Germán Pezzella
Argentine footballer (born 1991)
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Germán Alejo Pezzella (Spanish pronunciation: [xeɾˈman aˈlexo peˈsela]; born 27 June 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Argentina national team, with whom he won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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Pezzella with Argentina in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Germán Alejo Pezzella[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 June 1991[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | River Plate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kilómetro Cinco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Juventud Unida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2005 | Olimpo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | River Plate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | River Plate | 43 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Betis | 61 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 34 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Fiorentina | 97 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Betis | 86 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | River Plate | 27 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Argentina U20 | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Argentina U23 | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2025 | Argentina | 42 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 02:00, 24 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 October 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
Early career
After impressing with the former's reserves he was called up to the pre-season in Canada, appearing in friendlies against Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Everton.[3]
River Plate
Upon being an unused substitute in a goalless away draw against Club Atlético Huracán on 18 October 2009, Pezzella made his senior debut on 7 December 2011, starting in a 1–0 home victory against Defensores de Belgrano for the season's Copa Argentina.[4] His league debut came on March 2, 2012, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Quilmes Atlético Club.[5]
Pezzella scored his first professional goal on September 2, 2012, in a 1–1 draw against Club Atlético Colón.[6] He also scored the equalizer in a 1–1 Superclásico home draw against Boca Juniors, just three minutes after coming off the bench.[7]
On 10 December 2014, Pezzella scored the last in a 2014 Copa Sudamericana final 2–0 win against Atlético Nacional, as his side won its first international title after a 17-year absence.[8]
Playing abroad
On July 10, 2015, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga.[9] He made his debut for the club on 23 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.[10]
After a loan spell with Serie A club Fiorentina during the 2017–18 season, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with the club that runs through the end of the 2021–22 season for an €11m transfer fee.[11] Ahead of the 2018–19 season, he was named the club's new captain.[12] On August 19, 2021, Pezzella returned to Betis after signing a four-year deal.[13]
Return to River Plate
On August 5, 2024, Pezzella returned to River Plate after nine years abroad.[14]
International career
Youth
On September 1, 2011, Pezzella was called up to that year's Pan American Games,[15]
Senior
In October 2017, Pezzella received his first call-up to Argentina national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against Peru, respectively the same year on October 5 and Ecuador October 10 .[16] On November 11, he debuted in a 1–0 friendly draw against Russia.[17] In May 2018, Pezzella was named in the Argentina national team's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but did not make the final 23.[18]
On March 27, 2019, Pezzella served as captain of Argentina in an away 1–0 friendly win against Morocco.[19] He was included in Argentina's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, coming on as a substitute in extra-time of the final as his country won a third world title by defeating France on penalties.[20][21]
In June 2024, Pezzella was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.[22]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 May 2024[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate | 2011–12 | Primera B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Argentine Primera División | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 1 | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2014 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8[b] | 2 | – | 20 | 3 | |||
| 2015 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Total | 43 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 6 | ||
| Real Betis | 2015–16 | La Liga | 25 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 61 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 66 | 5 | ||||
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 1 | ||
| Fiorentina | 2018–19 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 6 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 103 | 6 | ||||
| Real Betis | 2021–22 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | – | 34 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7[h] | 0 | – | 40 | 1 | |||
| Total | 86 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 320 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 382 | 19 | ||
- Includes Copa Argentina, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
- Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- Appearance in Copa Campeonato
- Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- Appearances in Recopa Sudamericana
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Supercopa de España
- Six appearances in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 10 October 2024[24]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pezzella goal.[24]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2018 | Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Iraq | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 13 October 2019 | Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Alicante, Spain |  Ecuador | 4–1 | 6–1 | |
| 3 | 15 June 2023 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing, China |  Australia | 2–0 | 2–0 |
Honours
River Plate
- Primera División: 2014 Final
- Copa Campeonato: 2014
- Copa Sudamericana: 2014
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2015
- Copa Libertadores: 2015
Real Betis
Argentina
