Martín Palermo (born November 7, 1973 in La Plata) is an Argentine professional footballer currently playing for Boca Juniors of Argentina, and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed Loco (crazy) or Titán (titan), he has also played in Argentina for Estudiantes de La Plata as well as in Spain for Villarreal, Real Betis, and Alavés.

Club career

Palermo in 1997 while playing for Estudiantes de La Plata

His career started slowly at Estudiantes de La Plata and it was not until he transferred to Boca Juniors that he won international recognition due to his impressive goal average, and his excellent performances in international matches, because of this success at least three European teams (Lazio, Real Betis and Milan) had him in their sights.[1] But on November 13, 1999 on a game against Colón, he had a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee, before he left the game and without him knowing the seriousness of the injury, he managed to score his 100th goal in the Argentine First Division.[2] The injury required a six-month recovery period.

On May 24, 2000, he returned to football after more than six months of inactivity after his first major injury. He played the last fifteen minutes of the quarterfinal match of the Copa Libertadores against River Plate, and scored the goal that sealed the victory with what he called "the most emotional goal of my career," leaving the score at 3–0 to Boca Juniors (the first match ended 1–2).

Boca Juniors fans consider him an idol, not only because of the number of goals he has scored for the team, but also for scoring many important goals against Boca's arch rivals River Plate.

The peak of his career was probably the Intercontinental Cup in 2000, when he scored two goals in Boca's 2–1 victory over Real Madrid, catching the attention of football clubs in Spain.

Spell in Spain

Palermo signed with the up and coming team Villarreal of the Spanish La Liga on January 19, 2001 in a €7,600,000 transfer.[3][4] In his second season with the team on November 29, after celebrating a goal, Palermo stood on a small concrete wall, which collapsed under the weight of Villarreal's fans and broke both the tibia and fibula of his left leg,[5] leading to two months of inactivity. Palermo never regained his form and after two and half seasons with Villarreal, on August 20, 2003, he decided to cut his ties with the club.[6] The following day on August 21, Martín signed a contract with Real Betis,[7] but on March 2004 after very little success with the club he decided to leave Real Betis. Later that month he signed with Alavés of the Spanish Segunda División.[8]

Back to Boca Juniors

On July 13, 2004, after 3 and a half years of playing in Spain for 3 different teams (Villarreal, Real Betis, and Alavés),[9] Palermo returned to Boca Juniors.[10] Later that year on December 17, Martín scored his 100th goal with Boca on the final of the 2004 Copa Sudamericana a 2–0 victory over Bolívar.[11]

Palermo once again back in top form kept himself placed among the best scorers in the Argentine league, scoring 11 goals in three consecutive tournaments (2006 Clausura, 2006 Apertura and top scorer of the 2007 Clausura). During the 2007 Clausura tournament he had several memorable moments, the first of which came on February 25, when he scored a half pitch goal in the dying seconds of a 3–1 victory over Independiente,[12] a couple of weeks later on March 10 he scored three goals against his former team Estudiantes in a 3–1 Boca victory at La Plata, and he didn't celebrate any of them.[13] It was the fourth hat-trick of his career. A game later, on March 18, he scored a career high of four goals in the 5–1 victory against Gimnasia de la Plata,[14] Estudiantes de La Plata's archi-rivals.

The following season the 2007 Apertura, he continued to be among the Argentine league top scorers with 13 goals. His best game that season came on September 16, in a game against Banfield, in which Martín scored four goals, in the 6–0 Boca victory.[15]

Palermo scored his fifth career hat-trick in a 3–0 Boca Juniors victory, this was a must win game that was played in Jalisco, Mexico, against Atlas on May 21, 2008.[16]

Martín Palermo (background) celebrates a goal with Palacio (foreground)

At the beginning of the 2008 Apertura, on August 24 he suffered yet another serious injury, this time he injured his anterior cruciate and tore his medial collateral ligament during the 2–1 victory against Lanús, with an expected recovery period of 5 to 8 months.[17] After this was known, the Argentine coach at that time, Alfio Basile commented that he had chosen him to play for the national team for the following match in the World Cup qualifiers[18]

Palermo's first goal since his injury came on his fourth game back, during a 3–1 victory over Huracán on March 1 in the 2009 Clausura, this was Martín Palermo's 195 goal with Boca Juniors, breaking Francisco Varallo record of 194 goals in the professional era.[19] Almost two months after on April 30, Martín scored a bicycle kick goal, which gave him 200 goals with Boca Juniors, in a 3–0 victory against Deportivo Táchira.[20]

During the 2009 Apertura, on October 4 in a game against Vélez Sársfield, Martín Palermo scored a very special goal (a header that traveled around 38.9 meters), this goal gave him 200 goals in the Argentine First Division and also gave Boca a 3–2 victory.[21]

On July 22, 2010, with 36 years of age, Palermo announced that he had renewed his contract with Boca Juniors for one year and that he will retire at the end of the contract.[22][23]

International career

With the Argentina national football team, Palermo has played fifteen matches and scored nine goals. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for missing three penalties for Argentina in a single international match against Colombia in the Copa América 1999. The first penalty rebounded off the crossbar; the second penalty went over; the third was saved by the Colombian goalkeeper, Miguel Calero. Though his international career seemed to be over at the end of 1999, the 2008 Argentine national coach Alfio Basile stated that he had been considering offering Palermo a return to international football and was disappointed that Palermo was injured at the time.[18]

The coach of the 2010 national team, Diego Maradona, recalled Palermo to the national team and introduced him as a substitute in a 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay after a 10-year exile from the international scene.[24] A couple of weeks later he was once again called up to play a friendly against Ghana.[25] In this game, Palermo was part of the starting eleven and made the most of it by scoring both of Argentina's goals, resulting in a 2–0 win.[26] Palermo's next match was on October 10, a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Peru. Palermo sealed a 2–1 victory for Argentina with a 93rd minute strike.,[27] causing Maradona to describe the goal after the game as "one more miracle of Saint Palermo."[28]

On May 19, 2010, Palermo was selected as part of the Argentina national team's 23-man final roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Palermo's first World Cup.[29] On June 22, 2010, Palermo played his first World Cup match, coming in as a substitute in the second half of Argentina's final group match against Greece. In the 89th minute, he scored his first ever World Cup goal on a rebound from a shot by Lionel Messi.[30] Argentina won the match 2-0 and finished at the top of their group.[31] This goal also made Palermo the oldest Argentine national footballer to score a goal in World Cup play, an honor previously held by Diego Maradona.[32][33]

Achievements

Team

 Estudiantes

Primera B Nacional: 1994–95

 Boca Juniors

Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2008 Apertura

Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2007

Copa Intercontinental: 2000

Copa Sudamericana: 2004, 2005

Recopa Sudamericana: 2006, 2008

Individual

Argentine Primera Division top-scorer: 1998 Apertura (20 goals in 19 matches, a short tournament record), 2007 Clausura (11 goals in 16 matches)

South American Footballer of the Year: 1998

Man of the Match: 2000 Intercontinental Cup

American Golden Shoe: 2007 (share with Giancarlo Maldonado).[34]

8th place of All Time in a Career among the Argentine league Primera División Top Scorers with 214 goals (34 with Estudiantes and 180 with Boca Juniors).[35]

Facts

First professional match: July 5, 1992 Clausura. (San Lorenzo 0–0 Estudiantes)[36]

First professional goal: May 22, 1993 Clausura. (Estudiantes 3–0 San Martín de Tucumán)[36]

First International match: February 3, 1999. (Venezuela 0–2 Argentina)[37]

First International goal: July 1, 1999. (Ecuador 1–3 Argentina)[38]

First European professional match: February 4, 2001. (Villarreal 2–0 Alavés)[39]

First European professional goal: February 11, 2001. (Oviedo 1–3 Villarreal)[40]

He is in the Guinness book of records for having missed three penalty kicks in the same match, against Colombia in Copa América 1999.

Palermo holds an Italian passport, which enables him to play as a UEFA player.[41][42]

Martín has been Boca's most frequent top scorer 14 times.

Martín Palermo is Boca Junior's top scorer in international matches with 43 goals, 15 more than 2nd place Rodrigo Palacio.

Martín surpassed Francisco Varallo to become the top scorer in the professional era among Boca's top scorers with 223 Goals. (180 in Primera división Argentine tournaments and 43 in international tournaments) [35][43]

Palermo is in 1st place among Boca's all-time top scorers with 223 goals,[35][44] after having surpassed the 221 goal mark of Roberto Cherro.

On June 22, 2010, aged 36, Palermo made his debut on a World Cup game. He scored the second goal of Argentina's 2-0 win over Greece.

On June 22, 2010, aged 36 years and 7 months, after scoring the second goal of Argentina's 2-0 win over Greece, Palermo became the oldest player to score wearing Argentina's colours (This record was previously held by Diego Armando Maradona, who was 33 years old when he scored his last goal in a World Cup, in USA 1994, also in a match against Greece).