Walter Samuel

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This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Luján and the second or maternal family name is Samuel.

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Walter Samuel
Walter Samuel FC Internazionale.jpg
Samuel with Internazionale in October 2011
Personal information
Full name Walter Adrián Luján Samuel
Date of birth (1978-03-23) 23 March 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Laborde, Argentina
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Basel
Number 6
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Newell's Old Boys 42 (0)
1997–2000 Boca Juniors 77 (4)
2000–2004 Roma 122 (9)
2004–2005 Real Madrid 30 (2)
2005–2014 Internazionale 169 (14)
2014– Basel 19 (1)
International career‡
1997 Argentina U20 6 (0)
1999–2010 Argentina 56 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 December 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 June 2010

Walter Adrián Luján Samuel (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwalter saˈmwel]; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Basel in the Swiss Super League.[1] Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation,[2] and as one of football's toughest defenders,[3] with teammate and Inter captain Javier Zanetti referring to him as the "hardest player" he has played with.

Early life and personal life

Samuel was born Walter Adrián Luján, but adopted the family name of his stepfather, "Samuel" as a teenager.[4] He has a daughter and two sons with his wife Cecilia.[5]

Club career

Walter Samuel with Internazionale.

Samuel started playing professionally in 1996 in Argentina for Newell's Old Boys, and a year later moved to Boca Juniors, where he played 103 matches and scored five goals in all competitions until 2000.[6] In that year, Roma bought his contract for 40.265 billion Italian lire (about €20 million).[7][8] He gained fame as one of the best defenders in the Italian league and gained a nickname to match. His quality attracted interest from Spanish team Real Madrid.

Real Madrid paid €25 million for his transfer in 2004.[9] Samuel failed to make an impact at Madrid and was not the leader at the back that Real so desperately needed. He was one of the three non-EU players of the team, along with Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos; they all obtained Spanish passports, however, in 2005.[10] In August 2005, he returned to the Serie A with a transfer to Internazionale on a four-year contract for reported €16 million fee.[11]

Walter Samuel with Internazionale as a substitute.

In the Derby della Madonnina on 23 December 2007, he hurt himself whilst marking the Brazilian international Kaká, and a couple weeks later, he had reconstructive surgery on his medial collateral ligament. He was expected to be out until the end of the 2007–08 season. In actuality, he started training with the first team again in October of the 2008–09 season and promptly earned a first team place back under manager José Mourinho. Under Mourinho Samuel was a fixture in Inter's first team as they won Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2009–10 season, completing a historic treble. Samuel was praised for his defensive performances against Barcelona and Bayern Munich on Inter's road to the Champions League title. Samuel suffered a severe knee injury in the 7 November 2010 fixture against Brescia.[12]

After 9 seasons with Inter, on July 23, 2014, Samuel signed a one-year contract with Basel in the Swiss Super League.[13] He made his first team league debut on 31 August 2014 in the 3–1 home win against the Young Boys.[14] The Basel 2014–15 Super League season was a very successful one. They won the championship for the sixth time in a row[15] and reached the final of the 2014–15 Swiss Cup. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0-3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1-1 draw in Anfield against Liverpool.[16] But then Basel then lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under trainer Paulo Sousa Samuel totaled 26 appearances, 13 League, 1 Cup, 4 Champions League, as well 8 in test games. He scored 2 goals in these matches.[17]

Samuel prolonged his contract with Basel for another year and made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance playing for them in the closing match of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage during the 1:0 away win in theINEA Stadion against Lech Poznań on 10 December 2015.[18]

International career

Samuel has played 56 matches for Argentina, scoring five goals.[19] He played for his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup,[20][21] as well as in the 1999 Copa América,[22] and in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup,[21] in which Argentina won a runners-up medal.[23][citation needed]

Style of play

Gifted with natural power and good defensive skills, Samuel played a key role in Inter's treble success in the 2009–10 season, partnering with Lúcio in defence under José Mourinho, and he has accumulated over 50 caps for the Argentine national team. Samuel was a large, quick, powerful, and aggressive centreback, who excelled in the air, both defensively, and as a goal threat on set pieces. He also had an excellent positional sense, which, along with his tough, tight marking and hard tackling, made him extremely effective at anticipating opponents. His strong, uncompromising style of play earnt him the nickname Il Muro ("The Wall").[3][24]

Career statistics

Club

As of 11 November 2015.[25][26]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newell's Old Boys
1995–96 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
1996–97 35 0 0 0 0 0 35 0
1997–98 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 42 0 0 0 0 0 42 0
Boca Juniors
1997–98 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
1998–99 34 2 0 0 6 0 40 2
1999–00 31 2 0 0 20 1 51 3
Total 77 4 0 0 26 1 103 5
Roma
2000–01 34 1 0 0 0 0 34 1
2001–02 26 5 0 0 7 0 33 5
2002–03 31 2 0 0 10 0 41 2
2003–04 31 1 0 0 8 0 39 1
Total 122 9 0 0 25 0 147 9
Real Madrid
2004–05 30 2 2 0 8 0 40 2
Total 30 2 2 0 8 0 40 2
Internazionale
2005–06 27 2 6 0 9 0 42 2
2006–07 18 3 6 0 3 0 27 3
2007–08 12 0 1 0 5 1 18 1
2008–09 17 1 2 0 1 0 20 1
2009–10 28 3 1 0 13 1 42 4
2010–11 10 0 0 0 3 0 13 0
2011–12 27 2 1 0 6 1 35 3
2012–13 16 1 1 0 5 0 22 1
2013–14 14 2 1 0 — 15 2
Total 169 14 19 0 45 3 236 17
Basel
2014–15 13 1 1 0 4 0 18 1
2015–16 6 0 2 0 3 0 11 0
Total 19 1 3 0 7 0 29 1
Career total 459 29 24 0 111 4 594 33

International

[27]

Argentina national team
Year Apps Goals
1999 10 1
2000 10 0
2001 8 2
2002 6 0
2003 5 1
2004 6 0
2005 5 1
2006 2 0
2007 0 0
2008 0 0
2009 0 0
2010 4 0
Total 56 5

Honours

Club

Internazionale[28]
FC Basel[25]

International

Argentina[25]

Individual

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ "El juvenil Luján que asombró a Argentina" – Diario AS (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ PERFEZIONATO IL CONTRATTO DI TRASFERIMENTO DEL CALCIATORE SAMUEL[dead link]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (German)
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ http://www.fifpro.org/en/events/world-xi/players?sortname2=2010
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