Andres D'Alessandro

Andres Nicolas D'Alessandro (born 15 April 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Nacional.

He has played top-flight football in Argentina, Germany, England, Spain and Brazil. He won an Olympic Gold medal with Argentina in 2004 and also played in that year's Copa America.

In 2020, he was awarded Brazilian citizenship.

Club Career

Early career

D'Alessandro was born in the La Paternal section of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He joined the labor force as a pizza delivery boy before becoming a professional footballer. Known as El Cabezon ("The Big Headed") for how large his big head looks on his small frame rather than any ego connotations, he emerged through the River Plate youth system that has produced much of Argentina's top talent over the years. He followed the likes of Santiago Solari and Pablo Aimar through the ranks, together with Javier Saviola, with whom he shared the limelight in the 2001 Youth World Championship. With the River Plate senior team, he won the 2001–02 and 2002–03 Primera Division titles.

Spell in Europe

D'Alessandro attracted attention from European clubs following his success and performances at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. He eventually transferred to Wolfsburg in July 2003 for a club record €9 million. On 21 September 2005, D'Alessandro scored the Bundesliga's 40,000th goal since its creation in 1963, netting the fourth goal in a 4–2 victory over Hannover 96.

On 31 January 2006, to the surprise of most fans, D'Alessandro joined English Premier League club Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season. His main objective with his new club was to blend in with new teammates and help his club to avoid relegation. On Easter Monday, 17 April, he scored his first goal in English football – a contender for goal of the season – in Portsmouth's 2–1 defeat away to Charlton Athletic.

Portsmouth survived and manager Harry Redknapp sought

This page also has a version in other languages :  Андрес Д'Алессандро (russian)