Walter Adrián Samuel (; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine former
professional footballer
Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professi ...
. Samuel has been regarded as one of the best
centre-backs of his generation,
and as one of football's toughest defenders,
with former international teammate and Inter captain
Javier Zanetti referring to him as the "hardest player" he has played with.
Samuel began his club career with domestic club
Newell's Old Boys
Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football.
A ...
in 1996, later moving to
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 ...
the following year. This was soon followed by a move to Europe in 2000, and spells with Italian club
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, and Spanish club
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 ...
. In 2005, he returned to Italy, joining
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...
, where he remained for nine seasons, winning five consecutive
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 ...
titles; he played a key role in the club's treble success in the
2009–10 season, partnering with
Lúcio
Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978), commonly known as Lúcio, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A tall and physically strong defender who excelled in the air, Lúcio was known for his long, sur ...
in defence under
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
. At an international level, he has accumulated over 50 caps for the
Argentina national team, representing his country at two
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 ...
s, the
1999 Copa América, and the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won a runners-up medal.
Early life and personal life
He was born Walter Lujan, and made his professional debut for Newell’s and played the World Youth Cup under that name. He later took the last name of his stepfather, Oscar Samuel. He has two sisters.
Samuel is married to Cecilia. They have two sons and a daughter.
Club career
Early career
Samuel started playing professionally in 1996 in Argentina for
Newell's Old Boys
Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football.
A ...
, and a year later moved to
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 played 103 matches and scored five goals in all competitions until 2000. In that year,
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
bought his contract for 40.265 billion Italian lire (about €20 million). He gained fame as one of the best defenders in the Italian league and gained a nickname to match, winning the Serie A title with Roma in
2001.
His quality attracted interest from Spanish team
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 ...
.
Real Madrid paid €25 million for his transfer in 2004. Samuel failed to make an impact at Madrid. He was one of the three non-EU players of the team, along with
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
and
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his care ...
; they all obtained Spanish passports, however, in 2005.
Internazionale
In August 2005, he returned to 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 ...
with a transfer to
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 a four-year contract for reported €16 million fee. He began his Inter adventure by winning the
2005 Supercoppa Italiana versus
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 ...
, entering in 63rd minute as ''Nerazzurri'' won at extra-time thanks to the winner of
Verón. Later on 13 September, he made his league debut for his new side on 21 September by starting in the 1–0 away win over
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 ...
. On 24 November, during a Champions League
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...
match against
Petržalka
Petržalka (; german: Engerau / Audorf; hu, Pozsonyligetfalu) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 ...
, Samuel played in a line-up of 11 foreign players on the pitch, with
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-ti ...
being the only
europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an. He finished his first season at Inter by making 42 appearances in all competitions, with the team winning the championship following the relegation of Juventus due to match-fixing, and
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 ...
by defeating
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
4–2 on aggregate, with Samuel playing on both finals, thus completing an unforeseen domestic treble.
In the
Derby della Madonnina
The Derby della Madonnina, also known as the Derby di Milano (Milan Derby, in English), is a derby football match between the two prominent Milanese clubs, Internazionale and A.C. Milan. It is called ''Derby della Madonnina'' in honour of one of ...
on 23 December 2007, Samuel hurt himself whilst marking the Brazilian international
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...
, and a couple weeks later, he had reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. He was expected to be out until the end of the
2007–08 season. In actuality, he started training with the first team again in October of the
2008–09 season and promptly earned a first team place back under manager
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
. He played his first match in more than nine months on 9 November by starting in the 1–0 home win over
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 ...
.
Samuel was one of the most important players under Mourinho in the
2009–10 season, partnering
Lúcio
Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978), commonly known as Lúcio, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A tall and physically strong defender who excelled in the air, Lúcio was known for his long, sur ...
in defence as they won the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia, and the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, completing a historic treble. He scored his first goal of the season on 20 October in the third Champions League
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...
match versus
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
which prevented Inter from losing;
he headed home a
Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch retired professional footballer. Due to his elite playmaking ability, Sneijder was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime.
A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he st ...
cross to make it 2–2. This draw extended Inter winless run in the UEFA Champions League to eight matches.
Later on 9 January, Samuel scored a last-minute winner in the 4–3 win versus
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 ...
by beating goalkeeper
Gianluca Curci
Gianluca Curci (; born 12 July 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper, most recently for Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
Curci has previously played for Roma, Siena, Sampdoria, Bologna, 1. FSV Mainz 05 ...
with a left-footed shot. His goal later resulted decisive as Inter won the title two points ahead of Roma. He played his 100th Serie A game for Inter later on 24 April in the 3–1 win over
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, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
. Samuel finished the season by making 42 appearances and scoring 4 goals; he was praised for his defensive performances against
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and
Bayern Munich on Inter's road to the Champions League title.
Samuel suffered a severe knee injury - a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, this time on his other knee - on 7 November 2010 fixture against
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
. This forced him to miss the
2010 FIFA Club World Cup triumph in
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. He returned in action on 15 May of the following year by entering in the last minutes of a 1–1 away draw versus
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 ...
. After the match Samuel expressed his delighting for playing his first match in almost six months, stating: "I'm feeling good and I'm delighted at having been able to play the last few minutes of this match. I would like to thank the medical staff for the work they did after my injury, my family who has always stood by me, and all the fans." He finished the
2010–11 season by making 15 appearances in all competitions.
On 5 February 2012, Samuel played his 500th match as a professional in the 4–0 defeat at
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
. At the end of the season, he signed a new one-year contract with the club, lengthening his Inter career up to eight seasons. Later on 7 October, he scored inside three minutes in the
derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
versus
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 ...
which resulted the winning goal, meaning that Samuel has won all 10 derbies that he has played. In June 2013, Samuel extended his contract for another
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, in what would be his final season. He scored his first goal of the season on 9 February 2014, a header which resulted the winner in the match against
Sassuolo
Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...
for the first win of 2014.
Samuel wore the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
armband for the first time on 15 February 2014 in the 2–1 win at
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 ...
due to
Javier Zanetti and
Esteban Cambiasso
Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (; born 18 August 1980), nicknamed ''"Cuchu"'', is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority of which were won dur ...
being on bench. His final goal for the club came in the 4–0 win at
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, ...
in April 2014. Samuel left the club at the end of
2013–14 season, having made 236 appearances and winning 13 trophies in nine years. His last appearance for the club occurred on 10 May 2014 in the 4–1 home win over
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
which gave the team a spot in
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 ...
next season.
Basel
After nine seasons with Inter, on 23 July 2014, Samuel signed a one-year contract with
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
in the
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
.
He joined the team for their
2014–15 season under head coach
Paulo Sousa
Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his countr ...
. After playing in one test game Samuel played his debut for his new club in the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
away game on 23 August 2014 as Basel won 4–0 against CS Italien (
GE).
He played his
domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the
St. Jakob-Park
St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...
on 31 August as Basel won 3–1 against
Young Boys.
Basel entered the
Champions League in the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...
. They reached the
knockout phase
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
on 9 December 2014, as they managed a 1–1 draw at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
But they were knocked out of the competition by
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
in the
round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. Samuel scored his first goal for his club in the last match of that season on 25 May 2015. It was a home game in the
St. Jakob-Park
St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...
and Basel won 4–3 against
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
.
At the end of the
2014–15 season, Basel won the championship for the sixth time in a row.
In the
2014–15 Swiss Cup
The 2014–15 Swiss Cup was the 90th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition started on 23 August 2014 with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 7 June 2015 with the Final, won by Sion. As winners of the compe ...
Basel reached the final. However for the third time in a row they finished as runners-up. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under manager
Paulo Sousa
Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his countr ...
, Samuel totaled 26 appearances, 13 League, 1 Cup, 4 Champions League, as well 8 in test games. He scored 2 goals in these matches.
In June 2015, Samuel prolonged his contract with Basel for another year.
However, on 16 October he communicated his intention to retire at the end of the 2015–16 season, due to physical difficulties. He made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance playing in the closing match of the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage during the 1–0 away win in the
INEA Stadion against
Lech Poznań
Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...
on 10 December 2015.
Samuel played the final match of his career in a 1–0 home defeat against
Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshop ...
, on 25 May 2016, at the age of 38.
At the end of the
2015–16 Super League season, under new head coach
Urs Fischer
Urs Fischer (born 2 May 1973) is a Swiss-born contemporary visual artist living in New York City. Fischer’s practice includes sculpture, installation and photography.
Education and early career
Born to two doctors as the second of two children ...
, Samuel won the championship for the second time.
During his two seasons with the club, Saluel played a total of 61 games for Basel scoring a total of four goals. 21 of these games were in the
Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
, five in the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
, 11 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 16 were friendly games. He scored two goals in the domestic league, one in the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League
The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...
against
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
and the other was scored during the test games.
International career
Samuel was part of
Argentina U20
The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA-sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level.
Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the competition a record ...
which emerged victorious in the
1997 edition of
FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
. He made his debut in the tournament in the opening
Group E match versus
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
which was won 3–0, and went on to play in the remaining two matches as Argentina topped their group.
Samuel has played 56 matches for
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 ...
between 1999 and 2010, scoring five goals. He played for his country in the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
and the
2010 FIFA 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 ...
,
as well as in the
1999 Copa América, and in the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup,
[ in which Argentina won a runners-up medal.
]
Style of play
Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation,[ Samuel was a large, quick, powerful, and aggressive centreback, who excelled in the air, both defensively, and as a goal threat on set pieces. His defensive skills, which included an excellent positional sense, an ability to read the game, as well as tough, tight marking, and hard tackling, made him extremely effective at anticipating opponents. His strong, consistent, and uncompromising style of play earned him the nickname ''Il Muro'' ("The Wall").] Despite his ability as a defender, his career was also marked by several injuries that affected his fitness.
After football
In August 2019, Samuel enrolled in the UEFA Pro Licence
UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...
courses at Coverciano.
He is the assistant coach for 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 ...
and has held the position since 2019.
He was recently part of the Argentina managerial team who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
Career statistics
Club
.
International
Source:
:''Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Samuel goal.''
Honours
Boca Juniors
* Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura
* 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 ...
: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
Roma[
* ]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 ...
: 2000–01
* Supercoppa Italiana: 2001
Internazionale
* Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
* 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 ...
: 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11
* Supercoppa Italiana: 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, 2008, 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 ...
* UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 2009–10
FC Basel[
* ]Swiss Super League
The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
: 2014–15, 2015–16
Argentina U20
* FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
: 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
Argentina[
* ]FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
runner-up: 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Individual
*South American Team of the Year: 1999
* ESM Team of the Year
The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.
Members
European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
: 2001–02, 2003–04
* Serie A Defender of the Year
The AIC Serie A Defender of the Year ( it, Migliore difensore AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) from 2000 to 2010 as part of the Oscar del Calcio awards event, given to the defender who was consider ...
: 2010
* FIFA FIFPro World XI Nominee 2005, 2009, 2010
References
External links
Profile on the Swiss Football League homepage
*
Samuel's profile at footballdatabase.com
Guardian statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Walter
1978 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina
Argentine footballers
Association football central defenders
Newell's Old Boys footballers
Boca Juniors footballers
A.S. Roma players
Real Madrid CF players
Inter Milan players
FC Basel players
Argentine Primera División players
Serie A players
La Liga players
Swiss Super League players
UEFA Champions League winning players
Argentina youth international footballers
Argentina under-20 international footballers
Argentina international footballers
1999 Copa América players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
Argentine expatriate footballers
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
Argentine emigrants to Spain
Naturalised citizens of Spain