Matías Agustín Silvestre (born 25 September 1984) 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 lea ...
who played as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
.
Club career
Boca Juniors
Silvestre began his career with Argentine club
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...
, where he would go on to make his league debut on 23 March 2003 in a 3–1 win over
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 ...
. Silvestre soon was inserted into the Boca Juniors starting line-up and between 2003 and 2007, he went on to make 63 league appearances, scoring six goals. He was used as both a central defender and a right full-back during his spell with the club. Following an impressive 2007 season of the club, Silvestre was transferred to
Catania
Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
in the
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 ...
.
Catania
During the 2008 January transfer window, Silvestre transferred to
Sicilian club Catania on
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
. His first six months at Catania was not so great as he was not part of then-coach
Silvio Baldini
Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958) is an Italian association football manager, currently in charge of club Pescara.
Career Early years
Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 at the a ...
's starting team, making just 11 appearances, just five as a starter. However, his loan was nonetheless made permanent in the summer of 2008 for €2.043 million after
Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa.
He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...
was appointed head coach, following the sacking of Baldini. He soon became an instrumental part of Catania's first team and was a major influence on their fairly successful
2008–09 season as the club avoided relegation for the third consecutive season.
Silvestre continued to shine during his third season in Sicily as the defender went on to make more appearances than any of his teammates during the
2009–10 campaign. He formed a solid defensive line-up with the likes of
Pablo Álvarez,
Nicolás Spolli,
Christian Terlizzi and
Ciro Capuano as Catania recorded their record-breaking points total in Serie A, finishing in 13th place with just 45 goals conceded in 38 matches. During the
2010–11 Serie A
The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...
campaign, Silvestre earned captaincy at the Sicilian club, following the sale of
Giuseppe Mascara to
Napoli
Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...
on 31 January 2011. He has made 116 total appearances for his club, scoring seven goals, six of which have come during the 2010–11 Serie A season, a season which recorded a third consecutive record points total for the Sicilian club. On 9 July 2011,
Marco Biagianti was assigned captaincy of the club for the
2011–12 Serie A
The 2011–12 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM after its headline sponsors) was the 110th season of top-tier Italian football, the 80th in a round-robin tournament, and the second since its organization under a league committee separate from S ...
season.
Palermo
On 8 August 2011, Silvestre moved to
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
for €7 million in a four-year contract, with
Davide Lanzafame
Davide Lanzafame (; born 9 February 1987) is an Italian football coach and former professional player, who played as a striker or right winger. He is in charge of Eccellenza amateurs Borgaro.
Playing career
Juventus
Lanzafame, born in Turin ...
moving in the opposite direction in
co-ownership deal for €1 million. Silvestre debuted for the ''Rosanero'' on 11 September 2011 in the 4–3 victory against
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
, on the second day of the season (the first was postponed). He scored his first Palermo goal in a 3–1 win over
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
on the 11th matchday of Serie A, making the score 2–0.
On 19 February 2012, in Palermo's 4–1 win over
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 ...
, Silvestre suffered an injury to his right thigh, forcing him to leave the match. Nearly two months later, on 22 April, Silvestre returned to the pitch in Palermo's 2–2 draw with
Cesena
Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...
. In the second-last match of the Serie A season, on 6 May, Silvestre scored in Palermo's 4–4 draw with
Chievo
Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige.
It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona.
History
The name came from t ...
. He finished the season with 4 goals from 28 appearances.
Inter
On 6 July 2012, Palermo loaned Silvestre to Inter Milan for €3 million (paid via the 50% registration rights of goalkeeper
Emiliano Viviano), with an obligation to purchase outright for €6 million. Silvestre was issued shirt number 6.
Silvestre made his ''Nerazzurri'' debut in the third qualifying round of the
2012–13 UEFA Europa League
The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played at the Amsterdam Are ...
against
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
, a 3–0 away win. On 28 April 2013, in Inter's 1–0 defeat to Palermo, Silvestre incurred an injury to his right thigh, prematurely ending his season, making 20 total appearances.
Loans to Milan and Sampdoria
On 30 July 2013, Silvestre was loaned for one year to Inter's rivals
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
for €1 million, with an option to purchase him outright at end of the loan for €4 million. Silvestre chose to wear shirt number 26. He made his ''Rossoneri'' debut on 19 October in the 1–0 home victory against
Udinese
Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...
, and in the next round, a 3–2 defeat away to
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, ...
, he scored his first goal with Milan. After four appearances and one goal with Milan, he returned to Inter as Milan declined to exercise its option to purchase Silvestre.
On 29 August 2014, Silvestre joined
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria.
Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...
on loan from Inter. He chose the number 26 shirt he previously wore at Milan. Two days later, he made his ''Blucerchiato'' debut after appearing as a substitute for
Gianluca Sansone in the 1–1 away draw with former club Palermo. Silvestre made 30 appearances for Sampdoria and became
unattached
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
at the end of the
2014–15 season following the expiration of his contract with Inter.
Sampdoria
On 9 July 2015, following his release from Inter, Silvestre returned to Sampdoria, signing a two-year contract.
Empoli
On 6 August 2018, Silvestre signed with
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 ...
club
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...
a 1-year contract.
Livorno
On 6 February 2020, he joined
Serie B
The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
club
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 ...
.
Mouscron
On 20 July 2020, he moved to Belgium and signed with
Mouscron
Mouscron (; Dutch language, Dutch and , ; Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Provinc ...
.
Entella
On 2 September 2021, he returned to Italy and signed with
Entella in
Serie C
The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Club
;
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...
*
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 ...
:
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
*
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 ...
: 2004, 2005
*
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 ...
: 2005, 2006
*
Primera División Argentina
Primera may refer to
* Nissan Primera, a car
* Primera Air, a former airline
* Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues
* Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas
* Alí Primera
Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...
:
2003 Apertura,
2005 Apertura,
2006 Clausura
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestre, Matias
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Buenos Aires Province
Argentine men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Argentine Primera División players
Boca Juniors footballers
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Catania FC players
Palermo FC players
Inter Milan players
AC Milan players
UC Sampdoria players
Empoli FC players
US Livorno 1915 players
Virtus Entella players
Copa Sudamericana–winning players
Copa Libertadores–winning players
Belgian Pro League players
Royal Excel Mouscron players
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
21st-century Argentine sportsmen
People from Mercedes, Buenos Aires