Ángel Fabián ...

Ángel Fabián Di María (born February 14, 1988 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province ) is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for S.L. Benfica and is known as " The Little Angel ". Di María started his professional football career in 2005, when he made his debut for Rosario Central . In January 2007 he had an opportunity to play in Russian Premier League when FC Rubin Kazan offered him a contract. At first he agreed, but soon afterward he changed his mind and turned down the offer. After putting up a remarkable performance in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing for Argentina, Di María caught the eye of several international teams and in the end Benfica signed him. So highly regarded was Di María by Benfica that the president of the Portuguese club, Luís Filipe Vieira, when presenting the young Argentine, told the club’s supporters he had bought the perfect replacement for Benfica’s departing captain, Simão Sabrosa, a talismanic figure for Benfica for over five seasons. During the first months of his tenure in Lisbon, Di María showed that he was not in the least weighed down by the expectations, and the fans quickly took to the exciting talent. On October 23, 2008, Di María gave Benfica the lead in the Uefa Cup match against Hertha Berlin . The match eventually ended with a 1-1 draw, meaning that Benfica are yet to win in Germany after 16 attempts. On July 27, 2007 S.L. Benfica paid Rosario Central €6 million for 80% of his sports rights. Later, on August 2008, the Portuguese club paid an extra €2 million for the remaining 20%, setting his transfer at a final value of €8 million. In 2007, Di María was picked to play for the Argentina Under-20 squad. He was capped for the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay . In 2007 he was called up for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada . They went on to win the tournament with Di María scoring 3 goals in the process. On 28 January 2008, Di María and some of his U-20 teammates were called up for the Argentina squad for the Beijing Olympics. He scored the extra-time game-winning goal on a pass from Messi in the 105th minute of his team's 2-1 quarterfinal win over The Netherlands . On August 23, 2008, in perhaps the best moment of his career so far, Di Maria scored the game-winner, a chip over the keeper from the edge of the area, in the 57th minute of Argentina's 1-0 victory against Nigeria to capture their second straight Olympic Gold Medal in the final game of the Olympic tournament. An extremely exciting talent, Di Maria is best with the ball at his feet running at defenders. The combination of pace and skill he possesses has drawn admiring glances from around Europe, and given Benfica fans something to cheer about again after the loss of their previous talismanic hero Simao Sabrosa to Atletico Madrid. Whilst of slight build he has proved extremely difficult to knock off the ball, a trait many defenders have come to learn, usually being forced to give away free kicks to curtail his mazy runs. He would be perfectly described as a 'desequilibrante’ type of player- a term coined in Spain for a player who literally destabilises the opposition by causing havoc within their defence. Mixed with his dribbling is an exquisite feel for the ball, both in control as well as his shooting, which has led to a collection of goals in his brief career, many of which falling into the "special" category. He likes to operate on the left wing, yet is not a natural winger, preferring to cut in at the opposition defence, developing a knack for scoring important goals in the process. In 2007 Di Maria was called up to the Argentinian U-20 squad, where he helped them win the U-20 World Cup in Canada, scoring three goals in the process. It is here his talent first began to gain worldwide notice, with Benfica beating a collection of European rivals to his signature following the tournament. In 2008 he was awarded a place in the Argentinian Olympic team, scoring the winner in both the quarter-final and final, the latter a sublime chip on the edge of the box. With every passing game the 6 million Euro shelled out for his services seems more like a bargain- it remains to be seen how much longer Benfica can keep hold of the fantasista with the likes of Arsenal, Inter Milan and Real Madrid all showing a keen interest.