Enzo Pérez

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Enzo Nicolás Pérez)
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Enzo Pérez
File:Zenit-Benfica (1).jpg
Pérez with Benfica in 2014
Personal information
Full name Enzo Nicolás Pérez
Date of birth (1986-02-22) 22 February 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Maipú, Argentina
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Valencia
Number 15
Youth career
1996–2003 Deportivo Maipú
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Godoy Cruz 84 (12)
2007–2011 Estudiantes 119 (14)
2011–2015 Benfica 70 (9)
2012 Estudiantes (loan) 13 (0)
2015– Valencia 21 (0)
International career
2009– Argentina 16 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 November 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 November 2014

Enzo Nicolás Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈenso ˈpeɾes]; born 22 February 1986) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Spanish club Valencia CF and the Argentina national team.

He played four years for Benfica in Portugal, where he won five major titles, most notably the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season, and reached two consecutive UEFA Europa League finals.

Club career

Born in Maipú, Mendoza, Pérez began his career in Deportivo Maipú, like his father, and started his professional playing career with Godoy Cruz, where he wrote his name into club history by scoring a fifth minute goal in the 1–1 draw with Belgrano on 9 September 2006. This was the first goal ever scored by Godoy Cruz in the Argentine first division. In total, he scored 12 goals in his career at Godoy Cruz, most coming from penalties. In 2007, Pérez joined Estudiantes de La Plata, where he finished as runner-up with the team in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana. He was then a first team regular in the team that won the 2009 Copa Libertadores.

Benfica

On 8 June 2011, Pérez signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica for a fee rumored to be around €5.5 million for his full rights from Estudiantes.[2] After a serious knee injury sustained in the Champions League qualifiers, Pérez was loaned back to Estudiantes for six months on 9 February 2012.[3]

On 27 July 2012, at the Eusébio Cup, Pérez scored a long-range goal against Real Madrid from a tight angle to complete a 5–2 win.[4]

In the 2012–13 season, Pérez was successfully converted into a central midfielder, partnering with Nemanja Matić,[5] assuming a central role in the team.

In the 2013–14 season, his influence was further increased after the departure of Matić to Chelsea on 15 January 2014, becoming a vital piece in Benfica's domestic treble (Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga) and their second consecutive Europa League Final. Pérez, however, was not present in the eventual loss on penalties (4–2) to Sevilla FC in the final, having picked up a suspension in the semi-final against Juventus on 1 May 2014.[6][7] His performances attracted attention from other clubs,[8] while Benfica manager Jorge Jesus named Pérez his side's most difficult player to replace and the "brain" of the team.[9][10] On 6 July 2014, Pérez won the Player of the Year award.[11]

In the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Pérez won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira thus winning all four Portuguese titles with Benfica in 2014.

Valencia

On 2 January 2015, Valencia CF signed Pérez[12][13] for a transfer fee of €25 million,[14] which is the tenth highest transfer of an Argentine player.[15]

On 4 January 2015, Pérez debuted for Valencia in a home win against Real Madrid (2–1) in La Liga.[16]

International career

Pérez made his Argentina senior squad debut on 30 September 2009 under then-manager Diego Maradona[17] in a friendly match against Ghana,[18] an eventual 2–0 victory for the Albicelestes.

On 2 June 2014, Pérez was called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by manager Alejandro Sabella.[19] After midfielder Ángel Di María sustained an injury in the quarter-finals, Pérez started in his placed in both the semi-final and final against Germany, which Argentina subsequently lost 1–0 after extra time.[20][21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 November 2015[22]
Club Season League Cup League Cup International1 Other2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Estudiantes 2007–08 10 2 3 0 13 2
2008–09 25 4 15 2 40 6
2009–10 30 4 9 1 2 0 41 5
2010–11 33 5 2 0 2 0 37 5
2011–12 14 0 7 0 0 0 21 0
Total 112 15 36 3 4 0 152 18
Benfica 2011–12 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
2012–13 28 4 3 0 3 0 13 0 47 4
2013–14 28 4 4 1 3 0 12 0 47 5
2014–15 11 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 19 1
Total 70 9 9 1 6 0 31 0 1 0 117 10
Valencia 2014–15 14 0 1 0 15 0
2015–16 7 0 1 0 6 0 14 0
Total 21 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 29 0
Career total 203 24 11 1 6 0 73 3 5 0 213 28

1International competitions include the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
2Other competitions include the FIFA Club World Cup, Recopa Sudamericana and Portuguese Supercup.

International

International appearances

National team Year Apps Goals
Argentina 2009 2 0
2010 1 0
2011 2 1
2012 1 0
2014 9 0
Total 15 1

Honours

Club

Godoy Cruz
Estudiantes
Benfica

International

Argentina

Individual

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links