Javier Saviola, whose photo is presented below, is a famous Argentinean footballer who has become famous for playing for River Plate and a number of European clubs. In 2005, the athlete was included in the ranking of 125 greatest players, compiled by the legendary Brazilian Pele. The future celebrity was born in Buenos Aires on December 11, 1981.
River Plate
The first professional club of Javier was River Plate, in the youth academy of which the boy was engaged in childhood. At the age of sixteen, he made his debut in the adult squad. In the future, the player scored a lot of goals and completed the season several times in the status of top scorer. According to the results of 1999, Javier Saviola was recognized as the best football player in South America. At that time he was only eighteen years old.
Barcelona
Such impressive successes of young talent could not go unnoticed. As a result, in 2001, the player acquired Barcelona, which paid him 15 million pounds. In the debut year in Spain, the striker scored 17 goals. In this indicator, he became fourth in the championship. The beginning of the next season was not so successful for the striker. After the resignation of the head coach Louis van Gaal, in his place came Serbian specialist Radomir Antic. The main striker with him was precisely Javier Saviola. The nickname that the Argentinean received from the fans at that time sounded like Rabbit and was assigned to him for the rest of his career. The football player brilliantly spent the second half of the championship, scoring 11 goals against opponents. Before the new championship, Frank Rijkard came to the post of head coach , who saw the edge of the attack of the team of his compatriot Patrick Kluivert.
Unable to compete, in the summer of 2004 the forward went on loan in Monaco. In France, he didn’t differ in former performance and was able to carry out only 7 productive strikes in 29 fights. The next season the player spent in the same status in Seville. It was here that the Argentinean won his first trophy, winning with the team in the UEFA Cup. In 2006, Javier Saviola returned to Barcelona. As part of the team, he took part in 18 fights (5 goals). Be that as it may, such a quantity of playing time was exclusively connected with injuries of the main players.
"Real Madrid"
After the expiration of the contract with the Catalans, the forward signed an agreement with their main rival, Real Madrid. Despite the favorable financial conditions, the Argentine again faced with strong competition in his position. As a result, very soon he was forced to change the club.
Benfica
The next team of the football player was the Portuguese “Benfica”, which paid 5 million euros in 2009 for it. The parties signed a one-year contract after the season ended. Javier Saviola has become a true team leader. It is not surprising, therefore, that under the terms of the new agreement, the forward received 5 million euros. In the summer of 2012, the contract between the parties ended, and the owners of the Portuguese club decided not to renew it.
Recent Commands
In 2012, Malaga became the new club of the striker. Already in his debut match for the “anchovies” he managed to distinguish himself with an assists and goal. After spending only one season in the Spanish team, the player scored many important goals, including in international competitions. In the summer of 2013, after the end of the contract with Malaga, the player moved to Olympiacos. Here he also stayed just one year, during which he scored 12 goals in 26 games. The forward spent the season 2014/2015 in Verona (Italy), after which he returned to his native River Plate. It is here that he acts now.
National team
In total, the football player spent 40 matches for Argentina, in which he scored 11 goals. Despite the great skill and high level of the demonstrated game, Javier Saviola for some reason did not get into the application of his national team for the 2002 world championship. In 2004, the football player became a triumph of the Olympic Games. During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the striker scored two assists and one goal scored. At the age of 28, Javier announced the completion of his appearances for the national team, motivating it with a decision to concentrate on his club career.