Andrés D'Alessandro

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Andrés D'Alessandro
Personal information
Full name	Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro
Date of birth	April 15, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.65 m
Nickname	El Cabezón, Mandrake, el Nene
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Club information
Current club	Real Zaragoza
Number	10
Youth clubs
	River Plate
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998-2003 2003-2006 2006 2006-2007	River Plate Wolfsburg Portsmouth (loan) Zaragoza (loan)	61 (8) 13 (1)
National team2
2001-present	Argentina
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 June 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Olympic medal record
Men's football
Gold	2004 Athens	Team

Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro (born April 15, 1981 in La Paternal, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a left-footed Argentine footballer who currently plays for Real Zaragoza, having joined them in June 2006 from German club VfL Wolfsburg.

D'Alessandro started off his working career as a young pizza delivery boy^[1] in Argentina before becoming a professional footballer. Known as El cabezón ("The Big Headed") for how large his head looks on his small frame (he is only 5'4") rather than any ego connotations, he emerged through the River Plate youth system that has produced much of Argentina's top talent over the years. He followed the likes of Santiago Solari and Pablo Aimar through the ranks, together with Javier Saviola, with whom he shared the limelight in the 2001 Youth World Championship held in Buenos Aires. D'Alessandro started out that tournament as a substitute, but injuries in the team allowed him a place in the team during the later games. Argentina won the title after beating Ghana 3-0.

After his transfer to Wolfsburg for a club record £7.5m, D'Alessandro played in the Argentine team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. On September 21, 2005, D'Alessandro scored the Bundesliga's 4,000th goal since its creation in 1963, for the fourth goal in a 4-2 victory over Hannover 96.

In January 2006, much to the surprise of most fans, D'Alessandro joined English Premiership club Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season. His main objective with his new club was to blend in with new teammates and help his club survive relegation. On Easter Monday April 17 2006, he scored his first goal in English football - a contender for goal of the season - in Portsmouth's 2-1 defeat away to Charlton Athletic. Portsmouth survived and manager Harry Redknapp was looking to sign D'Alessandro on a permanent basis for Portsmouth. But D'Alessandro was attracting the attention of many European clubs with strong interest from the likes of Atlético Madrid and Benfica. On the 17th June 2006 he ended the speculation regarding his career by completing a season-long loan switch to La Liga outfit Real Zaragoza citing his desire to play in Spain as a major factor in his decision. Andres has a wide spread group of friends and family. Some of D'Alessandro's family lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Page 12 of News of the World sport section; April 9, 2006.

[edit] External links

• (German) Interview
• (English) ESPN Stats
• (English) Short Bio
• (English) Portsmouth snap up D'Alessandro from the BBC Sport website
• (English) D'Alessandro joins Real from Sky Sports

Real Zaragoza - Current Squad
1 César | 2 Diogo | 3 Aranzábal | 4 Cuartero | 5 Oscar | 6 G. Milito | 7 Movilla | 8 Aimar | 9 García | 10 D'Alessandro | 11 Juanfran | 13 Martínez | 14 Gustavo Nery | 15 Lafita | 16 Celades | 17 Éwerthon | 18 Piqué | 19 César | 20 Longás | 21 Zapater | 22 D. Milito | 23 Sergio | 24 Chus | Manager: Fernández