Darío Conca

Darío Conca

Personal information
Full name	Darío Leonardo Conca
Date of birth	11 May 1983 (1983-05-11) (age 28)
Place of birth	General Pacheco, Argentina
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Guangzhou Evergrande
Number	15
Youth career
1999–2000	Tigre
2000–2002	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2008	River Plate	3	(0)
2004–2006	→ Universidad Católica (loan)	85	(16)
2006	→ Rosario Central (loan)	14	(0)
2007	→ Vasco da Gama (loan)[1]	30	(6)
2008	→ Fluminense (loan)[1]	30	(4)
2009–2011	Fluminense	81	(17)
2011–	Guangzhou Evergrande	15	(9)
National team
2002	Argentina U20	9	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Darío Leonardo Conca or simply Darío Conca (born 11 May 1983 in General Pacheco) is an Argentine professional football attacking midfielder. Conca was elected for two consecutive years as the best player of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 2009 and 2010.^[2][3]

Career

Conca started his career in Argentina's Second Division, (Primera B Nacional), and made his debut for Tigre at the age of just 15 years old. River Plate took him just a year later and Conca made the steady rise to River's first team. On 23 November 2003, under then Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini, who later managed Real Madrid, Conca made his first team debut in a 1–0 defeat to Chacarita Juniors.

However in 2004 Conca was loaned to Chilean club Universidad Católica by new River manager Leonardo Astrada and in 2005 won his first title. In 2006 River loaned him out again, this time to Rosario Central where after some impressive displays, Vasco da Gama made a successful bid to bring him to Brazil on 5 January 2007, signing an initial one year loan deal from River Plate. He made his Vasco debut and scored in friendly 4-0 win over Villa Rio on 14 January 2007.

In 2008, Conca signed a loan deal with Fluminense, and was a key player in the squad under coach Renato Gaúcho. Conca played an important role in the team's brilliant 2008 Copa Libertadores campaign, along with others such as Thiago Neves, Thiago Silva, Washington, and Cícero. In 2009, he signed a three-year deal with Fluminense. He was voted the best player in Brazil in a poll organized annually by Globo, and was ranked as the fifteenth best player in Latin America and the best player in Brazil by Uruguayan newspaper El País. After a successful season where Fluminense won the Brazilian league, Conca renewed his contract with Fluminense for another five years.

On 2 July 2011, it was reported that Conca would join Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande for an annual salary of $10.4 million, putting him among the highest paid players in the world.^[4] He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win against Nanchang Hengyuan on 14 July 2011. Conca scored 9 goals in 15 appearances as Guangzhou successfully achieved Super League champion for the first time in the club's history.

Honours

Clubs

• Universidad Católica
  • Chilean Primera Division Clausura: 2005

• Fluminense
  • Brazilian Série A: 2010

• Guangzhou Evergrande
  • Chinese Super League: 2011

Individual

• Best Midfielder (Troféu Mesa Redonda) 2010
• Best Player (Troféu Mesa Redonda) 2010
• Bola de Ouro (Placar) 2010
• Bola de Prata (Placar) 2010
• Best Player - People's Choice 2009, 2010
• Série A Best Player 2010
• Best Left Midfielder 2010
• Most passes to goal 2010

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Futpedia Darío Conca". http://futpedia.globo.com/jogadores/conca/numeros. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
2. ^ GloboEsporte.com > Futebol 2009 > Brasileirao - NOTÍCIAS - Craque da Galera: Conca é o predileto da torcida e mantém troféu nas Laranjeiras
3. ^ Brasileirão 2010: Conca é o Craque da Galera e do campeonato | globoesporte.com
4. ^ "Conca Smashes Chinese Transfer Record". ESPN Soccernet. 3 July 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/931862/guangzhou-smash-chinese-transfer-record-to-sign-fluminense's-conca?cc=5901. Retrieved 3 July 2011. 

External links

• netvasco.com.br (Portuguese)
• Guardian Stats Centre
• zerozerofootball.com
• fluminense.com.br

Persondata
Name	Conca, Darío Leonardo
Alternative names	Conca, Darío
Short description	An Argentine professional Association football attacking midfielder
Date of birth	11 May 1983
Place of birth	General Pacheco, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death