Gabriel Paletta

Football player infobox| playername= Gabriel Paletta


fullname = Gabriel Alejandro Paletta
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1986|2|15|df=y
cityofbirth = Longchamps, Buenos Aires
countryofbirth = Argentina
height = height|ft=6|in=3
currentclub = Boca Juniors
clubnumber = 29
position = Centre Back
youthyears =
youthclubs = Banfield
years = 2004–2006
2006–2007
2007–present
clubs = Banfield
Liverpool
Boca Juniors
caps(goals) = 42 (5)
03 (0)
27 (3)
nationalyears = 2005
nationalteam = Argentina U20
nationalcaps(goals) = 07 (0)
pcupdate = 16 September 2008
ntupdate = 3 December 2007

Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born February 15 1986 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine central defender, who currently plays for Boca Juniors.

Banfield

Paletta came through the youth teams of Club Atlético Banfield and reached the first team in 2005. When Banfield qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores, they altered their 25 man squad for the event to include Paletta and immediately threw him into action against the Colombian team Independiente Medellín. Paletta played well and Banfield progressed, but Paletta was to play no further part in the tournament after being called up to the Argentina Under-20 team to participate in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Liverpool

Liverpool are believed to have paid a fee in the region of ₤2 million for the young defender. He put pen to paper on a 4-year deal on July 4 2006, making Paletta the second Argentine to play for the Merseyside club, after Mauricio Pellegrino. [ [http://www.fifa.com/en/print/article/0,4039,115007,00.html Fifa.com] ] He first appeared for Liverpool in a pre-season friendly against Wrexham in July, and he made his full debut in a League Cup 4-3 win against Reading on 25 October 2006, marking his first competitive appearance for the club with a goal in the 50th minute. Rafael Benítez said of the player: "Paletta is very tough and he's exactly the sort of player we need who will suit the Premiership. When you talk about the Argentine defenders I worked with in Valencia, Paletta is more like Roberto Ayala than Mauricio Pellegrino. If you're talking about Liverpool, he's more like Jamie Carragher than Sami Hyypiä. This is good because we will have a balance in the style of defenders."

Boca Juniors

He returned to Argentina after one year with Liverpool to join Boca Juniors, he played in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup Final in which Boca Juniors lost 4-2 against AC Milan. Upon his return, in early 2008 he scored against arch rivals River Plate in the Superclásico of the Copa Revancha final, he also played in the 2008 Copa Libertadores where Boca Juniors reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Fluminense.

International Career

Paletta started in all seven games of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championshipplaying in the heart of the Argentine defence. Argentina, led upfront by Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero went on to win the tournament and Paletta's performances brought him to the attention of Liverpool's scouts.

Titles

External links

*es [http://www.futbolxxi.com/Futbolista.aspx?ID=13158&SEOFutbolista=Paletta+Gabriel+Alejandro Argentine Primera statistics]
*soccerbase|id=44022|name=Gabriel Paletta
* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/squad/paletta/ Official LFC profile]

Persondata
NAME= Paletta, Gabriel Alejandro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Paletta, Gabriel
SHORT DESCRIPTION= footballers
DATE OF BIRTH= 1986-2-15
PLACE OF BIRTH= Longchamps, Buenos Aires, Argentina
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=