Germán Pezzella

Germán Alejo Pezzella (Spanish pronunciation: [xeɾˈman aˈlexo peˈsela]; born 27 June 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Betis and the Argentina national team.

Germán Pezzella
Pezzella with Argentina in 2017
Personal information
Full name Germán Alejo Pezzella
Date of birth (1991-06-27) 27 June 1991
Place of birth Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Betis
Number 16
Youth career
Kilómetro Cinco
Juventud Unida
2000–2005 Olimpo
2005–2011 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 River Plate 43 (2)
2015–2018 Betis 61 (4)
2017–2018 → Fiorentina (loan) 34 (1)
2018–2021 Fiorentina 97 (6)
2021– Betis 18 (1)
National team‡
2009–2011 Argentina U20 15 (0)
2011 Argentina U23 5 (2)
2017– Argentina 28 (2)
Honours
Representing  Argentina
Men's Football
Pan American Games
2011 GuadalajaraUnder-23 team
South American U-20 Championship
2011 South American U-20 Championship
Copa América
2019 Brazil
Winner2021 Brazil
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:50, 19 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2022

Club career

Early career

Pezzella joined Club Atlético River Plate's youth setup in 2005, aged 14, after representing Club Olimpo.

After impressing with the former's reserves he was called up to the pre-season in Canada, appearing in friendlies against Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Everton.[1]

River Plate

After being an unused substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Club Atlético Huracán on 18 October 2009, Pezzella made his senior debut on 7 December 2011, starting in a 1–0 home win against Defensores de Belgrano for the season's Copa Argentina.[2] His league debut came on 2 March of the following year, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Quilmes Atlético Club.[3]

Pezzella scored his first professional goal on 2 September 2012, netting the last in a 1–1 draw at Club Atlético Colón.[4] He also scored the equalizer in a 1–1 Superclásico home draw against Boca Juniors, just three minutes after coming off the bench.[5]

On 10 December 2014, Pezzella scored the last in a 2014 Copa Sudamericana final 2–0 win against Atlético Nacional, as his side won its first international title after a 17-year absence.[6]

Betis

On 10 July 2015, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga.[7] He made his debut for the club on 23 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.[8]

Fiorentina

After a loan spell with Serie A club Fiorentina during the 2017–18 season, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with the club that runs through the end of the 2021–22 season for an €11m transfer fee.[9] Ahead of the 2018–19 season, he was named the club's new captain.[10]

On 14 March 2020, Pezzella tested positive for COVID–19.[11]

Betis return

On 19 August 2021, Pezzella returned to Betis after signing a four-year deal.[12]

International career

Pezzella played represented Argentina in 2009 Toulon Tournament. He also appeared with the side in 2011 South American U-20 Championship and 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, always as a starter.

On 1 September 2011, Pezzella was called up to the year's Pan American Games,[13] appearing in five matches and scoring two goals during the competition.

In May 2018 he was named in the Argentina national team's preliminary 35-man for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but did not make the final 23.[14] On 27 March 2019, he captained Argentina in a 1–0 friendly away win against Morocco.[15]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 23 April 2022[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
River Plate 2011–12 Primera B 1050––10
2012–13 Argentine Primera División 10100––101
2013–14 150005[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 2]1211
2014 101208[lower-alpha 1]2–203
2015 71104[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0131
Total 4338017221656
Real Betis 2015–16 La Liga 25340––294
2016–17 36110––371
Total 61450––665
Fiorentina (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 34110––351
Fiorentina 2018–19 Serie A 32230––352
2019–20 33310––343
2020–21 32110––331
2021–22 0010––10
Total 97660––1036
Real Betis 2021–22 La Liga 181407[lower-alpha 5]0–291
Career total 252152402422129818
  1. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  2. Appearance in Copa Campeonato
  3. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  4. Appearances in Recopa Sudamericana
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 25 March 2022[17]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 201720
201841
2019101
2021100
202220
Total282
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pezzella goal.[17]
List of international goals scored by Germán Pezzella
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 October 2018Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Iraq3–04–0Friendly
213 October 2019Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Alicante, Spain Ecuador4–16–1

Honours

River Plate

Real Betis

Argentina

References
  1. "En minutos, River ante Toronto FC" [In minutes, River against Toronto FC] (in Spanish). Taringa!. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. "River venció al Defensores de Ortega y avanzó en la Copa Argentina" [River defeated Defensores de Ortega and went through in Copa Argentina] (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  3. "River quiso más, pero no pudo con el bloqueo de Quilmes" [River wanted more, but could not pass Quilmes' wall] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. "River le empató sobre la hora a Colón y lo bajó" [River drew just in time against Colón and relegated them] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  5. "River y Boca empataron 1–1 en un Superclásico bajo la lluvia" [River and Boca drew 1–1 in a Superclásico under the rain] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  6. "River venció 2–0 a Atlético Nacional y se llevó la Copa Sudamericana" [River defeated Atlético Nacional by 2–0 and won Copa Sudamericana] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  7. "El Betis hace oficial el fichaje del central argentino Pezzella" [Betis turns official the signing of Argentine stopper Pezzella] (in Spanish). Marca. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  8. "Rubén Castro llega justo a tiempo" [Rubén Castro arrives just in time] (in Spanish). Marca. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  9. "Fiorentina sign €11m Pezzella". 30 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  10. "Serie A allows Astori tribute". Football Italia. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  11. "COVID-19, nuove positività". violachannel.tv (in Italian). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. "Germán Pezzella regresa al Real Betis" [Germán Pezzella returns to Real Betis] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  13. "Germán Pezzella aparece en la lista de la preselección para los Panamericanos" [Germán Pezzella appears in the pre-list for the Pan American Games] (in Spanish). Página 95. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  14. "Icardi cut from Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad". Goal.com. Perform Group. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  15. "Correa's late goal gives Argentina morale-boosting win in Morocco". ESPN FC. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  16. "G. Pezzella". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  17. "Pezzella, Germán". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  18. "Real Betis 1–1 Valencia (5–4 on pens): Real Betis win Copa del Rey final on penalties". BBC Sport. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
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