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 River Plate and the Argentina national team.

Enzo Nicolás 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
Team 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 135 (2)
International career‡
2009–2018 Argentina 26 (1)
Medal record
Representing  Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up2014
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:38, 21 June 2023 (UTC)
‡ 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

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]

River Plate

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

Ahead of a Copa Libertadores match on 19 May 2021, River Plate announced that over twenty players, including all four rostered goalkeepers, would miss the match due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the squad. With no substitutes, the injured Pérez volunteered to play in goal for the entirety of the match against Colombian side Independiente Santa Fe in which River Plate won 2–1.[20] Pérez made a number of key saves and was awarded with the man of the match for his performance.[21][22] On 21 April 2021, Pérez extended his contract until December 2023.[23]

International career

Pérez made his Argentina senior squad debut on 30 September 2009 under then-manager Diego Maradona[24] in a friendly match against Ghana,[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]

In May 2018, Pérez was named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[29] but did not make the final list.[30] However, on 9 June 2018, he was called up as a replacement for the injured Manuel Lanzini.[31]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 June 2023[32]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estudiantes 2007–08 Argentine Primera División 10200—30132
2008–09 25400—152406
2009–10 30400—9120415
2010–11 33500—2020375
2011–12 14000—7000210
Total 1121500003634015218
Benfica 2011–12 Primeira Liga 30000010—40
2012–13 2843030130—474
2013–14 2844130120—475
2014–15 11120005010191
Total 70991603101011710
Valencia 2014–15 La Liga 14010———150
2015–16 20030—70—300
2016–17 27020———290
Total 61060—7000740
River Plate 2017–18 Argentine Primera División 18041—11220333
2018–19 16 0 3 0 4 1 12 0 2 0 37 3
2019–20 18 0 5 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 31 0
2020–21 6 0 3 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 17 0
2021 30 2 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 36 2
2022 32 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 41 0
2023 15 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 19 0
Total 135 2 17 1 4 1 55 2 5 0 214 8
Career total 3782632260129510055736
  1. Includes the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
  2. Includes the FIFA Club World Cup, Recopa Sudamericana, Portuguese Supercup and Supercopa Argentina.

International
As of match played 30 June 2018[33]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 200920
201010
201121
201210
201300
201490
201510
201620
201750
201830
Total261
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Pérez goal.[33]
International goal scored by Enzo Pérez
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
125 May 2011Estadio Centenario, Resistencia, Argentina Paraguay4–24–2Friendly

Honours

Godoy Cruz

Estudiantes

Benfica

River Plate

Argentina

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  2. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. 11 June 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2019. 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. "Valencia Club de Fútbol".
  20. "El triunfo más increíble de la era Gallardo" [The most incredible triumph in Gallardo's era] (in Spanish). Olé (sports newspaper). 19 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  21. "River Plate play midfielder Enzo Perez in goal but still beat Independiente Santa Fe". BBC. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  22. "Keeper-less River Plate secure memorable Copa Libertadores win". ESPN. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  23. "Una alegría para los hinchas de River: Enzo Pérez renovó contrato y podría retirarse con la banda roja". Todo Noticias (in Spanish). 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  24. "Maradona deu a mão a Enzo Pérez". Jornal Record. 8 June 2011.
  25. "Los 19 para Ghana". Diario Olé. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  26. "Enzo Pérez confirmado no Mundial". noticiasaominuto.com. 2 June 2014.
  27. "Netherlands Argentina Match report". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014.
  28. "Germany Argentina Match report". FIFA,com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2014.
  29. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists | Goal.com".
  30. "Icardi cut from Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad". Goal. Perform Group. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  31. "Enzo Pérez, convocado". AFA. Archived from the original on 11 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  32. Enzo Pérez at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  33. "Enzo Pérez". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  34. 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.
  35. "Así quedó el equipo ideal de la Copa Libertadores 2019". OneFootball (in Spanish). 25 November 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  36. "El GET elige al Once Ideal de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2020 - CONMEBOL" (in Spanish). 4 February 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  37. "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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