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Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of UAE Pro League club
Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...
. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At international level, he scored 35 goals and is Argentina's fourth highest goalscorer behind only Sergio Agüero,
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, A ...
and
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
. He played in three
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
s:
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. At club level, Crespo was the world's most expensive player when he was bought by
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
from
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
in 2000 for €56 million (£35.5 million)."The history of the world transfer record"
BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2014
He was top scorer in the 2000–01 Serie A with 26 goals, playing for Lazio. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. Crespo's awards include three Serie A '' scudetti'', a
Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
, a
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
title and an
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
silver medal. In 2004, he was named by
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
in the
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...
list of the world's greatest living players. Crespo never received a red card during his career.


Club career


River Plate

Crespo made his debut with River Plate during the 1993–94 season, scoring 13 goals in 25 league appearances as River Plate won the Apertura league title. In 1996, he helped River win the
Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
, scoring twice in the home leg of the final in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
.


Parma

Crespo left River Plate for
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
on 14 August 1996 after he won the
silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
with Argentina at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
and finished as the top scorer with six goals. He failed to score in his first six months at the club and was routinely booed, with head coach
Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...
coming in for much criticism for keeping faith with the selection of Crespo. His faith, however, vindicated – Crespo went on to score 12 times in 27 matches in his first Serie A season and Parma finished runners-up to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. The turning point was the standing applause he received for his brace against
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
in March 1997. Parma won the 1998–99 Coppa Italia and he scored the opening goal in Parma's 3–0
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
victory over
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
. He had scored 80 goals in four seasons.


Lazio

In 2000,
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
broke the then-world transfer record by paying £35 million (they paid £16 million in cash and transferred Matías Almeyda and Sérgio Conceição) to acquire Crespo, who in turn finished as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals. Lazio, however, failed to defend its league title in 2001, and the following season, Crespo suffered from some injuries, while new signing Gaizka Mendieta failed to live up reputations, following the departures of playmakers Juan Sebastián Verón and
Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Czech players of all time and he won numerous trophies with Italian cl ...
. Crespo was left without the attacking support he had enjoyed in 2001, but still scored a respectable haul of goals. Lazio's financial problems, however, forced the club to sell several players, and following Alessandro Nesta's transfer to
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
, speculation over Crespo's future intensified.


Inter Milan

On 31 August 2002, Crespo signed with
Inter Milan 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 Association football, football List of football ...
as a replacement for the departed Ronaldo for a €26 million fee and
Bernardo Corradi Bernardo Corradi (; born 30 March 1976) is an Italian former association football, football coach and former player. A forward (association football), forward, he played top-division football for several teams in Italy, Spain, and England, and ...
. Lazio later re-valued Corradi to €5.5 million. Crespo was expected to shine again after suffering from injuries the last season at Lazio, and would be united with
Christian Vieri Christian Vieri (; born 12 July 1973), commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning ...
, while
Mohamed Kallon Mohamed Kallon Order of the Rokel, MOR (born 6 October 1979) is a Sierra Leonean association football, football manager and former player who is the manager of the Sierra Leone national football team. He was a striker and played for Inter Milan f ...
and Álvaro Recoba. After a positive start to the season that saw Inter briefly leading Serie A, a series of injuries would end up consistently depriving the club of their two main strikers, with Crespo missing almost 3 months of the season between January and April. Crespo ultimately scored 7 goals in 18 Serie A appearances as Inter finished 2nd, along with 9 goals in 12 Champions League matches as the team reached the Semi Finals. Crespo was allowed to leave at the end of the season to join Chelsea who were looking for a proven European goalscorer. The move linked him back up with former Lazio colleague Juan Sebastian Veron.


Chelsea

Crespo was transferred to
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club Chelsea on 26 August 2003 for a fee of reported £16.8 million which also created a controversy in alleged false accounting. Following the transfer, Christian Vieri, Crespo's former strike partner at Inter, claimed that the club are essentially "weakening" by selling players of such caliber. He made his league debut on 30 August 2003 as a substitute for Adrian Mutu in a 2–2 home draw against Blackburn Rovers. On 16 September 2003, Crespo made his European debut, replacing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the 2003–04 Champions League group stage, which ended in a 1–0 away win after a late goal from William Gallas against Sparta Prague. Four days later, he scored his first goals, a double, in a 5–0 away victory against
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
. Crespo made 73 appearances (26 as a substitute) in all competitions, scoring 25 goals.


Loan to AC Milan

After
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
took over as Chelsea manager for the 2004–05 season, Crespo became surplus to Chelsea's plans following the arrival of
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
and was loaned to AC Milan, as requested by then-manager
Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...
. He scored a total of ten league goals, and scored twice in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final in a defeat to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. In scoring a Champions League goal with Milan, Crespo became the first player to score with five teams in the competition, doing so with each of the sides he had played for since moving from South America to Europe in 1996.


Return to Chelsea

After Chelsea's failed attempts to land a big-name striker during the summer of 2005, Mourinho needed competition for Didier Drogba and decided to recall Crespo from Milan, convincing him that he had a future in England. Crespo made his first return appearance in a 2–1
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...
win over
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. He scored his first league goal of 2005 against newly promoted
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
in the 93rd minute of Chelsea's season opener in a 1–0 win, with a left foot curler into the top corner from 25 yards. The 2005–06 league title was Crespo's first league title victory in European football.


Return to Inter Milan


Second spell; loan from 2006 to 2008

Though he scored 13 goals in all competitions and won the 2005–06 Premier League, Crespo requested a return to Italy in order to rejoin Milan, but Chelsea refused and announced that Crespo would remain a Chelsea player until the club accepted a suitable offer for him. On 7 August 2006, Crespo re-joined Inter on a two-year loan. He scored his 125th Serie A goal against
Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
on 2 December 2006, and his 200th career goal in Europe on 2 April 2007. On 13 May, Crespo scored a hat-trick to help Inter defeat Lazio 4–3 and win the ''
Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...
.''


Third spell; permanent deal

Crespo was released from Chelsea on 3 July 2008, following the expiration of his contract,Crespo No Longer a Blue – chelseafc.com
/ref> and was signed by Inter on a one-year contract for free. In the 2008–09 season, under José Mourinho, his former manager at Chelsea, Crespo only made 13
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
appearances, including two starts. He was excluded from the Champions League squad.


Genoa

Following the expiration of his contract at Inter, Crespo was quickly snapped up by
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, taking Diego Milito's place, who moved in the opposite direction. On 8 June 2009, it was reported that Crespo had a medical check to formalize his transfer. Crespo cited his ambition to make the Argentina 2010 World Cup squad as one of his key reasons for making the move to Genoa. On 13 September, Crespo scored his first goal of the 2009 season against Napoli.


Return to Parma and retirement

In January 2010, Crespo returned to Parma after the club agreed the deal with
Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
and Genoa. Crespo replaced Nicola Amoruso who left for Atalanta, while Atalanta's Robert Acquafresca moved to Genoa to replace Crespo. The Argentine striker returned after ten years to Parma. Crespo scored just once before the season's end, against
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
. The striker enjoyed a more successful 2010–11 season, scoring eleven goals. In doing so, he became Parma's top scorer for a fourth time, which remains a post-war club record. Despite mounting speculation of his departure, Crespo signed a one-year contract extension on 30 June 2011. However, a lack of first-team opportunities saw Crespo and Parma mutually agree to terminate his contract on 2 February 2012, although he did vow to return to the city he had fallen in love with. He is the club's all-time record goalscorer with 94 goals in 201 appearances. Although Crespo was signed to play in Bengal Premier League Soccer in late January 2012, with a salary of £533,000 for the two-month tournament, the competition never got underway. He clarified that his career as a footballer had finished in November 2012.


International career

Crespo won his first cap for
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in a friendly match against
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in February 1995. He was a member of the Argentina side that finished runners-up in the 1995 King Fahd Cup, the predecessor to the
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, CONMEBO ...
. In 1996, Crespo was a member of the Argentina men's football squad for the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. Crespo helped take Argentina to the final with braces against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the quarter-final and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
in the semi-final. However, Argentina lost the final to
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, despite Crespo scoring his sixth goal of the tournament from the penalty spot. Crespo scored his first goal for the Argentina senior team in a 1998 World Cup qualifier against
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and hit 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 Wick ...
against
FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
in a pre-World Cup friendly. Crespo was called up to the final roster for the 1998 World Cup but only made one substitute appearance, as
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, A ...
led the Argentine attack. Crespo's attempt was saved by
David Seaman David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country ...
in the second round
penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
with
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, but Argentina progressed 4–3. During
qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the 2002 World Cup, Crespo was top scorer for Argentina with nine goals as they topped the
South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
group. During the finals, Batistuta was again preferred to Crespo as Argentina's starting centre forward. Crespo appeared as a substitute in all three group matches, including the final match against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which Argentina needed to win in order to qualify for the second round. Though Crespo scored an 88th-minute equaliser, it was not to be enough and Argentina were eliminated. After the 2002 World Cup, Batistuta retired from international football, and Crespo took over as Argentina's number 9. During the 2006 World Cup
qualifying stage Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
, Crespo scored seven times, including two goals in Argentina's 3–1 win over arch-rivals
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in Buenos Aires, which sealed qualification and made him Argentina's career scoring leader in World Cup qualifiers. Crespo scored Argentina's first goal of the 2006 World Cup in their opening match against the
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
. He also scored in the next game against
Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
(6–0) and the second round match against
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. However, Argentina's run was ended as they were knocked out by host nation
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
on penalties in the quarter-final. Crespo's final appearances for Argentina came at 2007 Copa América. He scored twice in Argentina's 4–1 victory over the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in their
Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
opener, tying
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
's team scoring record. He then overtook Maradona in Argentina's second match, scoring a penalty kick against Colombia national football team, Colombia. However, he substituted immediately after converting the kick due to injury and missed the remainder of the tournament. After the Copa América, Crespo did not receive any further call-ups to the national team and ended his international career with 35 goals in 64 matches, being currently Argentina's fourth highest goalscorer of all time.


Style of play

Crespo was a fast, tenacious, powerful, and complete striker, who possessed good technique, composure in possession, and an eye for goal; he also excelled in the air. A prolific and opportunistic goal scorer, he was capable of finishing well both with his feet and with his head, and was known for his ability to score acrobatic goals. He was effective off the ball due to his work-rate, tactical intelligence, and attacking movement, which he often used to provide depth for his team or create space for his teammates; he was also capable of linking up well with other forwards. Due to his goalscoring ability and wide range of skills, he is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and as one of Serie A's best ever foreign players. He faced several injuries throughout his career, which limited his playing time.


Nicknames

While commonly known as Hernán, Crespo was christened Hernando Jorge Crespo, after his grandfather of the same name. His most common nickname is "''Valdanito''", after legendary compatriot striker Jorge Valdano, as he was thought to be his heir due to their similar appearance and eye for goal. He is also, although less often, called "''El Polaco''" (or "The Pole"), as his family addressed him that way in his youth because of his light hair.


Media

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


Post-playing and managerial career


Coach: Parma and Modena

On 12 November 2012, Crespo announced that he would pursue a career in coaching and would begin work in early July 2013. He served as youth coach for the Primavera team of Parma Calcio 1913, Parma during the 2014–15 Parma FC season, 2014–15 season. After the disbandment of Parma, on 30 June 2015, Crespo was announced as the new manager of Serie B club Modena FC, Modena. He was sacked on 26 March 2016, with the club one point above the relegation zone.


Back to Parma

On 22 June 2017, Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang bought 60% of the stocks of Parma, and assigned Crespo as the new vice president of the club. He worked for Jiang's company Desport as a technical adviser beforehand. On 2 January 2018, with the club opting to remove the figure of vice-president from its board, Crespo was named new club ambassador.


Banfield

On 19 December 2018, Crespo was appointed manager of Argentine Primera División side Club Atlético Banfield, Banfield, on an 18-month deal. After finishing 16th in his first season, he was sacked five games into the next in September 2019, having won just one of those games.


Defensa y Justicia

On 25 January 2020, Crespo was appointed manager of Defensa y Justicia, also in the Argentine top tier. On 23 January 2021, he led Defensa y Justicia to their first international trophy by winning the Copa Sudamericana, after defeating Club Atlético Lanús, Lanús by 3–0.


São Paulo

On 12 February 2021, Crespo was appointed manager of Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A club São Paulo FC, São Paulo on a two-year deal. He made his debut 16 days later on the first day of the Campeonato Paulista, in a 1–1 home draw with Botafogo-SP, Botafogo. He won the title on 23 May, after a 2–0 aggregate victory over Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras; this was the club's first honour in nine years, and the first in the competition since 2005 Campeonato Paulista, 2005. On 13 October 2021, Crespo left São Paulo by a mutual agreement. The club were 13th in the national league after 25 games, and he was replaced by team icon Rogério Ceni.


Al-Duhail

On 24 March 2022, Crespo succeeded Luís Castro (footballer, born 1961), Luís Castro at Al-Duhail SC, Al-Duhail in the Qatar Stars League. In his first season, he won a Treble (association football), treble of the league, Qatar Cup and Qatari Stars Cup, while also reaching the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. On 11 October 2023, he left his position at the club by mutual consent.


Al Ain

After leaving Al-Duhail Crespo was signed by Al Ain in November 2023. He then led the team to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League, Asian Champions League final, where they beat Yokohama F. Marinos. In the 2024–25 season following some bad results, including a 5–1 defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr FC, Al Nassr, the club decided to dismiss him.


Personal life

In May 2005, Crespo married Italian Equestrianism, equestrian Alessia Andra Rossi, with whom he has three children.


Literature

* ''Il bulgaro che fu re di Parma per un giorno'' (''The Bulgarian who was king of Parma for a day''), by Luca Farinotti, Parma, Diabasis, 2019, Anthology Parma The Capital of Culture 2020. ISBN 978-8881039487, is the novel of the true story of Crespo's farewell football match. The tale's title comes from the winning assist by the Bulgarian Valeri Bojinov to Crespo at the last second.


Career statistics


Club


International

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


Managerial statistics


Honours


Player

River Plate *Argentine Primera División: 1993–94 Argentine Primera División, 1993 (Apertura), 1994–95 Argentine Primera División, 1994 (Apertura) *
Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
: 1996 Copa Libertadores Finals, 1996 Parma *Coppa Italia: 1998–99 Coppa Italia, 1998–99 *Supercoppa Italiana: 1999 Supercoppa Italiana, 1999 *
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: 1998–99 UEFA Cup, 1998–99 Lazio *Supercoppa Italiana: 2000 Supercoppa Italiana, 2000 AC Milan *Supercoppa Italiana: 2004 Supercoppa Italiana, 2004 *UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2005 UEFA Champions League final, 2004-05 Chelsea *
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
: 2005–06 FA Premier League, 2005–06 *FA Community Shield: 2005 FA Community Shield, 2005 Inter Milan *Serie A: 2006–07 Serie A, 2006–07, 2007–08 Serie A, 2007–08, 2008–09 Serie A, 2008–09 *Supercoppa Italiana: 2006 Supercoppa Italiana, 2006, 2008 Supercoppa Italiana, 2008 *Coppa Italia runner-up: 2006–07 Coppa Italia, 2006-07, 2007–08 Coppa Italia, 2007-08 Argentina *Pan American Games Gold Medal: Football at the 1995 Pan American Games, 1995 *Summer Olympic Games, Olympic Games Silver Medal: Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 Individual *List of Argentine Primera División top scorers, Argentine Primera División top scorer: 1993–94 Argentine Primera División, 1993–94 *Football at the Summer Olympics Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament#Top scorers, top scorer: Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, 1996 (shared) *UEFA Cup Final Man of the Match: 1999 UEFA Cup Final, 1999 *Coppa Italia top scorer: 1998–99 Coppa Italia, 1998–99, 2006–07 Coppa Italia, 2006–07 (shared) *Capocannoniere, Serie A top scorer: 2000–01 Serie A, 2000–01 *European Sports Media#ESM Team of the Year, ESM Team of the Year: European Sports Media#2000–01, 2000–01 *
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...
*
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
2006 FIFA World Cup#Statistics, Silver Shoe:
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
*
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
2006 FIFA World Cup#All-star team, All-star team:
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
*FIFPro, FIFPro World XI nominee: 2005, 2006


Manager

Defensa y Justicia * Copa Sudamericana: 2020 Copa Sudamericana, 2020 São Paulo * Campeonato Paulista: 2021 Campeonato Paulista, 2021 Al-Duhail * Qatar Stars League: 2022–23 Qatar Stars League, 2022–23 * Qatari Stars Cup: 2022–23 Qatari Stars Cup, 2022–23 * Qatar Cup: 2023 Qatar Cup, 2023 Al Ain * AFC Champions League: 2023-24 AFC Champions League, 2023–24 Individual *List of Copa Sudamericana winning managers, Copa Sudamericana Manager of the Year: 2020 Copa Sudamericana, 2020 *Campeonato Paulista Manager of the Year: 2021 Campeonato Paulista, 2021


Notes


References


External links

* * * *
Profile
at La Gazzetta dello Sport 2009–10
Profile
at BBC {{DEFAULTSORT:Crespo, Hernan 1975 births Living people Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Footballers from Vicente López Partido Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Atlético River Plate footballers Parma Calcio 1913 players SS Lazio players Inter Milan players Chelsea F.C. players AC Milan players Genoa CFC players Argentine Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Serie A players Premier League players UEFA Europa League–winning players Olympic footballers for Argentina Argentina men's international footballers 1995 King Fahd Cup players Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Pan American Games gold medalists in football Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for Argentina FIFA 100 Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Argentine football managers Modena FC 2018 managers Club Atlético Banfield managers Defensa y Justicia managers São Paulo FC managers Al-Duhail SC managers Al Ain FC managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Qatar Copa Libertadores–winning players Copa Sudamericana winning managers 20th-century Argentine sportsmen 21st-century Argentine sportsmen