Franco Di Santo

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Franco Di Santo
Di Santo with Schalke 04 in 2018
Personal information
Full name Franco Matías Di Santo[1]
Date of birth (1989-04-07) 7 April 1989 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth Mendoza, Argentina
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Independiente Rivadavia
Number 9
Youth career
2005–2006 Audax Italiano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Audax Italiano 61 (14)
2008–2010 Chelsea 8 (0)
2009–2010 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 22 (3)
2010–2013 Wigan Athletic 92 (13)
2013–2015 Werder Bremen 49 (18)
2015–2019 Schalke 04 71 (5)
2019 Rayo Vallecano 6 (0)
2019–2020 Atlético Mineiro 21 (3)
2020–2022 San Lorenzo 33 (10)
2022 Göztepe 15 (3)
2022 Tijuana 15 (2)
2023 Universidad Católica 20 (2)
2024– Independiente Rivadavia 1 (0)
International career
2006–2009 Argentina U20 25 (5)
2012–2013 Argentina 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:51, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Franco Matías Di Santo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾaŋko ði ˈsanto]; born 7 April 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Argentine Primera División club Independiente Rivadavia.

Di Santo began his career at Chilean club Audax Italiano, earning a £3.4 million move to Chelsea in 2008 and a first-team place following good form in the reserves. After a season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, he moved to Wigan Athletic for £2 million in 2010, where he won the FA Cup in 2013. After totalling 14 goals in 122 Premier League matches, he was released following Wigan's relegation to the Championship in 2013. He then moved to Werder Bremen in Germany, spending two seasons there, before making a controversial switch to rivals Schalke 04.[2]

Di Santo has represented the Argentina national football team on three occasions. He was nicknamed 'Crespito' (Little Crespo) after former Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo[3] (who was nicknamed 'Valdanito', after Jorge Valdano).

Club career[edit]

Audax Italiano[edit]

Born in Mendoza, Mendoza Province,[1] Di Santo began his club career in the Chilean team Audax Italiano.[4] In the 2006–07 season, he scored 26 goals in 76 matches, including one goal in six matches in the Copa Libertadores. Then, in 2007 he scored 12 in 17 matches for the club, including one goal in four matches in the Copa Sudamericana. Dubbed the "new Maradona" due to his precocious and prolific performances,[5] on 25 January 2008, Di Santo signed for English Premier League side Chelsea on a four-and-a-half-year contract for a fee of £3.4 million.[1][6]

Chelsea[edit]

2007–08 season[edit]

Di Santo scored on his debut for Chelsea reserves on 11 February 2008, getting a late goal in a 2–2 draw with Fulham reserves and scored his second goal in as many appearances, against Reading reserves on 3 March. On 14 April, he scored his first hat-trick for Chelsea's reserve team against Tottenham Reserves; the most spectacular of the three goals being a volley from a Branislav Ivanović cross that found the top right corner.[7] In the last reserve match of the season, Di Santo scored his seventh goal in eight reserve games against Aston Villa. He finished the 2007–08 reserve season with 12 reserve goals in eight games.

2008–09 season[edit]

Di Santo trained with the first team in 2008–09 pre-season and flew out with the squad on their tour of China. Ahead of their first game on tour, he was handed the number 36 jersey and came off the bench in that game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, to score the third goal during a 4–0 victory. He scored his second goal of the pre-season campaign in the 65th minute against the Chengdu Blades in a 7–0 victory after he had replaced Nicolas Anelka five minutes before.

On 31 August, Di Santo made his first-team debut in the 1–1 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur, coming on in place of Nicolas Anelka in the 88th minute of the game.[8] His UEFA Champions League debut came against CFR Cluj, replacing Florent Malouda in the 70th minute of a 0–0 draw on 2 October.[9] On 3 January 2009, Di Santo made his FA Cup debut in the third round, replacing Joe Cole for the last six minutes against Southend United in a 1–1 draw at Stamford Bridge.[10]

Di Santo came on as a substitute for Florent Malouda with half an hour remaining and Chelsea a goal down against Stoke City on 17 January 2009. He assisted a goal in the 88th minute for Juliano Belletti to make it 1–1, and Frank Lampard then scored a 94th-minute winner.[11] On 30 May, Di Santo was an unused substitute as Chelsea won the 2009 FA Cup Final against Everton.[12] He made 8 substitute appearances during Chelsea's 2008–09 Premier League campaign and was afterwards linked with a loan move to Blackburn Rovers.[13]

Di Santo scored his first goal of the 2009 pre-season against Club América; he also provided an assist to teammate Florent Malouda a minute later. Chelsea won the game 2–0 to win the World Football Challenge.

Loan to Blackburn Rovers[edit]

On 3 August 2009, Di Santo joined Blackburn Rovers on loan until February 2010, with the option of extending the loan by six months to June 2010.[14]

He made his debut for Rovers on the opening day of the season, 15 August, replacing Jason Roberts in the 65th minute of a 2–0 home defeat to Manchester City.[15] He made his first start in the next match, away to Sunderland a week later, but was substituted for Nikola Kalinić due to injury after 14 minutes; Blackburn lost 2–1.[16] He recovered from injury after a month, starting a 2–1 home win over Aston Villa on 26 September in which he won David Dunn's winning late penalty after his shot was handled by Richard Dunne.[17] On 18 October he scored the only goal of his loan in a 3–2 home win over local rivals Burnley, also assisting David Dunn with a flick.[18]

As a result of his good performances, Rovers extended his loan deal by a further six months until June 2010. However, after his extended loan, Di Santo saw less time on the pitch due to his poor goals-to-games ratio and was often used more as a late substitute. He was not selected for Rovers' final squad of the 2009–10 season, against Aston Villa.

Wigan Athletic[edit]

Di Santo playing for Wigan Athletic in 2010

On 31 August 2010, Di Santo signed a three-year contract with Wigan Athletic for a transfer fee of £2 million.[19] He made his debut on 11 September, appearing as a 54th-minute substitute for Hendry Thomas in a 1–1 draw against Sunderland, in support of his compatriot Mauro Boselli.[20] In the following game, against Manchester City, he started for the first time as Wigan lost 2–0 at home.[21] On 23 April 2011, Di Santo replaced Charles N'Zogbia for the last seven minutes of a 4–2 defeat at Sunderland and scored the last goal of the game in added time.[22] It was his first goal since 18 October 2009.

On the opening day of the following Premier League season, Di Santo won a penalty from Ritchie De Laet, which teammate Ben Watson converted in the 1–1 draw against Norwich City.[23] On 27 August 2011, the third game of the season, he scored two deflected goals in a 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers and left to a standing ovation from the home crowd when substituted for Conor Sammon.[24] On 17 September, he scored again at Goodison Park against Everton, a deflected effort off Tony Hibbert to take the lead, but eventually Wigan lost 3–1.[25]

Di Santo scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season in a 2–0 away win at newly promoted Southampton on 25 August, opening the scoring in the 51st minute with a finish high into the net from inside the area.[26] He was an unused substitute as Wigan defeated Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup Final, manager Roberto Martínez instead playing Arouna Koné and Callum McManaman in attack.[27] On 30 June 2013, Di Santo was released by Wigan.[28]

Werder Bremen[edit]

On 14 August 2013, Di Santo signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.[29] He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund nine days later, replacing Marko Arnautović in the 67th minute.[30] On 14 September, he was sent off in a 0–3 home defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt for a tackle which resulted in Bastian Oczipka needing facial stitches.[31] Two months later, in the last five minutes of a home game against Mainz, Di Santo assisted Eljero Elia and then scored his own first Bundesliga goal, but Bremen still lost 2–3.[32] He finished his first season at the club with 4 goals from 23 league appearances.

On 1 November 2014, away to Mainz, Di Santo scored two goals (the first a rebounded penalty), as Bremen came from behind to register their first win of the season after 10 games. This brace put him joint top of the Bundesliga scorers, with 6 goals.[33] He scored another two goals on 1 February 2015 to defeat Hertha Berlin.[34]

Schalke 04[edit]

On 25 July 2015, Di Santo joined Bremen's rival Schalke 04 signing a four-year contract, after triggering his release clause, believed to be €6 million. Two days later, Di Santo publicly apologized to Bremen fans for the controversial switch, and Bremen director Thomas Eichin said he was "anything but impressed" by the swiftness of Di Santo's departure.[2][35]

On 8 August, he marked his competitive debut by scoring in a 5–0 win at MSV Duisburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[36] He scored a hat-trick on 1 October, the last of the three being a penalty, in a win by the same score against Asteras Tripoli in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[37]

Rayo Vallecano[edit]

On 31 January 2019, Di Santo signed for Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer.[38] He made six appearances for the club in the 2018–19 La Liga season.

Atlético Mineiro[edit]

On 6 August 2019, Di Santo joined Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro.[39] He left the club in June 2020, having made 33 appearances and scored seven goals.[40]

San Lorenzo[edit]

On 10 July 2020, Di Santo completed a move to his homeland with Primera División side San Lorenzo.[41]

International career[edit]

Di Santo made his debut for the Argentina under-20 team in 2006 and scored his first goal in a game against the French under-20s. He was part of the under-20 squad that participated in the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay, which Brazil won by a two-point advantage over Argentina.

He was also called up to the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela, but was not allowed to take part due to Chelsea's injury crisis. From 2006 to 2009 Di Santo earned 25 Under-20 caps and five goals.

On 31 October 2012, Di Santo was handed a call-up to the Argentina national team squad by manager Alejandro Sabella for their upcoming friendly against Saudi Arabia on 14 November 2012.[42]

In May 2014, Di Santo was re-called to the Argentina national team, in the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. BBC Sport called him a "surprise inclusion".[43] However, later that month, he was one of four players cut from a second provisional 26-man squad.[44]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played on 12 March 2024.[45][46]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other[a] Continental Total
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Audax Italiano 2006 Chilean Primera División 24 7 0 0 — — 24 7
2007 37 7 0 0 — 10 2 47 9
Total 61 14 0 0 — 10 2 71 16
Chelsea 2008–09 Premier League 8 0 3 0 2 0 3 0 16 0
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2009–10 Premier League 22 1 1 0 1 0 — 24 1
Wigan Athletic 2010–11 Premier League 25 1 2 0 2 0 — 29 1
2011–12 32 7 1 0 0 0 — 33 7
2012–13 35 5 0 0 0 0 — 35 5
Total 92 14 3 0 2 0 — 97 14
Werder Bremen 2013–14 Bundesliga 23 4 0 0 — — 23 4
2014–15 26 13 2 1 — — 28 14
Total 49 17 2 1 — — 51 18
Schalke 04 2015–16 Bundesliga 25 2 2 1 — 7 5 34 8
2016–17 12 0 1 0 — 2 0 15 0
2017–18 30 3 4 1 — — 34 4
2018–19 4 0 0 0 — 1 0 5 0
Total 71 5 7 2 — 10 5 88 12
Rayo Vallecano 2018–19 La Liga 6 0 0 0 — — 6 0
Atlético Mineiro 2019 Brasileiro Série A 21 3 0 0 — 2 1 23 4
2020 0 0 2 0 6 3 2 0 10 3
Total 21 3 2 0 6 3 4 1 33 7
San Lorenzo 2020–21 Argentine Primera División 4 3 6 0 — 2 2 12 5
2021 27 10 0 0 — 0 0 27 10
Total 31 13 6 0 — 2 2 39 15
Göztepe 2021–22 Süper Lig 15 3 1 0 — 0 0 16 3
Tijuana 2022–23 Liga MX 15 2 0 0 — 0 0 15 2
Universidad Católica 2023 Chilean Primera División 20 2 4 0 — 1 0 25 2
Independiente Rivadavia 2024 Argentine Primera División 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Career total 412 73 29 3 11 3 29 10 482 89
  1. ^ Includes League Cup and Campeonato Mineiro

International[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[47]
National team Year Apps Goals
Argentina 2012 1 0
2013 2 0
Total 3 0

Honours[edit]

Chelsea

Wigan Athletic

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ a b "Di Santo sorry for swift Werder departure". Soccerway. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. ^ Philippssen, Petra (15 August 2013). ""CRESPITO" WILL EIN GROSSER WERDE" ["CRESPITO" WILL BE A GREAT] (in German). Bundesliga. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Franco Di Santo Biography". Franco Di Santo official website. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Bound for Chile". The Dominion Post. Wellington. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2014. Argentina under-20 striker Franco Di Santo, dubbed the "new Maradona", was recently signed by Chelsea from Audax for $3 million.
  6. ^ "Chelsea snap up Argentine striker". BBC Sport. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  7. ^ "A Glorious Di Santo Hat-Trick". TheFootballNetwork.net. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  8. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (31 August 2008). "Chelsea 1–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Chelsea given Cluj fright". Sky Sports. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Chelsea 1–1 Southend". BBC Sport. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  11. ^ Dawkes, Phil (17 January 2009). "Chelsea 2–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  12. ^ Bevan, Chris (30 May 2009). "Chelsea 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  13. ^ Hunter, Andy (15 June 2009). "Sam Allardyce seeks to sign the Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo on loan". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  14. ^ "Rovers sign Di Santo". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  15. ^ Hughes, Ian (15 August 2009). "Blackburn 0–2 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  16. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (22 August 2009). "Sunderland 2–1 Blackburn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. ^ Mellor, Jason (26 September 2009). "Blackburn steal win over Aston Villa with late penalty". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  18. ^ Hughes, Ian (18 October 2009). "Blackburn 3 – 2 Burnley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  19. ^ "Bremen sign ex-Wigan man di Santo". BBC Sport.
  20. ^ Roopanarine, Les (11 September 2010). "Wigan 1–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  21. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (18 September 2010). "Wigan 0–2 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  22. ^ Taylor, Louise (23 April 2011). "Jordan Henderson scores twice as Sunderland cruise past Wigan". The Observer. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  23. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (13 August 2011). "Wigan 1–1 Norwich". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  24. ^ Dawkes, Phil (27 August 2014). "Wigan 2–0 QPR". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  25. ^ Bagley, Emlyn (17 September 2011). "Everton 3–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  26. ^ Monaghan, Matt (25 August 2012). "Southampton 0–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  27. ^ McNulty, Phil (11 May 2013). "Man City 0–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  28. ^ "Premier League: Andrey Arshavin leads list of players released". BBC Sport. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  29. ^ "Argentinian international for Werder". SV Werder Bremen. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  30. ^ "Borussia Dortmund vs SV Werder Bremen". Eurosport. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  31. ^ "Three and easy for Frankfurt". Sky Sports. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  32. ^ "Mainz hold on for win". Sky Sports News. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  33. ^ "DI SANTO DOUBLE EARNS BREMEN MAIDEN WIN". Bundesliga. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  34. ^ "Bundesliga: Franco Di Santo nets twice as Werder Bremen beat Hertha Berlin 2–0". Sky Sports. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Franco Di Santo leaves Werder Bremen and moves to Schalke". ESPN FC. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  36. ^ "Wolfsburg, Leverkusen, Schalke all win DFB-Pokal openers; Hoffenheim lose". ESPN FC. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  37. ^ "Di Santo hat-tricks helps Schalke beat Asteras". UEFA. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  38. ^ "The transfer window is officially closed: Check out Deadline Day's activity". Marca. 1 February 2019.
  39. ^ "Atlético-MG oficializa contratação do atacante argentino Franco Di Santo, que assina até 2020" [Atlético Mineiro announces the signing of Argentine striker Franco Di Santo until 2020]. Globo Esporte. 6 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Passagem apagada e encerrada: Franco Di Santo rescinde contrato com o Atlético-MG" [Forgettable spell ends: Franco Di Santo rescinds his contract with Atlético-MG]. Globo Esporte. 29 June 2020.
  41. ^ "¡Di Santo de Boedo!". San Lorenzo. 10 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Di Santo get surprise Argentina call-up". FIFA. 31 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  43. ^ "World Cup 2014: Argentina leave out Carlos Tevez and Erik Lamela". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  44. ^ "World Cup 2014: Di Santo dropped from Argentina squad". BBC Sport. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  45. ^ "Argentina – F. Di Santo". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  46. ^ "Franco Di Santo " Club matches". Worldfootball. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  47. ^ "Di Santo, Franco". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 13 January 2013.

External links[edit]

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