Javier Saviola
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Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (; born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine former 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 played as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
. He represented both
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
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 ...
, also having notable spells with Benfica and
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
, and was named as the youngest player on
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
's
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
list of the 125 greatest living footballers in 2004. Due to his ancestry he also holds
Spanish nationality Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...
since 2004, and he amassed
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 ...
totals of 196 games and 70 goals over the course of eight seasons; he started and finished his career at River Plate. Saviola won league titles in Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Greece during his playing career, as well as a
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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
. An Argentine international for seven years, he represented his country at 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 ...
and the
2004 Copa América The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in P ...
, where Argentina reached the final. He also won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.


Club career


River Plate

Nicknamed ''El Conejo'' (''The
Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
''),
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
-born Saviola made his debut for
Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez, Buenos Aires, Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city ...
at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club. He helped River to the 1999 ''
Apertura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...
'' and 2000 ''Clausura'' championships, and earned the 1999
South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...
award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect, and was even regarded as a potential
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
to
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 particular after he broke the latter's 1978 record by becoming the youngest player to win the Golden Boot award.


Barcelona

In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
in a £15 million transfer. He obtained
Spanish citizenship Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...
shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
citizens allowed in each team; under coach
Carles Rexach Carles Rexach i Cerdà (; born 13 January 1947) is a Spanish former football winger and manager. His career was mainly associated to Barcelona, spending 44 years at the club as a player (youth levels included) and coach. He formed a successful ...
, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing joint-fourth top scorer in
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 ...
. Saviola's
second year Second year (also known as S2 in Scotland) is the second year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and in the Republic of Ireland, and is roughly equivalent to Year 9 in England and Wales and Year 10 (Third Form) in Northern Ireland. Mos ...
at the
Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...
did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season.
Radomir Antić Radomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Радомир Антић, ; 22 November 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Serbian professional football manager and player. Following a 17-year playing career as a defender, most of which he spent playing at Partizan, wit ...
became the new coach after
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...
was fired, and he went on to net 11 goals in the latter half of the campaign;
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
was subsequently appointed as new manager for 2003–04, and the player scored 14 times in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club as was longtime attacking partner
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gene ...
. Saviola was sent on loan in the summer of 2004, moving to
AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans he was again loaned out the following year, this time to
Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...
who were seeking to replace
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 ...
-bound
Júlio Baptista Júlio César Clemente Pereira Baptista (born 1 October 1981) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or a forward. He is the current manager of Valladolid B. Baptista is nicknamed "The Beast" du ...
; with the
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
ns he won his first title in Europe, conquering the
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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
— he also scored nine times in the league, good enough for fifth. Saviola returned to Barcelona for 2006–07, playing in 18 league games, six as a starter, and netting five goals. He benefited greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably to
Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...
, and added five in as many matches in that season's
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
, notably a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
against
Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...
(3–2 win at home, 5–2 aggregate).


Real Madrid

On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal. Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Real, being mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league 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 ...
. The arrival of
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Dirk Jan Klaas "Klaas-Jan" Huntelaar (; born 12 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Huntelaar played for PSV, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, before joining S ...
limited Saviola's opportunities even more, and he finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.


Benfica

On 26 June 2009,
S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...
and Real Madrid agreed on a
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
5 million deal that would see Saviola play in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. On 16 July, he scored two goals to send his team into the Guadiana Trophy finals after defeating
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
. Saviola netted twice on 22 October 2009, guiding his side to a 5–0 victory over Everton for the
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 ...
(he would also score in their 2–0 win in
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 ...
in the second match), adding another brace four days later in a 6–1 routing of
C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira (), is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, Portug ...
for the
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, ...
. On 6 December 2009, Saviola scored through a chip shot against Académica de Coimbra in a 4–0 home win. On 20 December he netted the game's only goal as Benfica defeated rivals
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
at home; during the victorious campaign, he formed a deadly attacking partnership with Paraguayan
Óscar Cardozo Óscar René Cardozo Marín (; born 20 May 1983) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the Paraguay national team. Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills, he first gained att ...
, with the pair combining for more than 50 goals overall. On 3 January 2010, shortly before receiving the
SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...
award, Saviola scored another winning goal against Nacional, now for the
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 ...
, again being the game's only scorer in an away defeat of
Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...
, netting in the 48th minute. He scored his 19th goal overall in a 3–1 home triumph against
F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...
on 7 March, and the
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
club was eventually crowned league champions


Málaga

In the last hours of the 2012–13 summer
transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
, Saviola agreed on a move to
Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...
. He played 45 minutes in his first appearance, a 1–0 win at
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
on 1 September. On 15 September 2012, Saviola scored once and provided one
assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
in a 3−1 home win against
Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...
. He continued with his streak the following game, Málaga's first-ever in the Champions League group stage, netting in a 3–0 home win over
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in ...
.


Olympiacos

On 25 July 2013, Saviola signed a two-year contract with Greek champions
Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP (' ...
. He scored his first goal in the Superleague on 25 August, coming on at
half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
and helping his team come from behind to win 2–1 at home to
Atromitos F.C. Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, Athens, that plays in the Super League. It was founded in 1923 ...
On 10 December he netted a brace – and also missed a
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
– in a 3–1 success over
R.S.C. Anderlecht ; french: Les Mauves et Blancs) , short name = R.S.C.A. , founded = , ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium , capacity = 22,500 , owntitle = Chairman , owner = Wouter Vandenhaute , manager = Brian Riemer , ...
also at the
Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...
in the group stage's last round, which helped the
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
team finish second and qualify at the expense of former side Benfica.


Verona

On 2 September 2014, Saviola joined
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 ...
club
Hellas Verona FC Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in the 1984–85 se ...
. He made his official debut on 22 September, starting in a 2–2 home draw against Genoa CFC, and scored his first goal on 2 December, netting the only in a home win over
Perugia Calcio Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, or simply Perugia, is a professional football club based in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, that competes in the . Founded in 1905 as Associazione Calcistica Perugia, the club folded in 2005 and were re-founded t ...
for 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 ...
. His sole goal of the league season came on 25 January 2015, the only one in a home victory over Atalanta BC.


Return to River

On 30 June 2015, River Plate announced that Saviola had returned to the club. He left in January of the following year, after failing to find the net in his second spell, and subsequently retired from professional football at the age of 34.


Retirement, coaching, and futsal career

Immediately after retiring, Saviola settled in
Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
with his family and was appointed assistant manager at FC Ordino in the
Primera Divisió The Primera Divisió (First Division) or Lliga Multisegur Assegurances for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of men's football in Andorra. The league was launched in 1995 sponsored by the local federation (Andorran Football Federation) whic ...
. In February 2018, he joined local
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
team
Encamp Encamp () is one of the parishes of Andorra, located on the Valira d'Orient river. It is also the name of the main town in the parish. Other settlements include Vila, El Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, El Tremat, La Mosquera and Les Bons. As of 2004 ...
. In April of that year, he won the principality's futsal league with the side.


International career

upleft, Saviola in the Argentina national team, 2007 Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the
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 ...
, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
won the competition; with 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in the tournament's history. Two years later, Saviola played in the
2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
and won the gold medal. Under coach
Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...
he was given few playing opportunities for the senior team but, after the former's resignation in 2004, new manager
José Pékerman José Néstor Pékerman Krimen (; born 3 September 1949) is an Argentine professional football coach and current manager of the Venezuela national team. As a youth level coach for Argentina, he won the FIFA World Youth Championship three times, ...
, who also worked with him at youth level, turned the tide in the player's favour; he was also a member of the squads that reached final of the
2004 Copa América The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in P ...
and the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners ...
, netting three times in the former tournament and one in the latter. Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at 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 ...
Luciano Figueroa Luciano Gabriel "Lucho" Figueroa Herrera (; born 19 May 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Figueroa was born in Santa Fe. He began his professional career with Primera División club Ro ...
and Luciano Galletti were also in contention for a place on the roster, but his excellent form for Sevilla secured his place in the squad. He scored against Ivory Coast national football team, Ivory Coast in the country's opening game, and made two assists in the 6–0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro national football team, Serbia and Montenegro also in the group phase. Saviola retired from international football on 5 December 2009, although not yet 28. He stated that he felt his career as an Argentina player had come to an end, and that he wanted to concentrate on club football.


Style of play

Saviola was known for his speed, agility, Dribbling#Association football, dribbling and ability to score from almost any attacking position on the field. A diminutive, talented, and prolific forward, with a slender build, he was capable of playing as a Striker (association football), striker, in a more creative role as a Forward (association football)#Second striker, second striker, or even in a Playmaker, playmaking role as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. Throughout his career, Saviola was nicknamed ''El Conejo'' (''The Rabbit'', in Spanish), due to his appearance, and also ''El Pibito'' (''The Little Kid'', in Spanish), a reference to compatriot Diego Maradona, who was nicknamed ''El Pibe de Oro'' (''The Golden Kid'', in Spanish), and to whom Saviola was often compared in his youth.


Media

Saviola was sponsored by sportswear company Nike, Inc., Nike, and appeared in commercials for the brand. In a global advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside footballers such as Luís Figo, Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo and Francesco Totti, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Saviola goal''.


Honours

River Plate *Argentine Primera División: 1999–2000 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura, 1999 Apertura, 1999–2000 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Clausura, 2000 Clausura *Copa Libertadores: 2015 Copa Libertadores, 2015 *Suruga Bank Championship: 2015 Suruga Bank Championship, 2015 *FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, 2015 Sevilla *
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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
: 2005–06 UEFA Cup, 2005–06 Real Madrid *
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 ...
: 2007–08 La Liga, 2007–08 *Supercopa de España: 2008 Supercopa de España, 2008 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, ...
: 2009–10 Primeira Liga, 2009–10 *
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 ...
: 2009–10 Taça da Liga, 2009–10, 2010–11 Taça da Liga, 2010–11, 2011–12 Taça da Liga, 2011–12 *Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, 2010 Olympiacos *Super League Greece: 2013–14 Super League Greece, 2013–14 Argentina *
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 ...
: 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, 2001 *Summer Olympic Games: Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 *Copa América runner-up: 2004 Copa América, 2004 *FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2005 Individual *Argentine Primera División: 1999–2000 Argentine Primera División#Top scorers, 1999 Apertura Top scorer *
South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...
: 1999 *South American Team of the Year: 1999 *Player of the Year of Argentina: 1999 *FIFA World Youth Championship: 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship#Awards, Golden Shoe 2001 *FIFA World Youth Championship: 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship#Awards, Golden Ball 2001 *Trofeo EFE: 2001–02 *
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, ...
: SJPF Player of the Month, Player of the Month December 2009 *Portuguese Golden Ball: 2010 *
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...


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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saviola, Javier 1981 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine footballers Argentine men's futsal players Association football forwards Club Atlético River Plate footballers FC Barcelona players AS Monaco FC players Sevilla FC players UEFA Cup winning players Real Madrid CF players S.L. Benfica footballers Málaga CF players Olympiacos F.C. players Hellas Verona F.C. players FC Encamp players Argentine Primera División players La Liga players Ligue 1 players Primeira Liga players Super League Greece players Serie A players Argentina under-20 international footballers Olympic footballers of Argentina Argentina international footballers 2004 Copa América players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Argentina South American Footballer of the Year winners FIFA 100 Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Andorra Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Andorra Naturalised citizens of Spain