Matías Agustín Silvestre (born 25 September 1984) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Boca Juniors

Silvestre began his career with Argentine club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

, where he would go on to make his league debut on 23 March 2003 in a 3–1 win over

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 (), and the Partido de Lan� ...

. Silvestre soon was inserted into the Boca Juniors starting line-up and between 2003 and 2007, he went on to make 63 league appearances, scoring six goals. He was used as both a central defender and a right full-back during his spell with the club. Following an impressive 2007 season of the club, Silvestre was transferred to

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

in the

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 Coppa ...

Catania

During the 2008 January transfer window, Silvestre transferred to Sicilian club Catania on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

. His first six months at Catania was not so great as he was not part of then-coach

Silvio Baldini Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958 in Massa) is an Italian association football manager, last in charge of Serie B club Perugia. Career Early years Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 ...

's starting team, making just 11 appearances, just five as a starter. However, his loan was nonetheless made permanent in the summer of 2008 for €2.043 million after

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian manager (association football), football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari. He was a long-time Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for In ...

was appointed head coach, following the sacking of Baldini. He soon became an instrumental part of Catania's first team and was a major influence on their fairly successful 2008–09 season as the club avoided relegation for the third consecutive season. Silvestre continued to shine during his third season in Sicily as the defender went on to make more appearances than any of his teammates during the 2009–10 campaign. He formed a solid defensive line-up with the likes of Pablo Álvarez, Nicolás Spolli, Christian Terlizzi and Ciro Capuano as Catania recorded their record-breaking points total in Serie A, finishing in 13th place with just 45 goals conceded in 38 matches. During the

2010–11 Serie A The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...

campaign, Silvestre earned captaincy at the Sicilian club, following the sale of Giuseppe Mascara to

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on 31 January 2011. He has made 116 total appearances for his club, scoring seven goals, six of which have come during the 2010–11 Serie A season, a season which recorded a third consecutive record points total for the Sicilian club. On 9 July 2011,

Marco Biagianti Marco Biagianti (born 19 April 1984) is an Italian footballer , with a midfielder role. After previously playing for Catania from 2006 to 2013 and having captained the club from 9 July 2011 to 2013, he moved to Livorno in 2013 where he remaine ...

was assigned captaincy of the club for the

2011–12 Serie A The 2011–12 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM after its headline sponsors) was the 110th season of top-tier Italian football, the 80th in a round-robin tournament, and the second since its organization under a league committee separate from S ...

season.

Palermo

On 8 August 2011, Silvestre moved to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

for €7 million in a four-year contract, with Davide Lanzafame moving in the opposite direction in co-ownership deal for €1 million. Silvestre debuted for the ''Rosanero'' on 11 September 2011 in the 4–3 victory against

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

, on the second day of the season (the first was postponed). He scored his first Palermo goal in a 3–1 win over

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

on the 11th matchday of Serie A, making the score 2–0. On 19 February 2012, in Palermo's 4–1 win over

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, Silvestre suffered an injury to his right thigh, forcing him to leave the match. Nearly two months later, on 22 April, Silvestre returned to the pitch in Palermo's 2–2 draw with

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

. In the second-last match of the Serie A season, on 6 May, Silvestre scored in Palermo's 4–4 draw with

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

. He finished the season with 4 goals from 28 appearances.

Inter

On 6 July 2012, Palermo loaned Silvestre to Inter Milan for €3 million (paid via the 50% registration rights of goalkeeper

Emiliano Viviano Emiliano Viviano (; born 1 December 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Turkish Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Club career Brescia Born in Florence, Viviano is a product of Fiorentina and Brescia youth ...

), with an obligation to purchase outright for €6 million. Silvestre was issued shirt number 6. Silvestre made his ''Nerazzurri'' debut in the third qualifying round of the

2012–13 UEFA Europa League The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Amsterdam Aren ...

against

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

, a 3–0 away win. On 28 April 2013, in Inter's 1–0 defeat to Palermo, Silvestre incurred an injury to his right thigh, prematurely ending his season, making 20 total appearances.

Loans to Milan and Sampdoria

On 30 July 2013, Silvestre was loaned for one year to Inter's rivals

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

for €1 million, with an option to purchase him outright at end of the loan for €4 million. Silvestre chose to wear shirt number 26. He made his ''Rossoneri'' debut on 19 October in the 1–0 home victory against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

, and in the next round, a 3–2 defeat away to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, he scored his first goal with Milan. After four appearances and one goal with Milan, he returned to Inter as Milan declined to exercise its option to purchase Silvestre. On 29 August 2014, Silvestre joined

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

on loan from Inter. He chose the number 26 shirt he previously wore at Milan. Two days later, he made his ''Blucerchiato'' debut after appearing as a substitute for

Gianluca Sansone Gianluca Sansone (born 12 May 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Serie D club Casertana. Career Born in Potenza, Basilicata, , Sansone started his career with Eccellenza Abruzzo side Montorio, located in Montorio al Vomano ...

in the 1–1 away draw with former club Palermo. Silvestre made 30 appearances for Sampdoria and became

unattached In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the 2014–15 season following the expiration of his contract with Inter.

Sampdoria

On 9 July 2015, following his release from Inter, Silvestre returned to Sampdoria, signing a two-year contract.

Empoli

On 6 August 2018, Silvestre signed with

club

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

a 1-year contract.

Livorno

On 6 February 2020, he joined

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, 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 ...

club

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

Mouscron

On 20 July 2020, he moved to Belgium and signed with

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropoli ...

Entella

On 2 September 2021, he returned to Italy and signed with

Entella Éntella (Greek language, Greek: ), was an ancient city in the interior of Sicily, situated on the left bank of the river Hypsas (modern Belice), and nearly midway between the two seas, being about 40 km from the mouth of the Hypsas, and ...

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;

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 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

: 2004, 2005 *

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 ...

: 2005, 2006 *

Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: 2003 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura

References

External links

* *
Argentine Primera statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestre, Matias 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province Argentine footballers Association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Boca Juniors footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Catania S.S.D. players Palermo F.C. players Inter Milan players A.C. Milan players U.C. Sampdoria players Empoli F.C. players U.S. Livorno 1915 players Virtus Entella players Belgian First Division A players Royal Excel Mouscron players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Belgium Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Belgium