Hernán Crespo

Personal information
Full name	Hernán Jorge Crespo
Date of birth	(1975-07-05) July 5, 1975 (age 36)
Place of birth	Florida, Argentina
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1996	River Plate	62	(24)
1996–2000	Parma	116	(62)
2000–2002	Lazio	54	(39)
2002–2003	Internazionale	17	(7)
2003–2008	Chelsea	49	(20)
2004–2005	→ Milan (loan)	28	(11)
2006–2008	→ Internazionale (loan)	49	(18)
2008–2009	Internazionale	14	(2)
2009–2010	Genoa	16	(5)
2010–2012	Parma	46	(10)
National team‡
1996	Argentina U23	6	(6)
1995–2007	Argentina	64	(35)
Honours Competitor for  Argentina Men's Football Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Competition Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 March 2009

Hernán Jorge Crespo (born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine footballer who is currently out of contract. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in the 2000–01 Serie A with 26 goals, while playing for Lazio. Crespo once held the world record in transfer fee, when he was bought by Lazio from Parma in July 2000.

Club career[link]

River Plate[link]

Crespo made his debut with River Plate during the 1993–94 season, scoring 13 goals in 25 league appearances as River Plate won the Apertura league title. In 1996, Crespo helped River win the Copa Libertadores, scoring twice in the home leg of the final in Buenos Aires.

Parma[link]

Crespo left River Plate for Parma on 14 August 1996 after he won the silver medal with Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics and finished as the top scorer with six goals.^[2] He failed to score in his first six months at the club and was routinely booed with head coach Carlo Ancelotti coming in for much criticism for keeping faith with the selection of Crespo. His faith was, however, vindicated: the young Argentine went on to score 12 times in 27 matches in his first Serie A season and Parma finished runners-up to Juventus. The turning point was the standing applause he received for his brace against Calcio in March 1997.^[3] Parma won the 1998–99 Italian Cup and he scored the opening goal in Parma's 3–0 UEFA Cup final victory over Olympique de Marseille. He had scored 80 goals in four seasons.

Lazio[link]

In 2000, Lazio broke the then-world transfer record by paying £35 million (they paid £16m in cash and transferred Matías Almeyda and Sérgio Conceição) to acquire Crespo,^[4] who in turn finished as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals. Lazio, however, failed to defend its league title in 2001, and the following season, Crespo suffered from some injuries, while new signings Jaap Stam and Gaizka Mendieta failed to live up their reputations, following the departures of playmakers Juan Sebastián Verón and Pavel Nedvěd. Crespo was left without the tremendous support he had enjoyed in 2001, but still scored a respectable haul of goals. Lazio's financial problems, however, forced the club to sell several players, and following Alessandro Nesta's transfer to AC Milan, speculation over Crespo's future intensified.

Internazionale[link]

On 31 August 2002, Crespo, expected to shine again after suffering from injuries, signed with Internazionale as replacement for the departed Ronaldo^[5] for a €26 million and Bernardo Corradi.^[6] Lazio later re-valued Corradi to €5.5 million.^[7] Internazionale was short of strikers after the highly rated Mohamed Kallon was injured in August^[8] and only Álvaro Recoba and Christian Vieri together with reserves Bernardo Corradi and Nicola Ventola, were available.

He scored seven goals in three appearances, along with nine goals in 12 Champions League matches until he was shelved for four months by injury in early 2003.

Chelsea[link]

2003–04 season[link]

Crespo was transferred to Premier League club Chelsea on 26 August 2003 for a fee of £16.8 million.^[9] He made his league debut on 30 August 2003 as a substitute for Adrian Mutu in a 2–2 home draw against Blackburn Rovers.^[10] On 16 September 2003, Crespo made his European debut, replacing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the 2003–04 Champions League group stage, which ended in a 1–0 away win after a late goal from William Gallas against Sparta Prague.^[11] Four days later, he scored his first goals, a double, in a 5–0 away victory against Wolves.^[12] Crespo only made 31 appearances (including 19 in the league) in all competitions, scoring 12 goals.

Loan to Milan[link]

After José Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager for the 2004–05 season, Crespo became surplus to Chelsea's plans and was loaned to Milan, as requested by then manager Carlo Ancelotti. He scored a total of ten league goals, and netted twice in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Liverpool.^[13]

Return to Chelsea[link]

After Chelsea's failed attempts to land a big-name striker during the summer of 2005, Mourinho needed competition for striker Didier Drogba and decided to recall Crespo from Milan, convincing him that he had a future in England. Crespo made his first return appearance in a 2–1 FA Community Shield win over Arsenal.^[14] He scored his first league goal of 2005 against Wigan Athletic in Chelsea's season opener in a 1–0 win.^[15] The 2005–06 league title was Crespo's first league title victory in European football.

Internazionale[link]

Though he scored 26 goals in all competitions and won the 2005–06 Premiership, Crespo requested a return to Italy in order to rejoin Milan, but Chelsea refused and announced that Crespo would remain a Chelsea player until the club accepted a suitable offer for him. On 7 August 2006, Crespo joined Inter on a two-year loan. He scored his 125th Serie A goal against Siena on 2 December 2006, and his 200th career European goal on 2 April 2007. On 13 May, Crespo scored a hat-trick to help Inter defeat Lazio 4–3 and win the Scudetto. Two days earlier, he had appeared in training without his customary long hair, which he had kept grown out for over five years.^[16]

He has scored at least one Champions League goal with each of the five European teams he has played for since moving from River Plate in 1996;^[17] he is the only player in Champions League history to accomplish this feat.

Crespo was officially released from Chelsea on 3 July 2008, following the expiration of his contract.^[18][19] and was signed by Inter on a one-year contract for free. In the 2008–09 season, under José Mourinho, his former manager in Chelsea, Crespo only made 13 Serie A appearances, including two starts. He was excluded from the UEFA Champions League roster.

Genoa[link]

Following the expiration of his contract at Inter, Crespo was quickly snapped up by Genoa, taking Diego Milito's place, who moved in the opposite direction. On 8 June 2009, it was reported that Crespo had a medical check to formalize his transfer. Crespo cited his ambition to make the Argentina World Cup squad as one of his key reasons for making the move to Genoa.^[20] On 13 September, Crespo scored his first goal of the 2009 season against Napoli.^[21]

Parma[link]

In January 2010, Crespo returned to Parma after the club agreed the deal with Atalanta and Genoa. Crespo replaced Nicola Amoruso who left for Atalanta, while Atalanta's Robert Acquafresca moved to Genoa to replace Crespo. The Argentinian striker returned after ten years to Parma. While he scored just once before the season's end, the striker did enjoy a more successful 2010–11 season, scoring 11 goals, including 9 in the league, becoming Parma's top scorer for a fourth time in the process, which remains a post-war club record. Despite mounting speculation of his departure, Crespo signed a one-year contract extension on 30 June 2011.^[22] However, a lack of first-team opportunities saw Crespo and Parma mutually agree to terminate his contract on 2 February 2012, although he did vow to return to the city he had fallen in love with.^[23]

International career[link]

Crespo has 64 caps and 35 goals with Argentina. He won his first cap in a friendly match against Bulgaria in February 1995, but then had to wait 16 months for his second cap and more than two years for his first goal. He was called up to the final roster for the 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cups. In June 2005, Crespo scored twice in Argentina's 3–1 World Cup qualifying win over arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires, which made him Argentina's career scoring leader in World Cup qualifiers. He finished the 2006 competition as the Silver Shoe Award winner.

On 28 June 2007, he scored twice in Argentina's 4–1 victory over the United States in their 2007 Copa América Group C opener, tying Diego Maradona's team scoring record.^[24] He finished with a total of three goals.

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

Last update: 13 February 2012.^[25]

International[link]

^[26]

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Goal	Competition
1994–95
1.	14 February 1995	Mendoza, Argentina	Bulgaria	4–1	0	Friendly[27]
1995–96
2.	2 June 1996	Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	0–2	0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
	20 July 1996	Birmingham, Alabama, United States	United States	3–1	1	1996 Olympics (Argentina U23)
	22 July 1996	Washington, D.C., United States	Portugal	1–1	0
	24 July 1996	Birmingham, Alabama, United States	Tunisia	1–1	0
	27 July 1996		Spain	4–0	2
	30 July 1996	Athens, Georgia, United States	Portugal	2–0	2
	3 August 1996		Nigeria	2–3	1
1996–97
3.	28 December 1996	Mar del Plata, Argentina	Yugoslavia	2–3	0	Friendly[28]
4.	12 January 1997	Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	0–0	0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	12 February 1997	Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	0
6.	30 April 1997	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ecuador	2–1	1
7.	8 June 1997		Peru	2–0	1
8.	6 July 1997	Asunción, Paraguay	Paraguay	2–1	0
9.	20 July 1997	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	2–0	1
1997–98
10.	10 September 1997	Santiago, Chile	Chile	2–1	0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	12 October 1997	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	0–0	0
12.	16 November 1997		Colombia	1–1	0
	19 February 1998	Mendoza, Argentina	Romanian League	2–1	0	Unofficial Friendly[29]
14.	24 February 1998	Mar del Plata, Argentina	Yugoslavia	3–1	3[30]	Friendly
15.	30 June 1998	Saint-Étienne, France	England	2–2 (AET) 4–3 (PSO)	0	1998 FIFA World Cup
1998–99
16.	31 March 1999	Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Netherlands	1–1	0	Friendly[31]
1999–2000
17.	4 September 1999	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Brazil	2–0	1[32]	Friendly
18.	7 September 1999	Porto Alegre, Brazil	Brazil	2–4	0[33]
19.	17 November 1999	Seville, Spain	Spain	2–0	0[31]
20.	23 February 2000	London, England, United Kingdom	England	0–0	0[34]
21.	29 March 2000	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	4–1	0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
22.	26 April 2000	Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	4–0	1
23.	29 June 2000	Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	3–1	1
24.	19 July 2000	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ecuador	2–0	1
25.	26 July 2000	São Paulo, Brazil	Brazil	1–3	0
2000–01
26.	16 August 2000	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Paraguay	1–1	0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
27.	3 September 2000	Lima, Peru	Peru	2–1	1
28.	28 February 2001	Rome, Italy	Italy	2–1	1	Friendly
29.	28 March 2001	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	5–0	1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
30.	25 April 2001	La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	3–3	2
31.	3 June 2001	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Colombia	3–0	1
2001–02
32.	15 August 2001	Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	2–0	1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
33.	5 September 2001	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Brazil	2–1	0
34.	2 June 2002	Ibaraki, Japan	Nigeria	1–0	0	2002 FIFA World Cup
35.	7 June 2002	Sapporo, Japan	England	0–1	0
36.	12 June 2002	Rifu, Miyagi, Japan	Sweden	1–1	1
2002–03
37.	20 November 2002	Saitama, Japan	Japan	2–0	1[35]	Friendly
2003–04
38.	20 August 2003	Florence, Italy	Uruguay	3–2	0	Friendly
39.	6 September 2003	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2–2	0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
40.	9 September 2003	Caracas, Venezuela	Venezuela	3–0	1
41.	15 November 2003	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Bolivia	3–0	1
42.	19 November 2003	Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–1	1
43.	30 March 2004	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ecuador	1–0	1
44.	28 April 2004	Casablanca, Morocco	Morocco	1–0	0	Friendly
45.	2 June 2004	Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Brazil	1–3	0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
46.	6 June 2004	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Paraguay	0–0	0
2004–05
47.	9 February 2005	Düsseldorf, Germany	Germany	2–2	2	Friendly
48.	30 March 2005	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Colombia	1–0	1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
49.	8 June 2005		Brazil	3–1	2
2005–06
50.	17 August 2005	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	2–1	0	Friendly
51.	9 October 2005	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Peru	2–0	0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
52.	12 October 2005	Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	0–1	0
53.	12 November 2005	Geneva, Switzerland	England	2–3	1	Friendly
54.	1 March 2006	Basel, Switzerland	Croatia	2–3	0
55.	30 May 2006	Salerno, Italy	Angola	2–0	0
56.	10 June 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	2–1	1	2006 FIFA World Cup
57.	16 June 2006	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	1
58.	24 June 2006	Leipzig, Germany	Mexico	2–1 (AET)	1
59.	30 June 2006	Berlin, Germany	Germany	1–1 (AET) 2–4 (PSO)	0
2006–07
60.	7 February 2007	Saint-Denis, France	France	1–0	0	Friendly
61.	2 June 2007	Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–1	0
62.	5 June 2007	Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–3	0
63.	28 June 2007	Maracaibo, Venezuela	United States	4–1	2	2007 Copa América
64.	2 July 2007		Colombia	4–2	1