Cristian Daniel Ledesma

Cristian Daniel Ledesma (born 24 September 1982 in Moron, Buenos Aires) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio. A dual citizen of Argentina and Italy, he represents the latter at international level since November 2010.

Ledesma is a deep lying central midfielder with a powerful shot with either foot, and occasionally scores goals from long range.

Career

He spent his childhood in Puerto Madryn, in the province of , Argentina. He joined the youth system of top Argentine club Boca Juniors.

Lecce

In 2001 he was noticed by Lecce, whose sports director Pantaleo Corvino decided to bring Ledesma to Salento, where he immediately became a regular in the team. At Lecce, despite being young, he was captain until November 2005.

Lazio

In July 2006, Roman club Lazio signed Ledesma, after Lecce were relegated to Serie B. With Lazio, Ledesma signed a contract worth 450,000 euro per season until 2011.

Ledesma's first year in the capital, the 2006–07 season, saw him establish himself as a key player despite a difficult start. His first moment of magic came in the December 2006 Derby della Capitale against historical rivals AS Roma, when he scored a strike from 25 metres out. He continued this good form until the end of the season, by which time Lazio had qualified for the UEFA Champions League. He successively served as vice-captain, and was a protagonist in Lazio's winning Coppa Italia 2008–09 campaign.

In July 2009, with his contract set to expire on...
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