Martín Palermo (born November 7, 1973 in
La Plata) is a retired
Argentine footballer who formerly played 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
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. 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. 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 started to...
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