Ángel Di María

Football player infobox
playername = Ángel Di María


fullname = Ángel Fabián Di María
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1988|2|14
height = height|m=1.79 [es [http://www.rosariocentral.com/plantel2.asp?idPlantel=11 Rosario Central player profile] ]
cityofbirth = Rosario
countryofbirth = Argentina
currentclub = S.L. Benfica
clubnumber = 20
position = Winger
youthyears = 2001–2005
youthclubs = Rosario Central
years = 2005–2007
2007–
clubs = Rosario Central
S.L. Benfica
caps(goals) = 35 (6)
36 (1)
nationalyears = 2005
2008
2008-
nationalteam = Argentina U20
Argentina U-23
Argentina

nationalcaps(goals) = 13 (3)
5 (2) 1 (0)
pcupdate = 23 April 2008
ntupdate = 14 September 2008

Ángel Fabián Di María (born February 14, 1988 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province) is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for S.L. Benfica and is known as "The Little Angel".

Club career

Di María started his professional football career in 2005, when he made his debut for Rosario Central. In January 2007 he had an opportunity to play in Russian Premier League when FC Rubin Kazan offered him a contract. At first he agreed, but soon afterward he changed his mind and turned down the offer. [cite web |url=http://www.rubin-kazan.ru/press-conferences/e092510adcb44c179ed1842ee50bf15e.html |title=Kurban Berdyev's press conference |date=2007-01-24 |accessdate=2008-04-02 |publisher=FC Rubin official website |language=Russian ] After putting up a remarkable performance in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing for Argentina, Di María caught the eye of several international teams and in the end Benfica signed him for €6m.

So highly regarded was Di María by Benfica that the president of the Portuguese club, Luís Filipe Vieira, when presenting the young Argentine, told the club’s supporters he had bought the perfect replacement for Benfica’s departing captain, Simão Sabrosa, a talismanic figure for Benfica for over five seasons.

During the first months of his tenure in Lisbon, Di María showed that he was not in the least weighed down by the expectations, and the fans quickly took to the exciting talent.

International career

In 2007, Di María was picked to play for the Argentina Under-20 squad. He was capped for the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay. In 2007 he was called up for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. They went on to win the tournament with Di María scoring 3 goals in the process.

On 28 January, 2008, Di María and some his U-20 teammates were called up for the Argentina squad for the Beijing Olympics. He scored the extra-time game-winning goal on a pass from Messi in the 105th minute of his team's 2-1 quarterfinal win over The Netherlands.

On August 23, 2008, in perhaps the best moment of his career so far, Di Maria scored the game-winner, a glorious chip over the keeper from the edge of the area, in the 57th minute of Argentina's 1-0 victory against Nigeria to capture their second straight Olympic Gold Medal in the final game of the Olympic tournament. [ [www.theworldgame.com.au The world game] ]

Honours

Argentina national football team

*2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007
*2008 Summer Olympics

References