Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (born 18 August 1980 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder for Italian Serie A club Internazionale. He is nicknamed Cuchu.

Club career

Early career

Cambiasso started his professional career with Argentinos Juniors in 1995, moving to Real Madrid B in 1996.

In 1998, he moved back to Argentina where he played for three years with Independiente and one with River Plate. During this time, he earned his nickname "Egg in a bun." With some good experience under his belt, he returned to Real Madrid in 2002. He helped Los Blancos win the UEFA Super Cup in 2002, La Liga, the Intercontinental Cup in 2002, and the Spanish SuperCup in 2003.

Internazionale

In July 2004, Cambiasso signed with Internazionale after his contract with Real Madrid expired in June 2004. He helped Internazionale win the Italian Cup in his first season with the club, playing regularly as a defensive midfielder, partnered in the middle of Inter's midfield with fellow Argentinian Juan Sebastián Verón. In Italy, he became known as one of the outstanding players of the 2004–05 season, along with AC Milan's Kaká.

During the return match for the final of the 2006 Coppa Italia, Cambiasso scored an impressive goal, the first of the match, for the 3–1 victory over Roma. On 30 September 2006, he scored twice in the opening game of the season, with Inter defeating Fiorentina 3–2. On 7 November 2007, he along with Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a brace a piece to defeat CSKA Moscow 4–2 in the UEFA Champions League. On 23 March 2009, it was announced that Inter and Cambiasso had come to terms about a contract renewal which now expires in 2014.

He was very important in the 2010 Champions League win as well, scoring the second goal of a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the San Siro, a result which ultimately saw Inter go on to win the Champions League.

International career

Cambiasso first represented Argentina in the youth squads, along with national teammates Juan Román Riquelme, Pablo Aimar, Wálter Samuel and others. He was in the squads for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, where he scored the first goal in the final even though he was the youngest player on the squad, and captained the team during the 1999 edition.

Cambiasso made his senior national debut in 2000 for Argentina. On 15 May 2006, he was named in the Argentinian national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and on 16 June, he capped a spectacular 24 pass Argentine interplay with a finish to score the second goal in a 6–0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro. In the quarter-finals match against Germany on 30 June 2006, the match went into penalties, where Cambiasso had his penalty kick saved, resulting in Argentina losing 4–2 and Germany progressing to the semi-final.

Since Maradona took over as Argentina coach, Cambiasso was only called-up once to the national team for a friendly game on 14 November 2009 against Spain, despite continuing to play a vital role for Inter and affirming his status as one of Europe's best central midfielders. On 12 May 2010, Cambiasso was controversially left out of the 30 man provisional 2010 World Cup squad for Argentina.

On August 20 2010 Argentina National Team Coach Sergio Batista recalled Esteban Cambiasso to the Argentina National Team, a friendly against Spain, to be played on Tuesday 7 September 2010 at the Monumental Stadium River Plate.

Playing style

Cambiasso is a defensive midfielder. At club level he is deployed in the holding role often accompanied by another like minded central midfielder, however at international level he has most prominently featured in a more advanced position in front of a holding midfielder such as Argentine captain Javier Mascherano. This enables him to fulfill a more creative role in midfield.

Eurosport said about Cambiasso, "There is nothing glamorous about the bald Argentine, but he is the heartbeat of the Inter side that have become the dominant force in Italian football. Just the kind of determined, hard-running midfielder Jose Mourinho loves. Originally a destroyer, the 29-year-old has become increasingly adventurous and weighs in with six to eight goals per season.[3]

Goal.com said, "All in all, this player is one of the greatest players to have ever pulled an Inter shirt on and to grace the pitch in the Serie A. He is an intelligent midfielder, who has the capacity to change the shape of a game off his own boot. He is one of the most influential midfielders in Italian football, and for that reason and many more, he will certainly be remembered as one of the most talented players of all time." [4]

Personal life

Cambiasso was once married and still is but no longer has any contact with his ex-wife. On 22 November 2008, his ex-wife gave birth to their daughter Victoria before Cambiasso's match against Juventus.[5] After Inter won the Derby d'Italia, Cambiasso dedicated the win to his daughter.[6]

Along with his compatriot and current teammate at Inter, Javier Zanetti, Cambiasso unveiled the Leoni di Potrero charity association to help coach young children with social isolation problems and motor coordination difficulties.

Honours

Club

 River Plate

Primera División: 2002 Clausura

 Real Madrid

La Liga: 2002–03

Intercontinental Cup: 2002

UEFA Super Cup: 2002

Supercopa de España: 2003

 Internazionale

UEFA Champions League: 2009–10

Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10

Coppa Italia: 2005, 2006, 2010

Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010

International

 Argentina

South American Youth Championship: 1997

FIFA World Youth Championship: 1997

South American Youth Championship: 1999

Individual

Golden Pirate: 2006 [7]