Andrés D'Alessandro
Encyclopedia
Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro (born April 15, 1981 in Buenos Aires
) is a left-footed Argentine
footballer who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional
in Brazil
. He is best known for his dribbling and his short passing ability.
section of Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. He joined the labor force as a pizza delivery boy before becoming a professional footballer. Known as El Cabezón ("The Big Headed") for how large his big head looks on his small frame rather than any ego connotations, he emerged through the River Plate
youth system
that has produced much of Argentina's top talent over the years. He followed the likes of Santiago Solari
and Pablo Aimar
through the ranks, together with Javier Saviola
, with whom he shared the limelight in the 2001 Youth World Championship held in Buenos Aires. D'Alessandro started out that tournament as a substitute, but injuries in the team allowed him a place in the team during the later games. Argentina
won the title after beating Ghana
3–0.
at the 2004 Summer Olympics
. On September 21, 2005, D'Alessandro scored the Bundesliga
's 4,000th goal since its creation in 1963, for the fourth goal in a 4–2 victory over Hannover 96
.
Premier League club Portsmouth
on loan for the remainder of the season. His main objective with his new club was to blend in with new teammates and help his club survive relegation. On Easter Monday
April 17, 2006, he scored his first goal in English football – a contender for goal of the season – in Portsmouth's 2–1 defeat away to Charlton Athletic
. Portsmouth survived and manager Harry Redknapp
was looking to sign D'Alessandro on a permanent basis for Portsmouth. But D'Alessandro was attracting the attention of many European clubs with strong interest from the likes of Atlético Madrid and Benfica. On June 17, 2006 he ended the speculation regarding his career by completing a season-long loan switch to La Liga
outfit Real Zaragoza
citing his desire to play in Spain as a major factor in his decision. On June 6, 2007 he signed a contract at Zaragoza, keeping him at the club until 2011.
at Argentine club San Lorenzo
. However, after Díaz left the club, D'Alesandro opted to move to Brazil
to play for Internacional
. Playing for the former Copa Libertadores champions, he described as a "step forward" in his career.
On December 13, 2008 it was reported on ESPN Deportes
that the Los Angeles Galaxy
had made a $10 million dollar offer to Internacional
for D'Alesandro but was declined. Internacional
vice president Fernando Carvalho
was quoted; "The offer came from the Los Angeles Galaxy of the United States. I didn't even want to listen to the details. The offer was for more money than we paid for D'Alessandro, who arrived here for five million euro, but we want to keep the Argentinian."
recalled Andrés D' Alessandro to the Argentina National Team for a friendly against Spain, which was played on Tuesday September 7, 2010 at the Monumental Stadium River Plate.
|2003||9||2
|-
|2004||10||1
|-
|2005||3||0
|-
|2010||3||0 |-
|2011||0||0
!Total||25||3
|}
*Stats as of February 17, 2011
Internacional
Argentina U-23
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
) is a left-footed Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
footballer who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He is best known for his dribbling and his short passing ability.
Early career
D'Alessandro was born in the La PaternalLa Paternal, Buenos Aires
La Paternal or Paternal is a barrio or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a City Decree and was named 'La Paternal' after the train station in the neighbourhood, a former industrial zone....
section of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He joined the labor force as a pizza delivery boy before becoming a professional footballer. Known as El Cabezón ("The Big Headed") for how large his big head looks on his small frame rather than any ego connotations, he emerged through the River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
youth system
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
that has produced much of Argentina's top talent over the years. He followed the likes of Santiago Solari
Santiago Solari
Santiago Hernán Solari Poggio is a retired Argentine professional football player.-Career:El Indiecito. Solari played for Newell's Old Boys, local amateur Renato Cesarini and attended Richard Stockton College playing one season before moving to Buenos Aires' CA River Plate in 1996...
and Pablo Aimar
Pablo Aimar
Pablo César Aimar Giordano is a Argentine professional footballer who plays for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division. An attacking midfielder with a vast array of skills, he also holds a Spanish passport....
through the ranks, together with Javier Saviola
Javier Saviola
Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a striker....
, with whom he shared the limelight in the 2001 Youth World Championship held in Buenos Aires. D'Alessandro started out that tournament as a substitute, but injuries in the team allowed him a place in the team during the later games. Argentina
Argentina national under-20 football team
The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level....
won the title after beating Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
3–0.
Wolfsburg
After his transfer to Wolfsburg for a club record €9m, D'Alessandro played in the Argentine U-23 team that won the gold medalFootball at the 2004 Summer Olympics
The football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics started on 11 August, , and ended on 28 August.The men's tournament is played by U-23 national teams, with up to three over age players allowed per squad...
at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. On September 21, 2005, D'Alessandro scored the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
's 4,000th goal since its creation in 1963, for the fourth goal in a 4–2 victory over Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
.
Loans to England and Spain
In January 2006, much to the surprise of most fans, D'Alessandro joined EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Premier League club Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
on loan for the remainder of the season. His main objective with his new club was to blend in with new teammates and help his club survive relegation. On Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
April 17, 2006, he scored his first goal in English football – a contender for goal of the season – in Portsmouth's 2–1 defeat away to Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
. Portsmouth survived and manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
was looking to sign D'Alessandro on a permanent basis for Portsmouth. But D'Alessandro was attracting the attention of many European clubs with strong interest from the likes of Atlético Madrid and Benfica. On June 17, 2006 he ended the speculation regarding his career by completing a season-long loan switch to La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
outfit Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...
citing his desire to play in Spain as a major factor in his decision. On June 6, 2007 he signed a contract at Zaragoza, keeping him at the club until 2011.
Return to South America
In 2008, he joined his former River Plate manager Ramón DíazRamón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz , is a former Argentine football player. For most of his career, he played for, and later coached, Club Atlético River Plate. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ....
at Argentine club San Lorenzo
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....
. However, after Díaz left the club, D'Alesandro opted to move to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to play for Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
. Playing for the former Copa Libertadores champions, he described as a "step forward" in his career.
On December 13, 2008 it was reported on ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes is a cable television and radio network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day to the Spanish-speaking community in the United States...
that the Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
had made a $10 million dollar offer to Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
for D'Alesandro but was declined. Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
vice president Fernando Carvalho
Fernando Chagas Carvalho Neto
Fernando Chagas Carvalho Neto is the current Vice-President of Football of Sport Club Internacional. He was president of this club between 2002 and 2006....
was quoted; "The offer came from the Los Angeles Galaxy of the United States. I didn't even want to listen to the details. The offer was for more money than we paid for D'Alessandro, who arrived here for five million euro, but we want to keep the Argentinian."
National team
On August 20, 2010, Argentina National Team Coach Sergio BatistaSergio Batista
Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista is an Argentine football manager and former footballer. He played as a midfielder, and represented his national team 39 times between 1985 and 1990. He was head coach of Argentina national football team from July 2010 to July 2011.-Club:Batista played youth football...
recalled Andrés D' Alessandro to the Argentina National Team for a friendly against Spain, which was played on Tuesday September 7, 2010 at the Monumental Stadium River Plate.
National team statistics
|-|2003||9||2
|-
|2004||10||1
|-
|2005||3||0
|-
|2010||3||0 |-
|2011||0||0
!Total||25||3
|}
*Stats as of February 17, 2011
Club
River PlateClub Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
- Primera División: 3
-
- 2000 Clausura, 2002 Clausura, 2003 Clausura
Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
- Copa SudamericanaCopa SudamericanaThe Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes , known simply as the Copa Sudamericana , is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF clubs were invited between 2004...
: 1
-
- 2008
- Campeonato GaúchoCampeonato GaúchoThe Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF is the top tier of the footballleague of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-Clubs:Clubs qualified to Campeonato Gaúcho Primeira Divisão 2011.*Canoas*Caxias...
: 2
- Campeonato Gaúcho
- 2009, 2011Campeonato GaúchoThe Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF is the top tier of the footballleague of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-Clubs:Clubs qualified to Campeonato Gaúcho Primeira Divisão 2011.*Canoas*Caxias...
- Copa Libertadores: 1
- 20102010 Copa LibertadoresThe 2010 Copa Libertadores de América was the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier international club tournament. The tournament began on January 26 and ended on August 18...
- Recopa SudamericanaRecopa SudamericanaThe Recopa Sudamericana is an annual football match-up between the reigning champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions....
: 1
- Recopa Sudamericana
- 20112011 Recopa SudamericanaThe 2011 Recopa Sudamericana was the 19th edition of the tournament contested between the winners of CONMEBOL's two continental tournaments, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. It was contested between Brazilian club Internacional, the 2010 Copa Libertadores champion, and Argentine...
- 2008
National team
Argentina U-20Argentina national under-20 football team
The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level....
- FIFA U-20 World CupFIFA U-20 World CupThe FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...
: 1
-
- 20012001 FIFA World Youth ChampionshipThe 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between June 17 and July 8, 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar del Plata...
- 2001
Argentina U-23
Argentina Olympic football team
Argentina Olympic football team represents Argentina in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players...
- Summer OlympicsFootball at the Summer OlympicsAssociation football, usually known simply as football or soccer, has been included in every Olympiad except 1896 and 1932 as a men's competition sport. Women's football was added to the official programme in 1996.-Early history:...
Gold Medal: 1
-
- 2004
Individual
- South American Footballer of the YearSouth American Footballer of the YearThe South American Footballer of the Year is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, whom awarded it from 1971 to 1985. Uruguayan newspaper El País took over...
: 1
-
- 20102010 South American Footballer of the YearThe 2010 South American Footballer of the Year, given to the best football player in South America by Uruguayan newspaper El País through voting by journalists across the continent, was awarded to Andrés D'Alessandro of Internacional on December 30, 2010....
- 2010