Walter Alejandro Gargano Guevara (; born 23 July 1984) is a Uruguayan

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 plays as a

defensive 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 boundari ...

for River Plate.

Club career

Youth career

Gargano started playing football aged three and joined the now defunct youth club Centella in Paysandú. In the youth club, he was in the midfield position. While in the youth, Gargano played against his future club Danubio, where he was soon discovered by the club and joined them.

Danubio

Gargano started his professional career with Danubio in 2003 and made his league debut aged 19. He won two national titles with Danubio ( 2004 (which was his first season winning it) and 2006–07). He made 102 appearances and scored three times and was a regular player in the first team.

Napoli

On 30 June 2007, Gargano agreed a transfer from Uruguayan club Danubio to newly promoted

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 ...

for a fee of £2m signing a five-year contract. He made his first appearance for the club in a 4–0 win over

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

and made his

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 ...

debut on 26 August 2007 against Cagliari. On 20 October 2007, he scored his first goal in a 4–4 draw against Roma and netted the following week, in a 3–1 win over Juventus. In his first season, he made 34 appearances scoring twice. Also during his first season, Gargano received two sending offs, a second bookable offence in a 5–2 loss against

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 ...

on 13 January 2008 and three months on, a straight red card in a 2–1 win over

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

on 20 April 2008. The following season, Gargano made his UEFA Cup debut in a 3–2 win over Benfica in the first round. However, in the second leg, Benfica would win 2–0, eliminating Napoli. On 29 September 2008, he provided a winning goal for

Germán Denis Germán Gustavo Denis (born 10 September 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie D club Real Calepina. Career Denis began his career in 1997 playing for his local team Talleres de Remedios de Esc ...

, scoring the only goal in the game against

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

. In the mid second season, he suffered a fractured foot during training in March 2009 and was sidelined for two months. He recovered in time to feature in the last two games of the Serie A season, against Catania and

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 ...

. In January 2010, Gargano renewed his contract with Napoli until 2015. He made his 100th appearance for the club in a 3–1 loss against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

on 13 March 2010. The following season, he played all six matches in Napoli's

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 ...

campaign as the club advanced to the knockout stage, only to be eliminated by

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. He continued to establish himself in the first team, playing as a defensive midfielder. The following season, Gargano was linked with a move while the arrival of

Gökhan Inler Gökhan İnler (born 27 June 1984) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Adana Demirspor. İnler began his professional career with FC Basel and later joined FC Aarau and FC Zürich, winning the Swiss Sup ...

from

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 ...

threatened his first-team place. Eventually, he remained at the club. Having placed third in the league the previous, the club entered the Champions League. He made his debut in the Champions League in a 1–1 draw against Manchester City and played all seven matches, with Napoli progressing through the knockout stage before being eliminated by

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Gargano was involved in the squad assisting a goal for

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 ...

, who scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over defending champions Milan. On 21 December 2011, he scored his first goal in a 6–1 win against

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, ending his four-year goal drought. Three months later, on 9 March 2012, he scored his second of the season in a 6–3 win over Cagliari. At the end of the season, Napoli won the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

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 con ...

in a 2–0 win over Juventus in which Gargano did not feature after picking up his second yellow card in the semi-final match against

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 centur ...

Internazionale

Gargano signed for

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 t ...

on 23 August 2012 on loan for €1.25m with an option to make the move permanent for €8.25m. Three days after his move, he made his debut in the opening game of the season in a 3–0 win over

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

Monterrey

In the summer of 2015 Gargano signed for Mexican club Monterrey after eight years in Italian football joining the club alongside Argentine striker

Rogelio Funes Mori Rogelio Gabriel Funes Mori (born 5 March 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club Monterrey. Born in Argentina, he represents the Mexico national team. He began his career at River Plate before transferring ...

. He played at the inauguration of the

BBVA Bancomer Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present ...

stadium which is the new home stadium for Monterrey. He currently plays in the midfield alongside club veteran Luis Perez.

International career

Gargano represented his nation at the 2007 Copa América, where they finished in fourth place. He was included in the Uruguayan squad for the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, where he came on as a substitute on several occasions, as Uruguay finished fourth in the tournament. In 2011, he was part of the Copa América winning Uruguay squad, and scored in the penalty shoot-out victory against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the quarter-finals. He also took part at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where Uruguay finished fourth; in the bronze medal match against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, following a 2–2 draw after extra-time, he missed the decisive penalty in his nation's 3–2 shoot-out defeat. He later took part at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Walter is married to former Napoli teammate

Marek Hamšík Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. He formerly captained the Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 20 ...

's sister, Michaela who is Slovak. Together, the couple have three children: Matias, born on 7 May 2010, Thiago, born on 7 April 2012, and Leo, born on 27 November 2017.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source:

Honours

Napoli *

: 2011–12 * Supercoppa Italiana:

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 ...

Peñarol *

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional football league in Uru ...

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 Unit ...

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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

* Supercopa Uruguaya:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Uruguay * Copa América: 2011

References

External links

Player profile
on Peñarol's official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gargano, Walter 1984 births Living people Uruguayan people of Italian descent Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Uruguayan men's footballers Danubio F.C. players SSC Napoli players Inter Milan players Parma Calcio 1913 players C.F. Monterrey players Peñarol players Uruguay men's international footballers 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players Uruguayan Primera División players Serie A players Liga MX players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Men's association football midfielders 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players Footballers from Paysandú