Claudio Matías Kranevitter (; born 21 May 1993) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

club River Plate.

Club career

River Plate

Born in

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (), usually called simply Tucumán, is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentin ...

, Kranevitter started his career at

San Martín de Tucumán Club Atlético San Martín (mostly known as San Martín de Tucumán) is an Argentine sports club founded in 1909 and based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán Province. The club is notable for its football team, which currently plays ...

's youth setup, but left the club at the age of 12 due to his family's poor financial situation. In 2007, aged 14, he joined River Plate after impressing on a trial. After being initially assigned to the reserves, Kranevitter was also a member of the under-20s during its

U-20 Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Under-20 Libertadores ( Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub 20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

winning campaign in 2012. On 2 December of that year he made his first team debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 home win against

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

. Kranevitter was promoted to the main squad by new manager

Ramón Díaz Ramón Ángel Díaz (; born 29 August 1959) is an Argentine Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Díaz notably played for Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate as a Forward (association fo ...

. Initially a backup to

Leonardo Ponzio Leonardo Daniel Ponzio (born 29 January 1982) is an Argentinian former footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Newell's Old Boys in 2000, he went on to spend his professional career with Zaragoza and River ...

and Cristian Ledesma, he appeared in 30 matches during the 2013–14 season, 16 as a starter, overcoming the latter midway through the campaign. In September 2014, already a regular starter, Kranevitter suffered a

metatarsus The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...

injury, being ruled out until the following year. In October, however, he trained with

crutches A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the human leg, legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities. Hi ...

and returned to action in late November, being utilized in both legs of 2014 Copa Sudamericana Finals. The successes continued in 2015, highlighted by winning the

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

and 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 ...

Atlético Madrid

On 25 August 2015,

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

reached an agreement with River for the sale of Kranevitter, for a rumoured fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

8 million. He was officially announced three days later, being immediately loaned back to River until December in order to compete in the Club World Cup. Assigned to the main squad in January 2016, Kranevitter was handed the 8 shirt. He made his debut on 6 January in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 against Rayo Vallecano. He made his league debut on 14 February, coming on as a substitute for goalscorer

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

in a 1–0 away win against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

Sevilla (loan)

On 7 July 2016, Kranevitter was loaned to fellow top-tier club

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

, in a

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long deal.

Zenit

On 8 August 2017, he moved to the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club

FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club p ...

, signing a 4-year contract. He joined his former River Plate teammates

Sebastián Driussi Sebastián Driussi (; born 9 February 1996) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for River Plate. Club career River Plate On 2 December 2013, Driussi made his debut for River Plate as a starter in an ...

and Emanuel Mammana at the club. On 24 January 2020 Zenit confirmed that Kranevitter left the club.

Monterrey

On 26 January 2020, Kranevitter joined

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. He scored his first professional goal on 19 September 2021 in a game against Tigres, helping Monterrey secure a 2–0 victory over their rivals.

Return to River Plate

On 12 December 2022, Kranevitter returned to River Plate, signing a 3-year contract.

International career

Kranevitter represented

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 ...

at under-20 level in

2013 South American Youth Football Championship The 2013 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was an association football competition for national under-20 teams in the South America (CONMEBOL). The tournament was held in Argentina from 9 January to 3 February 2013 and was won by Col ...

. He appeared in three matches, all as a starter, as his side was knocked out in the group stage. On 24 August 2015, Kranevitter was called up to the main squad for two

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

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 ...

as a replacement to injured

Lucas Biglia Lucas Rodrigo Biglia (; born 30 January 1986) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Formerly of Argentinos Juniors and Club Atlético Independiente, Independiente, he spent sev ...

. He made his full international debut on 4 September, starting in a 7–0 routing of the former at the

BBVA Compass Stadium Shell Energy Stadium is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas, that is home to Houston Dynamo FC, a Major League Soccer club and the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League and was the first soccer specific ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Kranevitter was nominated in the

2016 Copa América Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' (20 ...

squad and was part of the Argentine side that ran to the final. He was subbed on in the 57th minute of the final against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, which Chile won 4–2 on penalties.

Style of play

Mainly a

, Kranevitter excels at breaking up play, shielding the defense and dictating the tempo and speed the team plays at. Although not very physical, he is known for his usually clean and well-timed tackles and his good defensive positioning. Kranevitter is often compared to

Javier Mascherano Javier Alejandro Mascherano (; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine Association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive ...

, due to both being River Plate youth graduates and having the same playing style.

Personal life

Kranevitter also played

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

during his youth, and stated that he "would be a golfer if he hadn't chosen football".

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

Honours

River Plate *

: 2014 Final,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Zenit *

: 2018–19, 2019–20 * Russian Cup: 2019–20 Monterrey *

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: 2019–20 *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Argentina *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

runner-up:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Individual *

Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kranevitter, Matias 1993 births Living people Copa Sudamericana–winning players Footballers from San Miguel de Tucumán Argentine people of Volga German descent Argentine men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético River Plate footballers La Liga players Copa Libertadores–winning players Atlético Madrid footballers Sevilla FC players Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's international footballers Copa América Centenario players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Russian Premier League players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Russia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico C.F. Monterrey players Liga MX players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen