Ernesto Javier Chevantón Espinosa (born 12 August 1980) is a Uruguayan former

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 ...

, who played as a forward. He obtained a Spanish passport after playing a few years in Spain. Chevantón has been described as a player who possesses explosiveness, pace and tenacity.

Club career

Lecce

Chevantón was scouted by

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

sports director

Pantaleo Corvino Pantaleo Corvino (born 12 December 1949) is an Italian director of football, currently working for Lecce. After his father's death, he was forced to interrupt his career as a player and became non-commissioned officer. His early career in mana ...

and signed in the summer of 2001. Despite his 12 goals in 27 games, Lecce were relegated that season into

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

and Chevantón stayed with them. His presence would prove vital, scoring 18 goals in 30 games to promote Lecce straight back into top flight domestic football. In the 2003–04 Serie A he was the fourth goalscorer of the tournament with 19 goals and became the all-time goalscorer for Lecce, overcoming former Argentina national team and Lecce player Pedro Pablo Pasculli.

Monaco

Following the loss of

Fernando Morientes Fernando Morientes Sánchez (; born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He played for a number of clubs during his career, including Real Madrid, Monaco, Liverpool and Valenci ...

(returning to Real Madrid after his loan period expired) and

Dado Pršo Miladin "Dado" Pršo (born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional. He was included in the Monaco team ...

(who became free agent after failed to agree a new contract),

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...

was looking to reinforce his frontguard and so made an offer for Chevantón. In July 2004, he signed a 4-year contract with Monaco for a reported €10M. A few weeks later

Mohamed Kallon Mohamed Kallon MOR (born 6 October 1979) is a Sierra Leonean football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is widely considered the most famous footballer from Sierra Leone. He made 39 appearances for the Sierra Leone nationa ...

was signed and the duo was expected to become striking partner. Unfortunately, he was injured in August 2004 and

Javier Saviola Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (; born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented both Barcelona and Real Madrid, also having notable spells with Benfica and Olympiacos, and was n ...

was signed as replacement. He was fit again in October but injured again in January. Since returned in February, he finally netted a goal in Ligue 1 on 16 April 2005. That season he scored 10 league goals, 1 goal behind Kallon and but ahead rising star

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Ho ...

, Saviola and out-favoured

Shabani Nonda Shabani Christophe Nonda (born 6 March 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Burundi, he represented the DR Congo national team, earning 36 caps and scoring 20 goals. He was selected for DR Congo's squad fo ...

. The 2004 UEFA Champions League finalist also exited in the round 16 of 2004–05 UEFA Champions League as non of the Monegasque strikers able to score against PSV. In 2005–06 season, Nonda was released and Kallon was sent to Middle East on loan. Chevantón and Adebayor became the starting pair under Deschamps. He missed few matches in August 2005 including the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round return leg. Since

Francesco Guidolin Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Serie A, winning the 1996–97 Coppa Ital ...

succeed as coach in October, Chevantón remained as one of the striker in the league. However, he did not play in the whole UEFA Cup group stage, due to both fitness problem and squad rotation. In January 2006,

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

and

Marco Di Vaio Marco Di Vaio (; born 15 July 1976) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. A prolific goalscorer, in his long club career, Di Vaio scored over 200 league goals ...

were signed and Adebayor was sold (who suffered with injury too). He did a knee operation in January 2006 and return on 7 February, the Coupe de la Ligue semi-final. On the same month, he played as substitute in

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

round of 32, which the coach preferred Serge Gakpé partnered with Vieri. In the league he played a successive 11 league matches since round 28 (on 25 February) and almost scored in every match (7 goals in 7 different matches). Chevantón became the team top-scorer in the league with 10 goals by his performance in the second half of season, ahead mid-season signing Di Vaio and winger

Olivier Kapo Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo (born 27 September 1980), known as Olivier Kapo, is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Early life Born in Marcory, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquired French national ...

who both scored 5 league goals.

Sevilla

On 1 August 2006, he was signed by

2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...

holder Sevilla for a reported €8M and agreed a 5-year contract. The beginning of Chevantón's season at

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

started with a back strain which put him out for the first few weeks, but he scored four goals for Sevilla in the UEFA cup against

SC Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portugues ...

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

and Grasshopper Club Zürich, and scored his first

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' ...

goal by way of a stylish

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

at home against Real Madrid on 9 December 2006, which led to the home team's 2–1 victory. The second time Sevilla met Real Madrid that season Chevantón scored another goal with an excellent free kick. He recently netted the equaliser against Arsenal in a pre-season friendly for Sevilla in a 1–1 disappointment at the Emirates but has since found opportunities in the Spanish League limited.

Atalanta

On 26 November 2009, he was given permission to trial with Serie A club

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, who ultimately agreed a loan deal with Sevilla. The player joined the club on 2 January 2010, until the end of the 2009–10 season.

Lecce

On 23 August 2010, Chevantón returned to his former club Lecce. His contract with Sevilla was terminated in earlier days.

Colón de Santa Fe

In July 2011, Lecce didn't renew his contract and he was hired by the Argentinian team

Colón de Santa Fe Colón may refer to: Places ;Argentina * Colón, Entre Ríos * Colón Department, Córdoba * Colón Department, Entre Ríos * Colón, Buenos Aires ;Colombia * Colón, Nariño * Colón, Putumayo * Colón Department (Colombia) ;Costa Rica * Ciu ...

Lecce

In the summer of 2012, he joined Lecce, now in the

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...

, for a third time after their relegation from

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

in 2011–12 and subsequent expulsion from the

for their part in the Calcio Scommesse scandal.

Queens Park Rangers

On 25 September 2013, Chevantón signed a short-term deal, until Christmas Eve, with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He made his debut for the club on 5 October 2013, coming on as a late substitute for

Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a winger or second striker. As of 5 May 2021, he works as an assistant to Josip Šimu ...

in a 2–0 win against Barnsley. Chevantón was released by Queens Park Rangers on 24 December 2013.

Liverpool (Uruguay)

After being released by QPR, Chevantón left England and returned to Uruguay where he signed a contract with

Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo) Liverpool Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The team was first promoted to the Primera División in 1919 and plays its home games at Estadio Belvedere. History The club has its roots in the student team from the ...

International career

Run-ins with the

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

head coach Jorge Fossati have restricted his playing time for the national team, most strikingly obvious was his omission from the last stage of 2006 World Cup qualification. Uruguay failed to qualify for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. After a long spell out of the national side Chevantón was finally included back in the Uruguay national squad for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in September 2008 for the matches against Argentina and Bolivia in October. It was partially due to the injury of

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...

. Chevantón played the match against Argentina as substitute in the 73rd minutes for

Sebastián Abreu Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (; born 17 October 1976) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Peruvian club Universidad César Vallejo. He is best known for his record of ap ...

while Abreu partnered mainly with

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

and

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

during the match. Chevantón was then dropped against Bolivia and was not called up again due to personal fitness and competition among Uruguay's top strikers.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chevanton, Javier 1980 births Living people People from Juan Lacaze Uruguayan footballers Uruguayan expatriate footballers Uruguay international footballers Uruguay under-20 international footballers Danubio F.C. players U.S. Lecce players Atalanta B.C. players AS Monaco FC players Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Sevilla FC players UEFA Cup winning players Club Atlético Colón footballers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo) players La Liga players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Serie B players Argentine Primera División players English Football League players Uruguayan Primera División players 2001 Copa América players Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in France Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Uruguayan people of French descent Association football forwards