Hernán Crespo biography
football player
Place of birth: Florida,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Career
Senior clubs
Years Club App (Gls)
River
Plate 62 (24)
Parma 116 (61)
Lazio 54 (39)
Internazionale 18 (7)
Chelsea
49 (20)
AC Milan (loan) 28 (10)
Internazionale (loan) 25 (10)
Argentina 60 (32)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for domestic league only and correct as of April 12, 2007. National team caps and goals correct as of February 12, 2007.
Honours
Copa
Libertadores- 1996 (River Plate)
UEFA Cup- 1999 (AC Parma)
Primera División
Argentina- 1993A, 1994A, 1996A (River Plate)
Coppa Italia- 1999 (AC Parma)
Italian Super Cup- 1999, 2000, 2006 (AC Parma, Lazio Rom, Inter Milan)
Premier
League- 2006 (Chelsea)
FA Community Shield- 2005 (Chelsea)
FIFA 100 Greatest
Living Footballers
Primera División Argentina topscorers- 1994 (River
Plate)
Serie A top scorer- 2000-01 (Lazio Rom)
He won the silver medal
with Argentina in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing the tournament as
top scorer with six goals.
Coppa Italia topscorer- 1999 (AC Parma)
Serie
A title- 2007 (Inter Milan)
Soccer player
Hernán Jorge Crespo born July 5, 1975 in Florida, Argentina
Argentine international football
He is famed for his powerful aerial
ability, which allows him to score goals from considerable distances. He is renowned
for being one of the most effective goal poachers in the game, due to his anticipatory
off the ball movement. Crespo was included in the FIFA 100 list comprising the
best footballers in the world at present.
International
career
In February 1995, Crespo won a first cap for a Argentina national team,
in a friendly against Bulgaria in Mendoza, but he had to wait 16 months for a
second cap and more than two years for his first goal. He played for his nation
in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He has 57 caps for Argentina, and
scored 31 goals. A ratio of more than a goal every other game makes Crespo a formidable
forward at all levels.
In June 2005, part of his comeback of the 2004/05 season, Crespo scored two goals in Argentina's 3 - 1 World Cup Qualifying triumph over arch rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires. This win ensured Argentina's participation in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The last two goals against Brazil turned him into the all time top scorer for Argentina in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Fans used to call Crespo, Valdanito because his looks, build and running style recall 1986 FIFA World Cup winning forward Jorge Valdano.
Crespo was several times compared to Gabriel Batistuta. At the very least, he is considered a great replacement. Former Argentine coach José Pekerman (he resigned on 1st July 2006) saw Crespo as a leader for the strikeforce important for Argentine success in 2006 FIFA World Cup, even though younger players such as Javier Saviola, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tévez had been gaining the coach's attention.
Crespo scored four World Cup goals; against Sweden in 2002 and against Côte d'Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro, and Argentina's win over Mexico in the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup.
He was the 2006 FIFA Silver Shoe Award winner.
Club
career
He was born in the Florida neighbourhood of the Vicente López
Partido, Greater Buenos Aires, next to the Buenos Aires city. He made a debut
for River Plate during the 1993/94 season, scoring 13 goals in 25 league appearances.
He helped River Plate win the Apertura league title, the second of two championships
held in Argentina in the year. He helped River win the Apertura title again in
1994. In 1996, Crespo helped River to win the Copa Libertadores, the South American
club championship, scoring twice in a home leg of the final in Buenos Aires.
He
left River for Parma in Italy in August 1996 after he won a silver medal with
Argentina in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing the tournament as top
scorer with six goals. In May 1997, coached by Carlo Ancelotti (current manager
of A.C. Milan), Crespo helped Parma finish runners-up in Serie A, scoring 12 goals
in 27 matches. In 1999, with Parma he won both a Italian Cup and a UEFA Cup (in
the final against Olympique de Marseille, held in Moscow, Crespo scored the opening
goal in Parma's 3-0 victory). In 2000, after four successful years with Parma,
Lazio broke a world transfer record by paying £35,500 000 for Crespo. He
ended his first season in Lazio as top scorer in Serie A with 26 goals.
In September 2002, Crespo signed with Inter as replacement for the departed Ronaldo, for €20 million plus Bernardo Corradi. In his only season at the club, he scored 7 goals in 18 appearances in Italian Serie A and 9 goals in 12 appearances in the Champions League. A bad injury sustained in early 2003 kept him out for 4 months and many people have claimed he has never been the same since injury.
Crespo was transferred to English Premiership club Chelsea on 26 August 2003, for £16,800 000. He made only 31 appearances (19 League starts) in all competitions and scoring 12 goals. After José Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager in the 2004 off season, Crespo became surplus to Chelsea's plans and was loaned out for 2004-05 season to AC Milan, as requested by former coach Carlo Ancelotti. With Milan, he scored 10 goals. Crespo scored two of Milan's three goals in the 2004/05 Champions League final against Liverpool before Liverpool came back to win.
After speculation involving Crespo and a return to Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea's failed attempts to land a big name striker during the summer of 05, José Mourinho decided to bring back Crespo from AC Milan. Despite Crespo making his desire to stay at Milan well known, Chelsea needed competition for striker Didier Drogba, and José Mourinho convinced him he had a future in the Premier League.
Unlike his first season in England, Crespo seemed to finally adapt. He made his first appearance back at Chelsea in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the FA Community Shield. He scored a first league goal of 2005 against Wigan in Chelsea's first game of the season at a JJB Stadium, his second came soon after in his fourth league game, a powerful header against Charlton. Crespo then opened his account in the season's Champion's League campaign with a header against Real Betis. He has since scored against Anderlecht, Newcastle Utd, Portsmouth, Fulham, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Liverpool, and West Ham.
In July 2006, Crespo stated his intention to return to play in Italy, particularly his former club AC Milan, as he still owns a residence in the suburbs of Milan. However, Chelsea released a club statement on its website stating that Crespo will remain a Chelsea player unless the club accepted a suitable offer for him.
On the 7th August 2006, Crespo signed for Inter Milan on a two year loan from Chelsea, in a similar deal to that agreed for Juan Sebastián Verón. Chelsea have the option to bring Crespo back after one season, and Inter will pay almost all of Crespo's wages during his loan period. In all competitions, he scored 26 goals for Chelsea. 14 of these came in his last season at the West London club, the other 12 were scored during his first spell before going on loan.
On December 2nd 2006, Crespo scored his 125th Serie A goal against Siena, and on April 2nd, 2007, he scored a 200th goal in Europe, in a total of 400 matches since October 27, 1996, giving an average of 0.5 goals per match
He has often
mentioned that is a Rossoneri at heart, even though he plays for their arch rivals
Inter.
Misspell
Hernan Crespo Herán Cresp Hernon respo
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