Nicolas Gaitan

Osvaldo Fabian Nicolas "Nico" Gaitan (Spanish pronunciation: [ozˈβaldo nikoˈlas faˈβjan ˈniko ɣajˈtan]; born 23 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Pacos de Ferreira.

A product of Boca Juniors, he joined Benfica in Portugal, where he won three Primeira Liga titles, one Taca de Portugal, five Taca da Liga and one Supertaca Candido de Oliveira in six seasons.

Club Career

Boca Juniors

Born in San Martin, Buenos Aires, Gaitan rose from the ranks at Boca Juniors, having entered its youth system at the age of 13 in spite of doubts regarding his future due to his small frame. He made his competitive debut with the club on 1 June 2008 in a 3–1 win against Arsenal de Sarandi, and scored his first two Primera Division goals two months later in a 3–0 success at Huracan.

On 23 September 2008 Gaitan netted his first goal in an international tournament, that year's Copa Sudamericana, against Liga de Quito. Two days later he again made the scoresheet, in the 4–2 win over Newell's Old Boys where he also set up Lucas Viatri for his side's final goal.

Gaitan scored seven times in 33 games in his last season with Boca, who only managed to finish 11th in the Apertura and 16th in the Clausura.

Benfica

On 3 May 2010, Portugal's Benfica confirmed they had reached an agreement to sign Gaitan for €8.4 million, as a replacement for countryman Angel Di Maria who had just been sold to Real Madrid. He made his official debut for his new team by starting and playing 66 minutes in a 1–2 away loss to Nacional, opening his scoring account also with a brace, at home against Naval on 14 November (4–0).

Gaitan finished his first year with the Lisbon side with 48 appearances all competitions comprised, scoring nine times as it finished second in the league and won the domestic league cup.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Николас Гайтан (russian)