David Trezeguet (pictured later in the article) is an Argentine-born football player who, after spending 10 years at Juventus, became the most productive legionnaire in the history of the club.
Escape
At the end of 2011, at the age of 34, the former French striker was in football's golden cage. When he played at Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi, his bank account grew by a tax-free £1.35m a year. David Trezeguet, whose "golden goal" sealed France's victory in the 2000 European Championship, thus converted his fame into hard currency. But just three months later, he pulled out of his contract to play for River Plate, who dropped to the second tier of the Argentine Championship for the first time in their history, for an amount that was £350,000 less a year.
His "Mr. 10%" was not 100% satisfied. "I just want to be clear that I was not aware of his move to River Plate," said Antonio Callendo, Trezeguet's agent. – The player made this step together with his father. I was very happy when David started playing for Bani Yas, but he decided on his own what would be the best move for his career. I didn't agree. I have nothing more to say.”
Top scorer
David Trezeguet was one of the young strikers who led France to victory in the 1998 World Cup. When striker Thierry Henry became arrogant and Nicolas Anelka drooped, he tried hard against their background, obediently scoring goals for Juventus.
He was less spectacular, but hardly less effective. While playing for Arsenal, Thierry averaged 0.68 goals per game (175 in 258 matches), while David Trezeguet brought his rating to Juventus to 0.56 (137 in 245 matches). In his nomadic career, Anelka never managed to break the half-goal barrier in any of the clubs he played for, often scoring much less frequently.
David Trezeguet, whose match record earned him the 1997-1998 French Championship Young Player of the Year, 2001-2002 Serie A Top Scorer, 2001-02 Italian Footballer of the Year and Juventus Foreign Striker of the Year, entered in the FIFA-100 list of 125 best football players.
In September 2006, he was awarded a commemorative badge in honor of 125 goals scored in his football career.
Tidbit
When the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal broke out at Juventus in 2006, Trezeguet had no shortage of offers. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez called the striker one of the tidbits of the old woman's carcass. Manchester United and Barcelona have also expressed interest.
During that summer, at the height of the season in Serie B, Fabio Capello and Fabio Cannavaro decided to move to Real Madrid,Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira went to Inter, while Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram preferred Barcelona. David Trezeguet, along with Pavel Nedved, Alessandro del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon decided to stay and try to take Juventus back to Serie A.
Transfer to Bani Yas, UAE
If this was Trezeguet's refusal to leave the sinking ship, then his transition from Abu Dhabi to Buenos Aires was a voluntary change from first class to a fragile shuttle.
Playing for the Bani Yas, led by UAE Deputy Prime Minister Saif bin Zayed, is not particularly burdensome both in football terms and financially. Former Real Madrid player Royston Drenthe is the club's current leading player. His Instagram clips of him harassing his past hapless opponents in half-filled stadium stands have been replaced by videos of pool parties, casinos and quad bike rides.
Bani Yas signed Drenthe, who became a free agent after being relegated from Turkish top division football club Kayseri Erciyesspor when Chinese money forced them to chase Robinho. Having become the star of the UAE team in August 2011, David Trezeguet did not live up to the forecast that he would stay here for a long time. He lasted only 3 months, playing only six times and not scoring a single goal, and left for "personal reasons".
This is a wording that can hide many sins and misfortunes, but it soon became clear that Trezeguet's motives were more sincere. While many of his international teammates were sons of the historic French football empire, he was a product of the more recent globalization of the ball game.
Short biography
David Trezeguet was born in Rouen, France on October 15, 1977. His father Jorge, a stylish centre-back, had decided the previous year that it would be too dangerous for him to remain in his native Argentina during President Jorge Videla's military junta. In order to leave the country, he arranged for himself a transfer from Estudiantes to the French second-tier team Rouen.
Jorge spent three seasons at the Normandy and moved his young family back to Argentina, but David's short stay in France gave him a French birth certificate and an Argentine upbringing. David grew up in Buenos Aires.
This facilitated his transit back to Europe to AS Monaco when he was 18 years old. David Trezeguet met his wife in Alicante, where he subsequently played for Hercules in 2010-2011. The couple has two children: Aaron was born in 2000, and Noraan was born in 2008.
His escape from Abu Dhabi 16 years later led to the last years of his youth spent in Argentina while playing for Platense. “Football is a passion and I missed it in Arab football,” Trezeguet said after arriving in the country of his youth. “To be here is to have a unique experience of all that River is.”
Back toArgentina
David Trezeguet has come a long way from the Persian Gulf and he has enjoyed it. He scored on his debut in January 2012 in a skilful end against Racing. His second game was a friendly against Superclasico that crept into the calendar to make up for the lack of games between River and Boca Juniors.
The match took place not in Buenos Aires, but in the northern city of Resistencia. 2500 police officers provided order for the 25,000th crowd. That there was one law enforcement officer to every 10 fans was due to fears that Apertura Boki's championship, coupled with the relegation of River Plate, would make the atmosphere of the meeting more tense than usual.
The appearance of Trezeguet in the second half as a substitute could not prevent Boca's 2-0 victory. But David really got a taste of the dizzying frenzied rivalry between two of Argentina's most famous clubs. Both teams eventually ended up with 10 players, and River Plate footballer Alejandro Dominguez, after receiving a second yellow card for insulting the referee, harassed the referee and informed his bench that "the son of a bitch is a 'bostero' (fan" Sides).
Revival of the Rivera
Some feared that Trezeguet's enthusiasm would wane as he faced the new reality of the second division, but they needn't have worried. He scored 13 goals in 19 Liga B games, including both goals in the 2-0 final win over Almirante Brown in front of 50.000fans at the Estadio Monumental, which ensured promotion to the next league.
As captain, he was the leader of the players, wearing T-shirts that heralded the "resurrection" of the club, and brought coach Matthias Almeida to tears. “I feel something I have never experienced before,” Trezeguet said. - Not in Juventus, not in Monaco, and even in games for the French national team at the international level. Rooting for River and seeing the passion that this team has, all the people and all the tension, I get more adrenaline than ever before.”
Divorce and leaving Rivera
But the revival of David's first love team coincided with the collapse of his marriage. In September 2012, it was reported in the gossip columns of local newspapers that he was getting a divorce because of his love for River Plate. David Trezeguet, whose personal life was torn apart after his Spanish wife, Beatriz, refused to move to Argentina when his team lost 1-0 to Racing, said he would travel to Monte Carlo to negotiate the final terms of a divorce after a thirteen-year marriage..
This shock, combined with a knee injury, took a toll on his form. In 16 games in River Plate's first season, he scored only three goals. And a year after the decisive match that returned his team to the big leagues, Trezeguet was informed that his services were no longer needed.
President of the club Daniel Passarella said goodbye about him. He called him "a role model for what he gave the club at critical moments, as a player andHuman". But to the dismay of many fans, he supported the decision of manager Ramon Diaz.
Newell's Old Boys
The last season of his contract, David Trezeguet remained in Argentina playing for Newells, where he scored 10 goals in 28 games. At the age of 36, he still yearned for red and white. "Football has opened up another great club for me, but now I can achieve my goal of returning to Argentina to play and end my career with River," he said.
Pune City, India
"River Plate", however, did not go to meet him. A new contract did not follow, and a month later, in July 2014, football player David Trezeguet signed a contract with Indian Super League club Puna City to receive a salary for the last time before his final retirement from football in January 2015.
Popular trend
The last year of Trezeguet's career has expanded his horizons in Argentina more than added to his portfolio, a growing trend in South America, especially with the financial crisis mitigated by the strengthening economy.
Carlos Tevez, for example, turned down a lucrative offer from Shanghai to fulfill his promise to end his career at Boca. Former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel has returned to Colombian side Atlético Nacional to play his last season at the club that started his football career. And Ronaldinho will no longer have to fly to the carnival in Rio de Janeiro every year. From FC Milan, he moved to Flamenga, with Atlético Mineirowon the Copa Libertadores and moved to Fluminense.
Juventus Ambassador
As a former player of the Turin club, David Trezeguet began to make good money acting as the ambassador of the Juventus team in the world. He still has plenty of time to replenish his pension fund. But when the opportunity arose to invest in memory of himself, he seized it, staging one of his most prolific campaigns and securing a sentimental end to his illustrious career.
