Enzo Pérez

Enzo Nicolás Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈenso ˈpeɾes]; born 22 February 1986) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for CA River Plate and the Argentina national team.

Enzo Pérez
Pérez with Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Enzo Nicolás Pérez[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-22) 22 February 1986[2]
Place of birth Maipú, Argentina
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 River Plate
Number 24
Youth career
1996–2003 Deportivo Maipú
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Godoy Cruz 84 (12)
2007–2011 Estudiantes 119 (14)
2011–2014 Benfica 70 (9)
2012 → Estudiantes (loan) 13 (0)
2015–2017 Valencia 61 (0)
2017– River Plate 58 (0)
National team‡
2009– Argentina 26 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 June 2018

He played four years for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, where he won five trophies, most notably the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season, and reached two consecutive UEFA Europa League finals.

Club career

Early career

Born in Maipú, Mendoza, Pérez began his career in Deportivo Maipú, like his father, and started his professional playing career with Godoy Cruz, where he wrote his name into club history by scoring a fifth-minute goal in the 1–1 draw with Belgrano on 9 September 2006. This was the first goal ever scored by Godoy Cruz in the Argentine first division. In total, he scored 12 goals in his career at Godoy Cruz, most coming from penalties. In 2007, Pérez joined Estudiantes de La Plata, where he finished as runner-up with the team in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana. He was then a first team regular in the team that won the 2009 Copa Libertadores.

Benfica

On 8 June 2011, Pérez signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica for a fee rumored to be around €5.5 million for his full rights from Estudiantes.[4] After a serious knee injury sustained in the Champions League qualifiers, Pérez was loaned back to Estudiantes for six months on 9 February 2012.[5]

On 27 July 2012, at the Eusébio Cup, Pérez scored a long-range goal against Real Madrid from a tight angle to complete a 5–2 win.[6]

In the 2012–13 season, Pérez was successfully converted into a central midfielder, partnering with Nemanja Matić,[7] assuming a central role in the team.

In the 2013–14 season, his influence was further increased after the departure of Matić to Chelsea on 15 January 2014, becoming a vital piece in Benfica's domestic treble (Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga) and their second consecutive Europa League Final. Pérez, however, was not present in the eventual loss on penalties (4–2) to Sevilla in the final, having picked up a suspension in the semi-final against Juventus on 1 May 2014.[8][9] His performances attracted attention from other clubs,[10] while Benfica manager Jorge Jesus named Pérez his side's most difficult player to replace and the "brain" of the team.[11][12] On 6 July 2014, Pérez won the Player of the Year award.[13]

At the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Pérez won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, thus winning all four Portuguese titles with Benfica in the 2014 calendar year.

Valencia, River Plate

On 2 January 2015, Spanish La Liga club Valencia CF signed Pérez[14][15] for a transfer fee of €25 million,[16] the tenth-highest ever fee for an Argentine player.[17] On 4 January, he debuted for Valencia in a home win over Real Madrid (2–1) in La Liga.[18]

On 29 June 2017, Pérez returned to Argentina and signed for River Plate.[19]

International career

Pérez made his Argentina senior squad debut on 30 September 2009 under then-manager Diego Maradona[20] in a friendly match against Ghana,[21] an eventual 2–0 victory for the Albicelestes.

On 2 June 2014, Pérez was called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by manager Alejandro Sabella.[22] After midfielder Ángel Di María sustained an injury in the quarter-finals, Pérez started in his placed in both the semi-final and final against Germany, which Argentina lost 1–0 after extra time.[23][24]

In May 2018, Pérez was named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[25] but did not make the final list.[26] However, on 9 June 2018, he was called up as a replacement for the injured Manuel Lanzini.[27]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 June 2018[28]
Club Season League Cup League Cup International1 Other2 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estudiantes 2007–08 102—30132
2008–09 254—152406
2009–10 304—9120415
2010–11 335—2020375
2011–12 140—7000210
Total 11215—3634015218
Benfica 2011–12 30000010—40
2012–13 2843030130—474
2013–14 2844130120—475
2014–15 11120005010191
Total 70991603101011710
Valencia 2014–15 14010—150
2015–16 20030—70—300
2016–17 27020—290
Total 61060—7000740
River Plate 2017–18 18031—11210333
Career total 26124182608556037631

1International competitions include the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
2Other competitions include the FIFA Club World Cup, Recopa Sudamericana, Portuguese Supercup and Supercopa Argentina.

International
As of match played 30 June 2018[29]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 200920
201010
201121
201210
201300
201490
201510
201620
201750
201830
Total261

International goal
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.[30]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.25 May 2011Estadio Centenario, Resistencia, Argentina Paraguay4–24–2Friendly

Honours

Godoy Cruz

Estudiantes

Benfica

River Plate


Argentina

Individual

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. 11 June 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  3. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2019.
  4. "Águias compram metade do passe de Enzo Pérez". A Bola. 10 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  5. "Enzo Pérez emprestado ao Estudiantes da Argentina". desporto.pt.msn.com. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. "Eusébio Cup: Benfica-Real Madrid, 5–2 (crónica)". Maisfutebol. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  7. "Jorge Jesus: a tentação do abismo". futebolportugal.clix.pt. 2 February 2013.
  8. "Juventus 0–0 Benfica". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  9. "Benfica: o que acontece quando Enzo Pérez não joga?". maisfutebol. 12 February 2014.
  10. "Manchester United battle Valencia to land €30m Benfica midfielder Enzo Perez". 101greatgoals.com. 2 June 2014.
  11. "Enzo tem um caráter muito forte". desporto.sapo. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  12. "Jorge Jesús: "Enzo Pérez será el más difícil de sustituir"". plazadeportiva.com. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  13. "Enzo Perez eleito melhor jogador da época passada" [Enzo elected Best Player of 2013–14] (in Portuguese). MaisFutebol. 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  14. "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF). S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). CMVM. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  15. "Presentación oficial de Enzo Pérez como nuevo jugador del Valencia CF" [Official presentation of Enzo Pérez as new player of Valencia CF] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  16. "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF). S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). CMVM. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  17. "Enzo Pérez é o 10.º argentino mais caro da história" [Enzo Pérez is the 10th most expensive Argentine in history]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  18. "Valencia vs. Real Madrid - 4 January 2015 - Soccerway". Soccerway. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  19. http://www.valenciacf.com/ver/71759/comunicado-oficial--enzo-perez.html
  20. "Maradona deu a mão a Enzo Pérez". Jornal Record. 8 June 2011.
  21. "Los 19 para Ghana". Diario Olé. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  22. "Enzo Pérez confirmado no Mundial". noticiasaominuto.com. 2 June 2014.
  23. "Netherlands Argentina Match report". FIFA.com.
  24. "Germany Argentina Match report". FIFA,com.
  25. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/amp/news/revealed-every-world-cup-2018-squad-23-man-preliminary-lists/oa0atsduflsv1nsf6oqk576rb
  26. "Icardi cut from Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad". Goal. Perform Group. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  27. "Enzo Pérez, convocado". AFA. Archived from the original on 11 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  28. Enzo Pérez at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  29. Enzo Pérez at National-Football-Teams.com
  30. "Pérez, Enzo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  31. Cunha, Pedro Jorge (17 May 2015). "Benfica bicampeão: 28 com as faixas e dois à espera" [Benfica back-to-back champion: 28 with the sashes and two await] (in Portuguese). Maisfutebol. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  32. "Prémios da Liga: Veja quem são os vencedores" [League awards: See who are the winners] (in Portuguese). zerozero. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
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