Football Player's Biography 7: Javier Saviola

Full name	Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández
Date of birth	11 December 1981 (1981-12-11) (age 29)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Striker

Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a striker.
Known for his speed and ability to score from almost any position, he represented both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid during his career (amongst others), and was named, as the youngest player, to Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers. Due to the many years spent in Spain, he also held Spanish nationality.

Club career

River Plate

Nicknamed El Conejo (The Rabbit), Buenos Aires-born Saviola made his debut for Club Atlético River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club.^[1]
He helped River to the 1999 Apertura and 2000 Clausura championships, and earned the 1999 South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect.

Spain

In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for FC Barcelona in a £15 million transfer.^[2] He obtained Spanish citizenship shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each club. Under coach Louis van Gaal, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing third best scorer in La Liga.

His second year at the club did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season. When van Gaal was fired and Radomir Antić became the new Barcelona manager, Saviola went on to score 11 goals in the latter half of the campaign. At the start of the following season, Frank Rijkaard was appointed as new manager, and Saviola scored 14 goals in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club, as was longtime offensive partner Patrick Kluivert.
Saviola was sent on loan the following year, moving to AS Monaco FC in the French first division in the 2004 summer. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans, Saviola was again loaned out in the summer of 2005, this time to Spanish club Sevilla FC, in order to replace Júlio Baptista, on the move to Real Madrid. At Sevilla, Saviola won his first title in Europe, when the club won the UEFA Cup — he also scored nine times in the league, good enough for fifth.
Saviola returned to Barcelona for the 2006–07 season, playing in 18 league games (six as a starter) and scoring five goals. He benefited greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably to Samuel Eto'o, and added five in as many games in that season's domestic cup, notably a hat-trick against Deportivo Alavés (3–2 win at home, 5–2 aggregate).

On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal.^[4] Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Real. He was mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league and the UEFA Champions League. The arrival of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar limited his opportunities even more, and Saviola finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.

Benfica

On 26 June 2009, S.L. Benfica and Real Madrid agreed on a €5 million deal that would see Saviola play in Portugal for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. He scored his first goal for the club on a penalty in a friendly match against FC Sion and, on 16 July, scored twice to send his team into the Guadiana Tournament finals.
On 22 October 2009, Saviola scored two goals for Benfica, guiding them to a 5–0 victory over Everton for the UEFA Europa League (he would also score in the club's 2–0 win in Liverpool, in the second match), adding another brace four days later, as the Reds hammered C.D. Nacional 6–1, in the domestic league.
On 12 December, Saviola scored on a chip shot against Académica de Coimbra, for a 4–0 home win. Already a fan favourite, on the 20th, he scored the game's only as Benfica defeated main rival F.C. Porto at home; during the victorious campaign, he formed a deadly offensive partnership with Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo, with the pair combining for more than 50 goals overall.
On 3 January 2010, after receiving the Portuguese Liga Player of the Month award, he scored another winning goal against Nacional, again being the game's only scorer as Benfica defeated Rio Ave FC away, scoring in the 46th minute. He netted his 19th goal overall in a 3–1 home triumph against F.C. Paços de Ferreira, on March 7, and Benfica was eventually crowned league champions, after a five-year wait.

International career

Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the national team won the competition; with 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in World Youth Cups history. His vintage performance earned himself many offers from European clubs but, surprisingly, he lost his place in the Argentina national football team squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in favour of veteran Claudio Caniggia.

Two years later, Saviola played in the 2004 Olympic Games and won the gold medal. Under coach Marcelo Bielsa, he was given few playing opportunities for the senior team but, after Bielsa's resignation in 2004, new coach José Pekerman, who also coached the player at youth level, turned the tide in the player's favour.
Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at the 2006 World Cup. Luciano Figueroa and winger Luciano Galletti were also in contention for a place on the roster, but Saviola's excellent form for Sevilla secured his place in the squad. He made his presence felt at the tournament, as he scored a goal against Côte d'Ivoire in Argentina's opening game, and made two assists in the 6–0 victory against Serbia and Montenegro.
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