Leandro Romagnoli

Leandro Atilio Romagnoli (born 17 March 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.

Leandro Romagnoli
Personal information
Full name Leandro Atilio Romagnoli
Date of birth (1981-03-17) 17 March 1981
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2004 San Lorenzo 152 (22)
2005–2006 Veracruz 29 (1)
2006 → Sporting CP (loan) 6 (1)
2006–2009 Sporting CP 65 (7)
2009–2018 San Lorenzo 166 (9)
Total 418 (40)
National team
2001 Argentina U20 6 (2)
2003 Argentina 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

His thin build, short stature and playing style were reminiscent of compatriot Osvaldo Ardiles. What the player – nicknamed Pipi – lacked in physical strength, he made up for with dribbling ability.[1][2]

Romagnoli started and finished his career with San Lorenzo, but also spent four seasons in Portugal with Sporting.[3]

Club career

Born in Buenos Aires, Romagnoli made his professional debut on 13 December 1998 at the age of only 17, appearing for San Lorenzo de Almagro against Racing Club de Avellaneda. He went on to become an essential attacking player for the side, appearing in roughly 200 official games and winning three major titles;[4] amid the club's financial troubles, he was linked with a move to SV Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga in summer 2002.[5][6]

Romagnoli signed with Mexico's C.D. Veracruz in January 2005 but, in the same month the following year, he was on the move again, now to Sporting CP, first on loan. He initially found it difficult to adjust to his new side, but eventually came into his own in the 2006–07 campaign in a superb end-of-season run for both team and player, winning the Portuguese Cup;[7] the move was made permanent in that summer.

After having appeared in only 16 matches in 2008–09, being out of favour with manager Paulo Bento,[8][7] Romagnoli left the Estádio José Alvalade in early August 2009 to rejoin San Lorenzo. He contributed ten appearances as they won their first Copa Libertadores in 2014.[1]

On 24 June 2017, 36-year-old Romagnoli renewed his contract at the Estadio Pedro Bidegain for one more season.[9] He announced his retirement one year later, remaining tied to the club as director of football.[10]

International career

Romagnoli was part of the Argentina under-20 team that won the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.[11] He made his debut with the full side against the United States on 8 February 2003, playing 12 minutes in a 1–0 friendly win.[12]

Honours

Club

San Lorenzo

Sporting

International

Argentina U20

Individual

References
  1. Montero, Raul (16 December 2014). "Romagnoli: "La Libertadores es para toda la vida, quedará en la eternidad"" [Romagnoli: "The Libertadores is to last forever, etched in eternity"] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  2. "Viral: el tatuaje con errores del "Pipi" Romagnoli" [Viral: the botched tattoo of "Pipi" Romagnoli]. El Litoral (in Spanish). 18 April 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  3. "Leandro Romagnoli, un regreso emocionante" [Leandro Romagnoli, an exciting return]. La Nación (in Spanish). 11 December 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. Espejo, Maximiliano (18 November 2009). "Leandro Romagnoli, un talentoso que ha retornado al barrio de Boedo" [Leandro Romagnoli, talented player returns to Boedo neighbourhood] (in Spanish). 5 de Primera. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  5. "Romagnoli steht auf dem Wunschzettel" [Romagnoli on the wishlist] (in German). kicker. 14 August 2002. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  6. Heike, Frank (12 September 2003). "Bundesliga: Der kluge Einkäufer von der Weser" [Bundesliga: The Weser's clever buyer]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  7. "Paulo Bento: «Romagnoli teve dificuldades em ser regular»" [Paulo Bento: "Romagnoli had trouble being consistent"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  8. "San Lorenzo: Se abren nuevas espectativas para el retorno de Romagnoli" [San Lorenzo: New expectations on return of Romagnoli] (in Spanish). Goal. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  9. "Romagnoli (ex-Sporting) renova com o San Lorenzo aos 36 anos" [Romagnoli (ex-Sporting) renews with San Lorenzo at age 36]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 24 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  10. "Argentina: Ex-leão Romagnoli anuncia adeus aos relvados" [Argentina: Former lion Romagnoli announces farewell to pitches]. Record (in Portuguese). 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  11. "D'Alessandro, Romagnoli, Saviola, y Maxi Rodríguez, juntos a 15 años del título sub 20" [D'Alessandro, Romagnoli, Saviola, and Maxi Rodríguez, 15-year reunion of under 20 title] (in Spanish). Infobae. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. "Argentina National Team – Bielsa II". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
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