Enzo Nicolás Pérez (; born 22 February 1986) is an Argentine professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
River Plate and the
Argentina national team.
He played four years for
S.L. Benfica in Portugal, where he won five trophies, most notably the domestic
treble
Treble may refer to:
In music:
*Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass
*Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range
*Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands
*T ...
in the
2013–14 season, and reached two consecutive
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
finals.
Club career
Early career
Born in
Maipú, Mendoza
Maipú is a city in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the capital of the Maipú Department. It is located a short distance from the provincial capital, Mendoza.
Maipú is at the centre of an important wine-growing region, and has a wine museum. ...
, Pérez began his career in
Deportivo Maipú
Club Deportivo Maipú, mostly known as Deportivo Maipú is an Argentine football club based in the city of Maipú, Mendoza. The team currently plays in Primera Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B ...
, 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 Belgrano may refer to:
People
* Joaquín Belgrano (1773–1848), an Argentine patriot
* José Denis Belgrano (1844–1917), Spanish painter
* Joseph Belgrano (1762–1823), Argentine military officer and politician, brother of Manuel
* Manuel Belg ...
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
Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...
, where he finished as runner-up with the team in the
2008 Copa Sudamericana
The 2008 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes was the seventh edition of the Copa Sudamericana football tournament. The draw for the tournament took place on June 10, 2008 in Buenos Aires and the competition was played between July 30 and December 3. Arsen ...
. He was then a first team regular in the team that won the
2009 Copa Libertadores
The 2009 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2009 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament.
The ...
.
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. After a serious knee injury sustained in the
Champions League qualifiers, Pérez was loaned back to Estudiantes for six months on 9 February 2012.
On 27 July 2012, at the
Eusébio Cup
The Eusébio Cup is a pre-season friendly football match hosted by Portuguese club S.L. Benfica since 2008. It has been played mostly at their home stadium, Estádio da Luz, with the two exceptions being the 2015 and 2018 editions (played at E ...
, Pérez scored a long-range goal against
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
from a tight angle to complete a 5–2 win.
In the
2012–13 season, Pérez was successfully converted into a
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, partnering with
Nemanja Matić, 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
Treble may refer to:
In music:
*Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass
*Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range
*Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands
*T ...
(
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
,
Taça de Portugal and
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
) and their second consecutive
Europa League Final. Pérez, however, was not present in the eventual loss on penalties (4–2) to
Sevilla in the final, having picked up a suspension in the semi-final against
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
on 1 May 2014. His performances attracted attention from other clubs, while Benfica manager
Jorge Jesus
Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe.
He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...
named Pérez his side's most difficult player to replace and the "brain" of the team. On 6 July 2014, Pérez won the
Player of the Year award.
At the beginning of the
2014–15 season, Pérez won the
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, thus winning all four Portuguese titles with Benfica in the 2014 calendar year.
Valencia
On 2 January 2015, Spanish
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
club
Valencia CF signed Pérez for a transfer fee of €25 million, the tenth-highest ever fee for an Argentine player. On 4 January, he debuted for Valencia in a home win over Real Madrid (2–1) in La Liga.
River Plate
On 29 June 2017, Pérez returned to Argentina and signed for
River Plate.
Ahead of a
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
match on 19 May 2021, River Plate announced that over twenty players, including all four rostered
goalkeepers, would miss the match due to a
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreak within the squad. With no substitutes, Pérez appeared in goal, playing the entirety of the match against Colombian side
Independiente Santa Fe
Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Santa Fe is one of the th ...
in which River Plate won 2–1. Pérez made a number of key saves and was awarded with the man of the match for his performance.
International career
Pérez made his
Argentina senior squad debut on 30 September 2009 under then-manager
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
in a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, an eventual 2–0 victory for the ''Albicelestes''.
On 2 June 2014, Pérez was called up for the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
by manager
Alejandro Sabella. After midfielder
Ángel Di María sustained an injury in the quarter-finals, Pérez started in his placed in both the semi-final and
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, which Argentina lost 1–0 after extra time.
In May 2018, Pérez was named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
, but did not make the final list. However, on 9 June 2018, he was called up as a replacement for the injured
Manuel Lanzini
Manuel Lanzini (; born 15 February 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club West Ham United. He previously played for River Plate and Fluminense. He is regarded as having well developed dribbli ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Pérez goal''.
Honours
Godoy Cruz
*
Primera B Nacional:
2005–06
Estudiantes
*
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
:
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
*
Argentine Primera División
The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
Th ...
:
2010 Apertura
*
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
runner-up:
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
*
Recopa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...
runner-up:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Benfica
*
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
:
2013–14,
2014–15
*
Taça de Portugal:
2013–14
*
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
:
2013–14
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
*
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
runner-up:
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2013–14
River Plate
*
Copa Argentina:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
*
Supercopa Argentina:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
*Copa Libertadores:
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
*Recopa Sudamericana:
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
*Argentine Primera División:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
*
Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Argentina
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
runner-up:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
*
Superclásico de las Américas
The Superclassic of the Americas ( pt, Superclássico das Américas, es, Superclásico de las Américas), is an annual friendly football match between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil.
Established in 2011 and organized by CONMEBOL, ...
runner-up:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Individual
*
O Jogo Team of the Year: 2013
*
Primeira Liga Player of the Year:
2013–14
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Enzo
1986 births
Living people
Argentine footballers
Argentine expatriate footballers
Argentina international footballers
Association football midfielders
Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers
Estudiantes de La Plata footballers
S.L. Benfica footballers
Valencia CF players
Club Atlético River Plate footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Primeira Liga players
La Liga players
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
Sportspeople from Mendoza Province
People from Maipú, Argentina
Outfield association footballers who played in goal