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Pablo César Aimar Giordano (born 3 November 1979 in Río Cuarto, Córdoba) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division. Mainly an attacking midfielder with a vast array of skills,^[1] he also holds a Spanish passport.^[2]

Club career

Pablo Aimar began his ascent to stardom with Club Atlético River Plate, whose first team he joined for the 1997-98 season, after rejecting a place at medical school, and with whom he quickly established himself as one of the best young players in Argentina.

Valencia CF of Spain signed Aimar in January 2001, at a price of €24 million. The purchase proved justified, as Aimar helped lead the team to a first-place finish in 2001-02 (with 33 matches and four goals), as well as to a runners-up finish in the previous seasons's Champions League, being defeated by Bayern Munich. Aimar also won the 2004 UEFA Cup, beating Olympique de Marseille in the final.

On 12 April 2006, he was hospitalized after being diagnosed with acute viral meningitis,^[3] but made a quick recovery and returned to play for his team. During his career with the Che, he was also often troubled with injuries.^[4][5][6]

During the summer of 2006, Aimar joined fellow first divisioner Real Zaragoza for €12 million.^[7] The Aragonese side relegated at the end of 2007-08, with the playmaker appearing in 22 scoreless matches, while also often hindered with injuries.^[8]

On 17 July 2008, after a period of intense negotiations, Aimar signed a four-year contract with Portuguese side Sport Lisboa e Benfica for a fee of €6.5 million.^[9] After a difficult first half of the season, he managed to defeat his constant injuries and finished it in good shape.

In the 2009-10 Benfica pre-season games, Aimar showed that he is in very good shape and demonstrated impressive chemistry with fellow countryman Javier Saviola.

After good exibithions in the Portuguese league, Aimar was re-called again for Argentina, for the last 2 decisive games in the World cup qualifiers.

Style of Play

Pablo Aimar is known for his ability to dribble and create plays with his teammates. His low center of gravity and exceptional technique allowed him to compete with such teams as Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga. With his leadership and humble being he was a key player in Valencia's success in the early 2000s, winning two La Liga titles, and a UEFA Cup. Aimar is also a good set-piece taker.

International career

Aimar first represented Argentina at youth levels. Along with future senior team stars Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Román Riquelme, he won the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and went on to gain over 50 full caps since his debut in 1999.^[10] He played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

In the 2002 World Cup, where it is worth noting that he was picked ahead of long time rival and friend, Riquelme, he played against England, subbing in for Juan Sebastián Verón, which led coach Marcelo Bielsa to start him against Sweden, at the latter's expense.

He scored the last goal of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, during Argentina's 4-1 loss in the final to champions Brazil, also appearing with the national side in the Copa América 2007 (losing in the final to the same team, this time 0-3).

After months of waiting Aimar got called up for the crucial 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay in October 2009. In the all important encounter against Peru, "pablito" duely repaid the faith placed in him by Maradona, assisting Higuaín for Argentina's opener, with a sublime through ball. Argentina went on to win the match 2-1, thanks to a late goal by Martín Palermo. Aimar's performance was praised by critics, and he more than filled in the role of the trequartista, which has yet to find a regular since the retirement of Juan Roman Riquelme.

International goals

As of 10 August 2009

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 August 2000	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Paraguay	1 – 1	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2.	27 March 2002	Geneva, Switzerland	Cameroon	2 – 2	2–2	Friendly
3.	30 April 2003	June 11 Stadium, Tripoli, Libya	Libya	3 – 1	3–1	Friendly
4.	6 September 2003	River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2 – 0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5.	9 September 2003	Estadio Olímpico, Caracas, Venezuela	Venezuela	1 – 0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
6.	15 November 2003	River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Bolivia	3 – 0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
7.	29 June 2005	Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany	Brazil	1 – 4	1–4	2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
8.	28 June 2007	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	United States	3 – 1	4–1	Copa América 2007

Club statistics

Honours

Club

• River Plate:
  • Apertura: 1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-2000
  • Clausura: 1999-2000
  • Libertadores Cup: 1996
  • South American Supercup: 1997

• Valencia:
  • Spanish League: 2001-02, 2003-04
  • UEFA Cup: 2003-04
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2004
  • UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2000-01

• Benfica:
  • Portuguese League Cup: 2008-09

Country

• FIFA World Youth Championship: 1997

References

External links

• Stats at Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (Portuguese)
• zerozerofootball.com - Player profile and stats
• BDFutbol profile
• PortuGOAL profile
• FootballDatabase profile and stats
• Pablo Aimar at National-Football-Teams.com

Argentina squads Argentina squad – 1999 Copa América 1 Burgos • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Ibarra • 5 Simeone • 6 Samuel • 7 Barros Schelotto • 8 Zanetti • 9 Palermo • 10 Ortega • 11 López • 12 Bizzarri • 13 Vivas • 14 Pochettino • 15 Berizzo • 16 Guglielminpietro • 17 Husaín • 18 Cagna • 19 Calderón • 20 Aimar • 21 González • 22 Riquelme • Coach: Bielsa Argentina squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Burgos • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Pochettino • 5 Almeyda • 6 Samuel • 7 C. López • 8 Zanetti • 9 Batistuta • 10 Ortega • 11 Verón • 12 Cavallero • 13 Placente • 14 Simeone • 15 Husaín • 16 Aimar • 17 G. López • 18 González • 19 Crespo • 20 Gallardo • 21 Caniggia • 22 Chamot • 23 Bonano • Coach: Bielsa Argentina squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Franco • 2 Samuel • 3 Sorín • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Tévez • 8 Riquelme • 9 Saviola • 10 Aimar • 11 Delgado • 12 Lux • 13 G. Rodríguez • 14 Milito • 15 Placente • 16 Coloccini • 17 Bernardi • 18 Santana • 19 Maxi Rodríguez • 20 Demichelis • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galletti • 23 Caballero • Coach: Pekerman Argentina squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Coloccini • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Franco • 13 Scaloni • 14 Palacio • 15 Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Cufré • 18 Rodríguez • 19 Messi • 20 Cruz • 21 Burdisso • 22 González • 23 Ustari • Coach: Pekerman Argentina squad – Copa América 2007 Runners-up 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Díaz • 4 Ibarra • 5 Gago • 6 Heinze • 7 Palacio • 8 Zanetti • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Carrizo • 13 González • 14 Mascherano • 15 G. Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Burdisso • 18 Messi • 19 Cambiasso • 20 Verón • 21 D. Milito • 22 Orión • Coach: Basile