Leonardo Pisculichi

Leonardo Pisculichi
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Personal information
Full name	Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi
Date of birth	January 18, 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Rafael Castillo, Argentina
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Shandong Luneng
Number	32
Senior career*
Years	Team
2002-2005	Argentinos Juniors
2006	Mallorca
2007-2012	Al-Arabi
2012-	Shandong Luneng
International career
2003	Argentina U-20
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi (born 18 January 1984 in Rafael Castillo, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League, as a forward.^[1] Leonardo is Croat origin.^[2]

Club career

Pisculichi started his career with Argentinos Juniors, making his first division debut on February 20, 2002, against Talleres de Córdoba. He was transferred to Spain's RCD Mallorca on January 4, 2006.^[3] His beginnings at his new club were promising, as he netted three times in his first five games - including a penalty kick equalizer against Real Madrid on February 26, in an eventual 2-1 home triumph.

However, Pisculichi gradually fell out of favour with the Balearic Islands outfit and, on November 30, 2006, was transferred to Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar for €3.6 million, with the move being made effective in January of the following year.^[4]

In July 2012, Pisculichi transferred to Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng Taishan.

International career

Pisculichi played 134 minutes in the 2003 South American Youth Championship held in Uruguay, representing the Argentina youth football team. He started in the game against hosts Uruguay and scored in the 82nd minute. He also came on as a substitute in a match against Brazil.^[5]

He was set to be naturalized in order to play for the Qatar national team by 2009. However, he neglected to mention that he had previously represented the Argentina under-20 team, rendering him inelligible to play for the Qatar team without special permission from FIFA.

Ironically, the same scenario occurred in 2012. The Al-Arabi administration wanted to naturalize him so they could have an extra foreign player in their squad to participate in the AFC Champions League. Despite reports of Pisculichi's ineligibility being readily available, they continued with the naturalization process. He did not gain Qatari citizenship and the club's management were criticized by local media.^[5]^[6]

References

^ Argentinos en el futbol del mundo (1ra Parte)
^ Leonardo Pisculichi - transfermarkt.co.uk
^ "Mallorca add another Argentine". Sky Sports. 2006-01-05.
^ "Argentine to quit Islanders". Sky Sports. 2006-11-30.
^ ^a ^b "القضية السواء تنبش انفراداً لـ«استاد الدوحة» عمره 32 شهراً" (in Arabic). Estad Doha. Retrieved July 4 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ "حرمان الأرجنتيني بيسكوليتشي من الجنسية القطرية" (in Arabic). SportsKSA. Retrieved July 4 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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[1] Argentinos en el futbol del mundo (1ra Parte)

[2] Leonardo Pisculichi - transfermarkt.co.uk

[3] "Mallorca add another Argentine". Sky Sports. 2006-01-05.

[4] "Argentine to quit Islanders". Sky Sports. 2006-11-30.

[estad-5] "القضية السواء تنبش انفراداً لـ«استاد الدوحة» عمره 32 شهراً" (in Arabic). Estad Doha. Retrieved July 4 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[6] "حرمان الأرجنتيني بيسكوليتشي من الجنسية القطرية" (in Arabic). SportsKSA. Retrieved July 4 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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