Pablo Aimar

River Plate

Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Aimar began playing football semi-professionally for hometown club, Estudiantes de Río Cuarto. It was there that he was spotted by River Plate and offered the chance to join the club's academy. Aimar's father initially prevented him from joining River as he felt he was too young to be playing football, but relented after manager Daniel Passarella personally asked him to allow his son to play. Having turned down the opportunity to attend medical school to pursue a career in football, Aimar made his debut for River on 11 August 1996 against Colón. His first goal for the club came on 20 February 1998 against Rosario Central. Aimar lifted five titles with River between 1996 and 2000, scoring 22 goals in 87 across all competitions appearances for the club, with his final appearance coming on 17 December 2000 in a 3–2 loss to Lanús.

Valencia

In January 2001, Spanish La Liga side Valencia signed Aimar from River for a fee of €24 million (£13 million). In February, he made his debut for the club against Manchester United and drew praise from three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff for his performance after the match. The following weekend he scored on his La Liga debut, netting in a 2–0 away win over Las Palmas. Aimar immediately became a key figure in Valencia's midfield under Rafael Benítez and helped the club reach the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, where they lost to Bayern Munich on penalties.

During the following campaign, in what was his first full season with the club, Aimar appeared in 33 league games and scored 4 goals as Valencia were crowned 2001–02 La Liga champions for the first time in 31 years. He ended as the club's second-highest goalscorer across all competitions for the season, behind Rubén Baraja.

During the following season's Champions League, Aimar jointly topped the assists log alongside Rui Costa of Milan with five assists to his name. It was a disappointing campaign for Valencia, however, as they were eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter-finals and ended the league season in fifth place. It would soon be forgotten, however, as Valencia stormed to a league and UEFA Cup double the following season. Despite making more than 30 appearances for the season and playing an influential role in the club's UEFA Cup triumph, Aimar was sidelined for large parts of the season in what was to set an injury-plagued tone to his career.

Following a breakdown between Benítez and Valencia's sporting director Jesús García Pitarch, the former left his position at the club and was replaced by Italian manager Claudio Ranieri for the 2004–05 season. A combination of injury concerns and tactical changes from the manager saw Aimar struggle under Ranieri and found himself being as employed as a substitute more frequently than before. The Italian departed the club in February and was replaced by Antonio López, who in turn was replaced by Quique Sánchez Flores for the following season. With Valencia in decline, Aimar decided to leave the club at the end of the 2005–06 season having amassed over 200 appearances for the club over the course of five-and-a-half seasons.

Zaragoza

In the summer of 2006, Aimar joined fellow top flight club Real Zaragoza on a four-year deal for a reported fee of €11 million, with the club describing the deal as the most important signing in the club's history. At Zaragoza, he was reunited with compatriot and former Valencia teammate Roberto Ayala, who himself had joined the club earlier in the month. Aimar made his league debut on 27 August in a 2–3 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña and went on to make 32 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals along the way. The following season was a disastrous one for Aimar and Zaragoza as the club, fraught with poor performances and financial mismanagement were relegated from La Liga. Zaragoza's relegation saw Aimar bring an end to his time in Aragon, having made 57 appearances during his two-season stay with the club. During his stint with Zaragoza, he obtained dual-Spanish nationality, having lived in the country since 2001.

Benfica

On 17 July 2008, Aimar signed a four-year contract with Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of €6.5 million. After struggling with injuries to start the 2008–09 season, he finished strongly.

In the 2009–10 campaign, Aimar was reunited with former River Plate teammate Javier Saviola, who was let go by Real Madrid following his own injury struggles. The two combined as double trequartista to support striker Óscar Cardozo, along with fellow Argentine Ángel Di María on the wing. Saviola said of Aimar, "I have never played with another player who knows where I'm going to be or just lifts his head knowing where I'm going to." Benfica won the club's 32nd championship following a five-year wait. He played 46 games in the 2010–11 season in all competitions and scored seven goals, winning the Taça da Liga.

On 6 June 2013, after 179 official appearances and 17 goals, 33-year-old Aimar announced he was leaving Benfica, thanking the club for "five wonderful years".

Johor Darul Ta'zim

On 7 August 2013, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, the president of Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim, confirmed that Aimar had signed a two-year contract with the team. Upon arrival, he became the highest paid player ever to feature in the Malaysia Super League. He made his debut in the league six months after signing, in a 2–0 win against Perak FA. Prior to making his debut, Aimar had previously played at the Larkin Stadium, home of Johor, before with Argentina in the 1997 Youth World Cup. He ultimately made 8 appearances for the club and scored two goals before a spate of injuries resulted in him being released on 21 April 2014. Aimar did earn a champions medal for his time with JDT, though, as the club went on to lift the Super League title at the end of the season.

Return to River Plate

On 5 January 2015, Aimar returned to River Plate for the club's pre-season training, stating that he would sign with the club only if he could deal with the physical demand after having undergone surgeries to his heel and not having played since leaving Johor Darul in April 2014. On 31 May, he played as substitute in a home win against Rosario Central in the Primera División. Aimar announced his retirement on 14 July 2015 after River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo informed him that he was not included in the club's squad for the semi-final stage of the Copa Libertadores. Gallardo said Aimar was "suffering" and had struggled with injuries through the pre-season.

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; he played in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

In the 2002 World Cup, for which he was picked ahead of Riquelme, Aimar appeared against England, subbing in for Juan Sebastián Verón in the 0–1 loss, which led coach Marcelo Bielsa to start him against Sweden at the latter's expense.

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

After several months in the sidelines, Aimar received another international callup in October 2009, for decisive 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay. In the match against the former he repaid the faith placed in him by coach Diego Maradona, assisting Gonzalo Higuaín for Argentina's opener with a through ball, in an eventual 2–1 win.

Coaching career

Aimar was appointed as coach of the Argentina national under-17 football team in July 2017.

Personal life

Aimar's younger brother, Andrés, is also a professional footballer and a midfielder. He represented several teams in his country – starting his career at River Plate – also playing for a few months in Israel.

Club

¹ includes one match in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

Club

International

Individual