Gabriel Paletta

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Gabriel Paletta
Personal information
Full name	Gabriel Alejandro Paletta
Date of birth	February 15, 1986 (age 21)
Place of birth	Longchamps, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.90 m)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Liverpool
Number	29
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2006 2006–present	Banfield Liverpool	42 (5) 01 (0)
National team2
	Argentina	00 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 December 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 17:36 GMT. * Appearances (Goals)

Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born February 15, 1986, Buenos Aires) is an Argentinean central defender, who currently plays for Liverpool, only the second Argentine to play for the Merseyside club, after Mauricio Pellegrino.

Contents 1 Career 2 Statistics 3 Career Honours 3.1 Argentina 4 External links

[edit] Career

Paletta came from the youth teams of Club Atlético Banfield and reached the first team in 2005. When Banfield qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores, they altered their 25 man squad for the event to include Paletta and immediately threw him into action against the Colombian team Independiente Medellín. Paletta played well and Banfield progressed, but Paletta was to play no further part in the tournament after being called up to the Argentinian under-20 team to participate in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Paletta started all seven games playing in the heart of the Argentine defence. Argentina, lead upfront by Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero went on to win the tournament and Paletta's performances brought him to the attention of Liverpool's scouts.

Rafael Benítez said of the player: "Paletta is very tough and he's exactly the sort of player we need who will suit the Premiership. When you talk about the Argentinean defenders I worked with in Valencia, Paletta is more like Roberto Ayala than Mauricio Pellegrino. If you're talking about Liverpool, he's more like Jamie Carragher than Sami Hyypiä. This is good because we will have a balance in the style of defenders."^{[citation needed]}

Liverpool are believed to have paid a fee in the region of ₤2 million for the young defender. He put pen to paper on a 4-year deal on July 4, 2006. [1] He first appeared for Liverpool in a pre-season friendly against Wrexham in July, and he made his full debut in a League Cup 4-3 win against Reading on 25 October 2006, marking his first competitive appearance for the club with an impressive defensive display and capping it with a goal in the 50th minute. Despite his good early performances, Paletta had a difficult time against Arsenal in the Carling Cup, and it has been speculated that he was too inexperienced for English Cup football[2]. This is controversial viewpoint, considering the youth and inexperience of the Arsenal team he faced.

[edit] Statistics

correct as of 5 December 2006

Club Performance

Club	Season	Premiership		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Others		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Liverpool FC	2006–07	1	0	1	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	4	1
Club	Season	Primera Div		---------		---------		Copa Liber		Others		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Club Atlético Banfield	2005–06	33	3	-	-	-	-	0	0	3	0	36	3
	2004–05	9	2	?	?	-	-	2	1	0	0	11	3
Total		42	5	0	0	2	1	3	1	3	0	51	7

[edit] Career Honours

[edit] Argentina

• 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship

[edit] External links

• Gabriel Paletta career stats at Soccerbase
• Official LFC profile

Liverpool F.C. - Current Squad
1 Dudek | 2 Arbeloa | 3 Finnan | 4 Hyypiä | 5 Agger | 6 Riise | 7 Kewell | 8 Gerrard | 9 Fowler | 10 Luis García | 11 Mark González | 12 Fábio Aurélio | 14 Xabi Alonso | 15 Crouch | 16 Pennant | 17 Bellamy | 18 Kuyt | 20 Mascherano | 22 Sissoko | 23 Carragher | 25 Reina | 26 Anderson | 29 Paletta | 30 Padelli | 32 Zenden | 38 Lindfield | 39 Darby | 42 El Zhar | Manager: Benítez