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Pablo Aimar

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Pablo Aimar
Aimar in action for Benfica in 2011
Personal information
Full name Pablo César Aimar Giordano
Date of birth (1979-11-03) 3 November 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Río Cuarto, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Johor Darul Takzim F.C
Number 10
Youth career
1995–1997 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 River Plate 82 (22)
2001–2006 Valencia 162 (34)
2006–2008 Zaragoza 57 (5)
2008–2013 Benfica 107 (12)
2013– Johor Darul Takzim 0 (0)
International career‡
1995 Argentina U17 6 (2)
1997 Argentina U20 7 (1)
1999–2009 Argentina 52 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 30, 2013
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 30, 2013

Template:Spanish name Pablo César Aimar Giordano (born 3 November 1979) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Johor Darul Takzim F.C. in the Malaysian Super League. An attacking midfielder with a vast array of skills,[1] he also holds a Spanish passport.[2]

After starting out at River Plate he amassed La Liga totals of 215 games and 32 goals over the course of eight seasons, mainly with Valencia. He also played several years in Portugal with Benfica, winning five major titles between the two teams combined.

Aimar gained more than 50 caps for Argentina during one full decade, representing the nation in two World Cups and as many Copa América tournaments.

Club career

River Plate / Valencia

Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Aimar began his ascent to stardom with Club Atlético River Plate, whose first team he joined for the 1997–98 season, after rejecting a place at medical school, and with whom he quickly established himself as one of the best young players in Argentina.

Valencia CF of Spain signed Aimar in January 2001, at a price of €24 million. The purchase proved justified as he helped lead the team to a first-place finish in La Liga in 2001–02 (with 33 games and four goals), as well as to a runners-up finish in the previous seasons's UEFA Champions League, being defeated by FC Bayern Munich; he also won the 2004 UEFA Cup, appearing in eight scoreless matches during the campaign – this included the final against Olympique de Marseille, where he replaced Francisco Rufete with 30 minutes to go.

On 12 April 2006 Aimar was hospitalized after being diagnosed with acute viral meningitis,[3] but made a quick recovery and returned to play for his team. During his career with the Che, he was also often troubled with injuries.[4][5][6]

Zaragoza

During the summer of 2006, Pablo Aimar joined fellow top flight club Real Zaragoza for €12 million.[7] He made his league debut on 27 August in a 2–3 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña, and scored two goals in his first four matches.

The Aragonese side were relegated at the end of 2007–08, with the playmaker appearing in 22 games without scoring while also often hindered with injuries.[8] During that campaign, he teamed up with former Valencia teammate Roberto Ayala.

Benfica

On 17 July 2008, after a period of intense negotiations, Aimar signed a four-year contract with Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of €6.5 million.[9] After a difficult first half of the season, he managed to overcome his constant injuries and finished it in good shape.

In 2009–10 Aimar was in better physical conditions, and displayed a good offensive chemistry with countryman Javier Saviola, newly signed, as Benfica had the best offensive record of the competition, with the help of top scorer Óscar Cardozo, winning the club's 32nd championship, after a five-year wait. He played 46 games in the following season all competitions comprised and scored seven goals, but the Reds only conquered the domestic League Cup.

On 6 June 2013, after 179 official appearances and 17 goals, 33-year-old Aimar announced he was leaving Benfica, thanking the club for "five wonderful years".[10]

Johor Darul Takzim

On 7 August 2013 H.R.H. Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, Johor Darul Takzim president, confirmed that Aimar had signed a two-year contract with the team.[11][12]

International career

Aimar first represented Argentina at youth levels. Along with future senior team stars Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Román Riquelme he won the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and went on to gain over 50 full caps since his debut in 1999;[13] he played in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

In the 2002 World Cup, for which he was picked ahead of Riquelme, Aimar appeared against England, subbing in for Juan Sebastián Verón in the 0–1 loss, which led coach Marcelo Bielsa to start him against Sweden at the latter's expense.

Aimar scored the last goal of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup during Argentina's 1–4 loss in the final to champions Brazil, also appearing with the national side in the 2007 Copa América (losing in the final to the same team, this time 0–3).

After several months in the sidelines, Aimar received another international callup in October 2009, for decisive 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay. In the match against the former he repaid the faith placed in him by coach Diego Maradona, assisting Gonzalo Higuaín for Argentina's opener with a sublime through ball, in an eventual 2–1 win.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 August 2000 Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Paraguay 1–1 1–1 2002 World Cup qualification
2. 27 March 2002 Geneva, Switzerland  Cameroon 2–1 2–2 Friendly
3. 30 April 2003 June 11 Stadium, Tripoli, Libya  Libya 3–1 3–1 Friendly
4. 6 September 2003 Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Chile 2–0 2–2 2006 World Cup qualification
5. 9 September 2003 Estadio Olímpico, Caracas, Venezuela  Venezuela 1–0 3–0 2006 World Cup qualification
6. 15 November 2003 Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Bolivia 3–0 3–0 2006 World Cup qualification
7. 29 June 2005 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany  Brazil 1–4 1–4 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
8. 28 June 2007 Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela  United States 3–1 4–1 2007 Copa América

Honours

Club

River Plate
Valencia
Benfica

National team

Argentina U-17
Argentina U-20
Argentina

Individual

Statistics

Club

As of 7 June 2013[14]

Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
River Plate 1996–97 1 0
1997–98 16 4
1998–99 18 2
1999–00 32 13
2000–01 15 2 5 1 20 3
Total 82 21 5 1 87 22
Valencia 2000–01 10 2 – – – 10 2
2001–02 33 4 1 0 6 2 – 40 6
2002–03 31 8 2 0 11 3 – 44 11
2003–04 25 4 5 0 8 0 – 38 4
2004–05 31 4 1 0 6 2 – 37 6
2005–06 32 5 2 0 1 0 – 35 5
Total 162 27 10 0 32 7 – 204 34
Zaragoza 2006–07 31 5 1 0 – – 32 5
2007–08 22 0 2 0 1 0 – 25 0
Total 53 5 3 0 1 0 – 57 5
Benfica 2008–09 22 1 2 0 1 0 4 1 29 2
2009–10 25 4 1 0 11 1 4 0 41 5
2010–11 23 5 6 1 12 1 5 0 46 7
2011–12 24 2 2 0 12 1 4 0 42 3
2012–13 13 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 21 0
Total 107 12 14 1 39 3 18 1 179 17
Johor Darul Takzim 2014 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
2015 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career Total 404 65 27 1 76 11 18 1 527 78

International

Argentina national team
Year Apps Goals
1999 2 0
2000 5 1
2001 7 0
2002 6 1
2003 9 4
2004 2 0
2005 6 1
2006 6 0
2007 7 1
2008 0 0
2009 2 0
Total 52 8

Personal

Aimar's younger brother, Andrés, is also a professional footballer and a midfielder. He represented several teams in his country – starting his career at River Plate – also playing for a few months in Israel.

References

  1. ^ Aimar's divine improvisation; UEFA.com, 23 September 2004
  2. ^ Aimar jura la Constitución y será jugador comunitario (Aimar swears the constitution and will play as a non-foreign); El Periódico de Aragón, 14 June 2007 Template:Es icon
  3. ^ Aimar hospitalized with meningitis; UEFA.com, 13 April 2006
  4. ^ Aimar agony for Valencia; UEFA.com, 18 November 2002
  5. ^ Aimar concern for Valencia; UEFA.com, 20 September 2004
  6. ^ Aimar absence vexes Valencia; UEFA.com, 1 November 2004
  7. ^ Aimar adds zest for Zaragoza; UEFA.com, 29 July 2006
  8. ^ Zaragoza lose Aimar inspiration; UEFA.com, 30 January 2007
  9. ^ Aimar leaves Zaragoza for Benfica; UEFA.com, 17 July 2008
  10. ^ "Pablo Aimar despede-se do Benfica: "Foram cinco anos maravilhosos"" (in Portuguese). A Bola. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Tunku Ismail Ibrahim has confirmed that the former Benfica player, Pablo Aimar, will join Kedah Darul Aman next season". Goal.com. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Kedah Darul Aman confirm addition of Pablo Aimar for next season". Fanatix. 7 August 2013.
  13. ^ Argentina – Record International Players; at RSSSF Template:WebCite
  14. ^ Pablo Aimar at ESPN FC

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