Roberto Antonio Nanni (born 20 August 1981) is an Argentine retired football forward.

Roberto Nanni
Personal information
Full name Roberto Antonio Nanni
Date of birth (1981-08-20) 20 August 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Azul, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre forward
Youth career
Alumni Azuleño
Vélez Sarsfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Vélez Sársfield 68 (35)
2003–2007 Dynamo Kyiv 1 (1)
2003–2004Dynamo-2 Kyiv 10 (6)
2004–2005UD Almería (loan) 12 (5)
2005Siena (loan) 8 (0)
2006Messina (loan) 9 (1)
2006–2007Crotone (loan) 6 (1)
2008–2009 Vélez Sársfield 20 (1)
2009–2013 Cerro Porteño 100 (39)
2013 Atlante 9 (3)
2014–2016 Vélez Sársfield 24 (2)
2016 Cúcuta Deportivo 8 (0)
2016–2017 Club Nacional 14 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2017

Club career edit

Nanni started playing professionally for Vélez Sársfield in 2001. While at the team, he reached the final fixture of the 2003 Clausura as the league's top scorer with 15 goals, 3 more than Rosario Central's Luciano Figueroa. However, Figueroa scored 5 goals in his team's 7–2 victory over Boca Juniors, that played the game with a youth squad, frustrating Nanni's possibility of becoming the league's top scorer.[1] During that tournament, in which Vélez finished third under Carlos Ischia's coaching, Nanni scored the only goal of the 1–0 victory over River Plate, ending a 12-year period without victories for the team in the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti.[2]

On 29 August 2003, the Argentine forward was signed by FC Dynamo Kyiv, for a club's record fee –at that time– of around €5 million.[3] While in Dynamo Kyiv, he hardly play for the senior squad, participating only in reserve competitions. In October 2004 he was loaned to UD Almería in Spain,[4] starting a loan span that took him to Siena in July 2005, Messina in January 2006 and lastly Crotone in August 2006 (all in Italy). In January 2008 he was released by Dynamo and rejoined Vélez.

Upon his return, the striker won with his team the 2009 Clausura, scoring one goal in the second game, against Argentinos Juniors. Nanni played 11 games during the tournament, mostly coming on as a substitute.[5]

In July 2009, at the request of coach Pedro Troglio, he joined Paraguayan champions Cerro Porteño, on a free transfer. The striker helped his team reach the semifinals of both the 2009 Copa Sudamericana and the 2011 Copa Libertadores (being the joint top scorer in the latter, with 7 goals). Nanni also won with Cerro Porteño the 2012 Apertura and was the joint top scorer of the 2010 Clausura. After five years playing for Cerro Porteño, the Argentine forward had a fight with the club's President Juan José Zapag and his contract was terminated.[6] With 59 goals in all competitions, Nanni is the 5th top goal scorer in the history of Cerro Porteño.

After Cerro Porteño, the forward joined Atlante F.C., where he played for six months in 2013. In February 2014, Nanni joined Vélez Sarsfield on a free transfer for his third spell with the club, signing for one year.[7]

Honours edit

Club edit

Vélez Sársfield
Cerro Porteño

Individual edit

References edit

  1. ^ Guillermo Tagliaferri (17 October 2010). "Martínez y Silva van por la historia". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  2. ^ "VELEZ LE HUNDIÓ OTRO PUÑAL A UN RIVER EN CRISIS". Terra Deportes (in Spanish). 23 February 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Velez – El goleador Roberto Nanni pasó al Dínamo Kiev de Ucrania". Los Andes (in Spanish). 27 August 2003. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Nanni's services no longer required". UEFA. 7 October 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Closing '09 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Roberto Nanni cesado en Cerro Porteño tras quejarse por falta de pago". RPP Noticias (in Spanish). 9 May 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Vélez selló el regreso de Roberto Nanni". Ambito.com (in Spanish). 7 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

External links edit