Ezequiel Iván...

Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi (born 3 May 1985, in Villa Gobernador Gálvez, Santa Fe Province, Argentina ) is an Argentine footballer currently playing for Serie A club Napoli . [edit] Club career [edit] Early career Like many promising young Argentine players who appear in Italy, the media have been quick to dub Lavezzi the "New Maradona".[1][2] Lavezzi himself however plays this down, instead comparing himself to another young Argentine player in Carlos Tévez. As a youngster, Lavezzi had a very keen interest in football and supported his local side Rosario Central ; he would later get their badge tattooed on his chest. From a very young age, the footballing talent of Lavezzi was recognised, as he played in the youth squads of Boca Juniors from the age of 10 until he was 17.[3] Lavezzi moved to the youth side of Estudiantes de Buenos Aires in 2003, where over one season he played 39 games and scored 17 goals.[3] [edit] Genoa He was bought by Italian side Genoa in 2004 for 1 million euro,[3] but was loaned out straight away to Argentina side San Lorenzo .[4] Here at the age of 19, he competed in the Apertura 2004 tournament scoring six goals in total over the course of the season; which saw him finish as 4th top scorer. Lavezzi's most notable contributions included a spectacular effort against River Plate at the El Monumental. He scored in the 69th minute to give San Lorenzo a famous victory and seriously damage River's title challenge. This gained him the nickname la Bestia ("the Beast") from the Argentine media.[3] Although it was planned for Lavezzi to return back to Genoa after a season on loan, there were problems. While Lavezzi was playing in Argentina, Genoa were involved in an alleged match fixing scandal which saw them relegated down to Serie C1; the third level of Italian football. Due to financial constraints, the promising forward was sold to San Lorenzo for 1.2 million euro.[5] [edit] San Lorenzo On his return to San Lorenzo for the Apertura 2005 season, he managed to help the club up into the top half of the table, with eight goals, he finished as the overall 4th top scorer. His last act as a San Lorenzo player was to help them to the Clausura 2007 title, beating out Boca Juniors by six points. [edit] Napoli Napoli had recently achieved promotion back to Serie A, after finishing as runners-up the previous season in Serie B. Looking to strengthen their squad for a return to the top level, Napoli signed Lavezzi on a five-year contract on 5 July 2007. The transfer deal was worth around 6 million euros, he was presented before the fans and given the number 7 shirt for his first season. Lavezzi soon made an impact for the club by scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Pisa in the Coppa Italia at the Stadio San Paolo; this was the first hat-trick by a Napoli player in fourteen years.[6] The first league goal Lavezzi scored for Napoli, came during a 5–0 victory against Udinese on 2 September 2007. After the match he was described in reports as "inspirational",[7] with the media proclaiming "Napoli's star is born".[7] The Neapolitan club hadn't won a league match by such a large margin since 1988, when Diego Maradona was at the club.[8] Lavezzi's contract was extended one year to 30 June 2013 in March 2008. [edit] International career Lavezzi made his international debut for the Argentina national team team against Chile, on 18 April 2007. He was chosen to represent Argentina at the 2008 Olympics.He scored against Australia on 10th August 2008. Lavezzi also appeared in the final minutes of extra time against Nigeria, in a game Argentina won 1-0.