Maximiliano Moralez

Maxi Moralez

Moralez, in 2007.
Personal information
Full name	Maximiliano Nicolás Moralez
Date of birth	February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27) (age 24)
Place of birth	Granadero Baigorria, Argentina
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Atalanta
Number	11
Youth career
	Racing
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	Racing	47	(8)
2007–2009	FC Moscow	6	(0)
2008	→ Racing (loan)	37	(8)
2009–2011	Vélez Sársfield	72	(20)
2011–	Atalanta	8	(4)
National team‡
2007	Argentina U-20	16	(5)
2011–	Argentina	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:50, 23 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:24, 5 May 2011 (UTC)

Maximiliano Nicolás Moralez (born 27 February 1987) is an Argentine football attacking midfielder who plays for Atalanta B.C. in the Serie A.

At 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in), Moralez is the shortest player in the Italian league.^[1][2] He is nicknamed frasquito (in English: little flask).

Club career

Moralez started playing professionally for Racing Club in the Argentine Primera División during the 2005 Clausura tournament, entering the field on a 2-2 draw with Colón.^[3] In 2007, Moralez was bought by FC Moscow. However, after only half a season in the Russian club, he was loaned back to Racing Club. Moralez helped his club avoid relegation during the 2007–08 season, scoring the winning goal against Belgrano in the relegation playoff.

For the 2009 Clausura tournament, Moralez was bought by Vélez Sársfield. During his first season in the club, he helped the team become Argentine champion, playing 14 (out of 19) games and scoring 5 goals.^[4] He scored the winning goal against Huracán on the 38th minute of the final game, giving Vélez the 1-0 victory necessary to win the championship. During the following tournament, the 2009 Apertura, Moralez was Vélez' top goalscorer (along Jonathan Cristaldo) with 5 goals each.

On March 5, 2011, Moralez renewed his contract with Vélez until June 2013.^[5] During that semester, he won his second league title with the club (the 2011 Clausura) playing 15 of the 19 games, and scoring 4 goals.^[6] He also played 11 of the 12 games of his team's Copa Libertadores semi-finalist campaign, scoring 5 goals.

On July 27 2011, Atalanta B.C., recently promoted to the Serie A, paid Moralez's buyout clause to Vélez Sársfield (€ 8 million for the 50% transfer rights owned by Vélez).^[7] The Argentine midfielder was introduced by his new club three days later.

International career

In 2007, Moralez was called for the Argentina under-20 squad for the South American Youth Championship held in Paraguay. Later that year he was part of Argentina FIFA W-20 World Cup title winning team. He played along Sergio Agüero and Mauro Zárate in the attack. Moralez was third highest scorer in the tournament (bronze shoe) and was named second best player (silver ball), behind his teammate Agüero.

In November 2010, Moralez was selected as part of an Argentine league squad to train twice weekly with the Argentine national team.^[8] He made his senior international debut on a 4–1 friendly victory over Venezuela on March 16, 2011.^[9]

Statistics

As of 17 July 2011^[10][11]

Club	Season	League			Cup			Continental			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Racing	2004–05	4	0	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	-
	2005–06	15	1	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	1	-
	2006–07	33	7	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	7	-
FC Moscow	2007	6	0	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	-
Racing (loan)	2007–08	18	2	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	2	-
	2008–09	18	5	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	5	-
Vélez Sársfield	2008–09	14	5	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	5	-
	2009–10	26	7	-	0	0	0	14	0	-	40	7	-
	2010–11	32	8	-	0	0	0	12	5	-	44	13	-
Career total		166	35	-	0	0	0	26	5	-	192	40	-

Honours

Vélez Sársfield

• Argentine Primera División (2): 2009 Clausura, 2011 Clausura

Argentina U-20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup (1): 2007

Individual

• FIFA U-20 World Cup Silver Ball (1): 2007
• FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Shoe (1): 2007

References

1. ^ Vélez Sársfield profile
2. ^ Atalanta BC profile
3. ^ "Closing '05 statistics". Argentine Soccer. http://www.argentinesoccer.com/player_apps.cfm?id=mrlz&Championship=cl05&Team=rac. Retrieved 2010-08-11. 
4. ^ "Closing '09 statistics". Argentine Soccer. http://www.argentinesoccer.com/player_apps.cfm?id=mrlz&Championship=cl09&Team=vel. Retrieved 2010-08-11. 
5. ^ "Maxi renovación" (in Spanish). Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield. 2011-04-05. http://www.velezsarsfield.com.ar/notas/2011/03/05/5042.html. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
6. ^ "Closing '11 statistics". Argentine Soccer. http://www.argentinesoccer.com/player_apps.cfm?id=mrlz&Championship=cl11&Team=vel. Retrieved 2011-07-17. 
7. ^ "Vélez, el nuevo millonario" (in Spanish). Cancha Llena. 2011-08-24. http://www.canchallena.com/1400279-velez-el-nuevo-millonario. Retrieved 2011-08-27. 
8. ^ Fernando Czyz (2010-11-15). "Batista inicia un nuevo proceso de selección local" (in Spanish). Cancha Llena. http://www.canchallena.com/1325057. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
9. ^ "La Selección local goleó a Venezuela y aprobó el examen" (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 2011-03-16. http://www.tycsports.com/notas/61345-la-seleccion-local-goleo-venezuela-y-aprobo-el-examen. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
10. ^ "Profile". Argentine Soccer. http://www.argentinesoccer.com/player.cfm?id=mrlz. Retrieved 2011-07-18. 
11. ^ "Profile". ESPN Deportes. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/70624/maximiliano-moralez?cc=3888. Retrieved 2011-07-18. 

External links

• Profile at Vélez Sársfield official website (Spanish)
• Maximiliano Moralez – FIFA competition record
• Statistics at Guardian
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (Spanish)

Persondata
Name	Moralez, Maximiliano
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 February 1987
Place of birth	Granadero Baigorria, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death