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31 October 2017
German Pezzella steps out of shadows to merit Argentina place
They say good things come to those who wait and that's certainly been the case for the Fiorentina center-back German Pezzella.
It has not always been easy for the 26-year-old defender throughout his career : Pezzella took part in the Toulon Tournament 2009 at only 18 alongside the likes of Ever Banega or Diego Perotti. At that time, the young Argentinian hasn’t played a single professional game with River Plate. He has eventually broken into the first-team two years later, the 8th December 2011 in a Copa Argentina game, while River Plate were playing in the Argentinian Second Division.
Pezzella helped River Plate to come back in the First Division and he has finally discovered the Argentinian top-flight at 21. The defender has played for the Buenos Aires-based club until 2015 and clinched two Argentinian League titles as well as a Copa Sudamericana (the equivalent of the Europa League in South America).
After proving his worth with River Plate, Pezzella headed to Europe as he joined Betis Sevilla. In two seasons, he played 61 Liga games, enough to attract the interest from Fiorentina as the Italian side signed him this summer.
This move was a turning point in his career : Pezzella has adapted quickly to the Italian football (10 games, 1 goals this season in the Serie A) and he was rewarded for his performances by a first ever Argentina call-up on October.
The Bahia Blanca-born is yet to make his international debut with the Albiceleste as he was benched during the last two games played by his national team. However, Pezzella will have another opportunity to burst onto the international scene as has been selected for the next friendlies against Russia (November 11) and Nigeria (November 14).
That’s obviously a huge opportunity for him to impress the head coach Jorge Sampaoli before the next summer’s World Cup…
Amayes Brahmi -
Credits photo : Fiorentina
