menisco". La Nación (in Spanish). 22 June 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Closing '09 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Vélez le ganó a un desconocido Boca y lo eliminó de la Copa". Télam (in Spanish). 17 September 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Opening '09 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Vélez volvió a la victoria con una magnífica tarde de Jonathan Cristaldo". Infobae (in Spanish). 28 September 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Cristaldo se despidió de Vélez" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
External links
- Profile at Vélez Sársfield's official website (Spanish)
- Argentine Primera statistics at Futbol XXI (Spanish)
- Profile at Transfermarkt.de
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