Playing position Years Team Role Footballer Weight 78 kg | Number 10 Name Leandro Romagnoli Height 1.72 m Career start 1998 | |
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Full name Leandro Atilio Romagnoli Date of birth (1981-03-17) 17 March 1981 (age 34) Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina Current team San Lorenzo de Almagro (#10 / Midfielder) Profiles | ||
Leandro Atilio Romagnoli (born 17 March 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for San Lorenzo de Almagro mainly as an attacking midfielder.
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His thin build, short stature and playing style are reminiscent of compatriot Osvaldo Ardiles. What the player – nicknamed Pipi – lacks in physical strength, he makes up for with dribbling ability.
Romagnoli started his career with San Lorenzo, but also spent four seasons in Portugal with Sporting.
Club career
Born in Buenos Aires, Romagnoli made his professional debut on 13 December 1998 at the age of only 17, appearing for San Lorenzo de Almagro against Racing Club de Avellaneda. He went on to become an essential offensive player for the club, appearing in roughly 200 official games and winning three major titles.
In January 2005 Romagnoli signed with Mexico's CD Veracruz but, in the same month of the following year, he was on the move again, now to Sporting Clube de Portugal, first on loan. He initially found it difficult to adjust to his new club, but eventually came into his own in the 2006–07 campaign in a superb end-of-season run for both club and player, winning the Portuguese Cup; the move was made permanent in that summer.
After having appeared in only 16 matches in 2008–09, being out of favour with manager Paulo Bento, Romagnoli left the club in early August 2009 to rejoin San Lorenzo.
International career
Romagnoli was part of the Argentina under-20 team that won the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his debut with the full side against the United States on 8 February 2003, playing 12 minutes in a 1–0 friendly win.