Fernando Belluschi

Fernando Belluschi
Belluschi with San Lorenzo in 2017
Personal information
Full name Fernando Daniel Belluschi
Date of birth (1983-09-10) 10 September 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth Los Quirquinchos, Argentina
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Estudiantes RC
Youth career
Newell's Old Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Newell's Old Boys 90 (20)
2005–2007 River Plate 48 (13)
2007–2009 Olympiacos 36 (6)
2009–2012 Porto 69 (6)
2012 → Genoa (loan) 14 (1)
2012–2015 Bursaspor 89 (11)
2015 Cruz Azul 8 (0)
2016–2020 San Lorenzo 77 (11)
2020–2021 Lanús 10 (0)
2021–2022 Newell's Old Boys 10 (0)
2022– Estudiantes RC 42 (3)
International career
2005–2017 Argentina 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:32, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Fernando Daniel Belluschi (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈlustʃi], Italian: [belˈluski]; born 10 September 1983) is an Argentine midfielder currently playing for Estudiantes de Río Cuarto.

Club career

Belluschi began playing professionally at Newell's Old Boys in 2002, with whom he won the 2004 Apertura Championship. He moved to River Plate in 2006 and with the departure of Marcelo Gallardo to Paris Saint-Germain following the 2006 Apertura, he was named team captain, a position he would fill for two years. He then joined Olympiacos for reported €6.5 million in early 2008.[2]

On 6 July 2009, Porto purchased Belluschi's playing rights and 50% of his economic rights[3] for €5 million.[4] The other 50% was owned by private investment company Rio Football Services Ltd.[5] He signed a contract until 2013 with a release clause of €30 million.[4]

In 2012, Belluschi was sent on to Genoa under a purchasing option of €3.5 million, or €5 million if the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League.[6] In summer 2012, Porto sold its 50% ownership of his economic rights for €1.05 million.[7]

On 10 July 2015, Cruz Azul signed Belluschi on a free transfer. His salary was set at €1.1 million. He debuted for the side as a substitute in the 61st minute for an injured Marc Crosas in the Clasico Joven. He did not receive his international pass until the Clasico Joven, which was why he did not participate in any league matches up to that point. He failed to score for Cruz Azul, having a penalty saved by Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Fraga on matchday 11.

On 26 January 2016, San Lorenzo signed the then-32-year-old Belluschi on a free transfer.

Career statistics

As of match played 2 September 2023[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newell's Old Boys 2002–03 Argentine Primera División 10 0 — — — — 10 0
2003–04 Argentine Primera División 12 1 — — — — 12 1
2004–05 Argentine Primera División 33 8 — — 2[a] 0 — 35 8
2005–06 Argentine Primera División 35 11 — — 9[b] 0 — 44 11
Total 90 20 — — 11 0 — 101 20
River Plate 2006–07 Argentine Primera División 36 6 — — 12[c] 0 — 48 6
2007–08 Argentine Primera División 12 7 — — 0 0 — 12 7
Total 48 13 — — 12 0 — 60 13
Olympiacos Piraeus 2007–08 Super League Greece 11 1 3 0 — 2[d] 0 — 16 1
2008–09 Super League Greece 25 5 6 1 — 8[e] 2 — 39 8
Total 36 6 9 1 — 10 2 — 55 9
Porto 2009–10 Primeira Liga 27 3 5 1 3 1 4[d] 0 1[f] 0 40 5
2010–11 Primeira Liga 26 2 4 0 2 0 13[g] 1 1[f] 0 46 3
2011–12 Primeira Liga 16 1 2 0 2 0 5[d] 0 2[h] 0 27 1
Total 69 6 11 1 7 1 22 1 4 0 113 9
Genoa (loan) 2011–12 Serie A 14 1 0 0 — — — 14 1
Bursaspor 2012–13 Süper Lig 30 5 3 1 — 0 0 — 33 6
2013–14 Süper Lig 27 3 9 1 — 1[g] 0 — 37 4
2014–15 Süper Lig 32 3 9 1 — 1[g] 0 — 42 4
Total 89 11 21 3 — 2 0 — 112 14
Cruz Azul 2015–16 Liga MX 8 0 0 0 — — — 8 0
San Lorenzo 2016 Argentine Primera División 14 2 4 1 — 11[i] 1 1[j] 1 30 5
2016–17 Argentine Primera División 26 6 2 0 — 10[k] 2 — 38 8
2017–18 Argentine Primera División 15 2 2 0 — 0 0 — 17 2
2018–19 Argentine Primera División 13 0 0 0 0 0 3[k] 0 — 16 0
2019–20 Argentine Primera División 9 1 0 0 0 0 — — 9 1
Total 77 11 8 1 0 0 24 3 1 1 110 16
Lanús 2019–20 Argentine Primera División 4 0 0 0 1 0 6[a] 0 — 11 0
2020–21 Argentine Primera División 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 0
Total 10 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 — 17 0
Newell's Old Boys 2021 Argentine Primera División 10 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 — 12 0
Estudiantes RC 2022 Primera Nacional 22 2 — — — — 22 2
2023 Primera Nacional 20 1 1 0 — — — 21 1
Total 42 3 1 0 — — — 43 3
Career totals 493 71 50 6 8 1 89 6 5 1 645 85
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ Seven appearances in Copa Libertadores, two appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  3. ^ Six appearances in Copa Libertadores, six appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ One appearance and one goal in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup
  6. ^ a b Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  7. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  9. ^ Five appearances in Copa Libertadores, six appearances and one goal in Copa Sudamericana
  10. ^ Appearance in Supercopa Argentina
  11. ^ a b Appearances in Copa Libertadores

International career

Belluschi has won six caps for Argentina, all in friendlies. In November 2017, after six years away from the national team, Belluschi was named in coach Jorge Sampaoli's squad for friendlies against Russia and Nigeria in the former.[9]

Personal life

Belluschi is married to Florencia, whom he met in his home city of Los Quirquinchos. They began dating when he was 17 years old and have been together since. He is best friends with fellow professional footballer Ignacio Scocco, and both served as best men at each other's wedding.

Belluschi also holds an Italian passport due to his Italian ancestry from the province of Pavia, where his paternal great-grandfather emigrated to Argentina from.[10]

Honours

Newell's Old Boys
Olympiacos
Porto
San Lorenzo
Argentina

Individual

References

  1. ^ Olympiakos profile Archived 13 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Olympiacos switch thrills Belluschi". UEFA. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  3. ^ Economic rights stand for the portion of the future transfer fee that Porto will receive
  4. ^ a b "Comunicado da FC Porto – Futebol, SAD" (in Portuguese). fcporto.pt. 6 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Asamblea aprobada" (in Spanish). Club Atlético River Plate. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  6. ^ "FC Porto revela valores dos empréstimos de Belluschi e Guarín". Público. 31 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Relatório e Contas Consolidado 2011/2012" [Consolidated financial statements and report 2011–12] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. ^ Fernando Belluschi at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Jorge Sampaoli definió los convocados del fútbol argentino para los amistosos con Rusia y Nigeria" [Jorge Sampaoli names the call-ups from Argentine football for the friendlies against Russia and Nigeria]. La Nación (in Spanish). 2 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Si scrive Belluschi, si legge Bellus-ci". canalegenoa.it. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.

External links