Éver Banega

Éver Maximiliano David Banega Hernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeβeɾ βaˈneɣa];[lower-alpha 1] born 29 June 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab and the Argentina national team as a central midfielder.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Banega and the second or maternal family name is Hernández.
Éver Banega
Banega with Argentina at the 2018 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Éver Maximiliano David Banega Hernández[1]
Date of birth (1988-06-29) 29 June 1988[1]
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Al Shabab
Number 10
Youth career
Nuevo Horizonte
Alianza Sport
2000–2007 Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Boca Juniors 28 (0)
2008–2014 Valencia 136 (9)
2008–2009 → Atlético Madrid (loan) 24 (1)
2014 → Newell's Old Boys (loan) 14 (1)
2014–2016 Sevilla 59 (8)
2016–2017 Inter Milan 28 (6)
2017–2020 Sevilla 96 (9)
2020– Al Shabab 10 (2)
National team‡
2007 Argentina U20 14 (0)
2008 Argentina Olympic 6 (0)
2008– Argentina 65 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 June 2018

He started his career with Boca Juniors, and signed with Valencia in 2008 where he remained for several years, appearing in 162 official games and winning the 2008 Copa del Rey. After joining Sevilla in 2014, he conquered three Europa League trophies over two separate spells.

Banega represented Argentina at the 2018 World Cup. Additionally, he won an Olympic medal in 2008 and appeared in three Copa América tournaments, helping the team to the final of the 2015 and 2016 editions.

Club career

Boca Juniors

Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Banega came through the youth ranks at Boca Juniors, reaching the first team at 18, and winning immediate recognition thanks to his passing average and his performances in the Primera División. After teammate midfielder Fernando Gago moved to Real Madrid in January 2007, he was named as his successor despite his young age.[2]

Banega made his professional debut in the 4–0 win against Banfield on 10 February 2007. On 1 April, just a few matches afterwards, he was given an ovation when he left the field.[3]

Valencia
Banega in action for Valencia in 2011

On 5 January 2008, Banega signed with Spanish side Valencia on a ​5 1⁄2-year deal, for a fee of around €20 million.[4] He made his debut on the 13th in a 0–1 loss at Atlético Madrid, coming on as a half-time substitute.[5]

Banega was loaned to Atlético Madrid for 2008–09.[6] He made his official debut as a substitute during the Colchoneros's 3–0 away victory over PSV Eindhoven, in the first group stage match of the season's UEFA Champions League.[7] However, he failed to settle in the team's starting XI, also being sent off in away draws against Villarreal[8] and Almería.[9]

Following his return from Atlético, it appeared that Banega was to join English club Everton,[10] but a move did not materialise due to problems acquiring a visa. He subsequently returned for the 2009–10 campaign, and assisted both goals in Valencia's opening game against Sevilla.[11] He scored his first goal for the Che on 17 January 2010 in a 4–1 defeat of neighbouring Villarreal.[12]

Banega played 28 matches in 2010–11 (19 starts, two goals), as Valencia finished third and qualified to the Champions League. On 19 February 2012, however, he prolonged an existing spell on the sidelines – he had recently returned from a knee injury – after he was run over by his own car. As a result, he fractured his left ankle and broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg, according to Valencia team doctor Enrique Gastaldi.[13] He required ankle surgery, going on to miss the remainder of the season;[14] the club only confirmed that the player had been hurt in an accident involving his own car after leaving training, however Spanish media had reported that the injury occurred when he failed to put the handbrake on at a petrol station and, after the car moved, his leg was caught between the wheel and the curb.[15][16][17]

On 31 January 2014, Banega was loaned to Newell's Old Boys in his country, until the end of the campaign.[18]

Sevilla
Barcelona's Lionel Messi dribbling past Banega in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup

On 19 August 2014, Banega joined Sevilla for an undisclosed fee, crediting his decision to move clubs to manager Unai Emery, who had managed him at Valencia.[19] He made his official debut four days later, replacing Aleix Vidal for the final 20 minutes of a 1–1 draw against his former team.[20]

On 27 May 2015, Banega started for Sevilla in the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final defeat of Dnipro at Poland's National Stadium,[21] being named player of the match in the process.[22] On 11 August, in the ensuing edition of the UEFA Super Cup, he scored the fastest ever goal in the competition through a third-minute free kick, but in a 4–5 loss to Barcelona.[23]

Even though he had been deemed surplus to requirements the year before by the same manager,[24] Banega continued to be an undisputed starter in 2015–16, netting nine times in 46 competitive appearances.[25] He played the full 90 minutes in the Europa League final, won 3–1 against Liverpool;[26] in his last game for the Andalusians, the final of the Copa del Rey on 22 May 2016, he was sent off for a 90th-minute tackle on Neymar in an eventual 0–2 defeat to Barcelona after extra time.[27]

Inter Milan

On 16 May 2016, it was announced that Banega would sign for Inter Milan as a free agent, with the move being made effective on 1 July.[28] In his first interview, he stated: "I'm very excited to play for a club like Inter", adding "I cannot wait to play for Inter."[29] He was officially presented on 12 August,[30] being given squad number 19.[31]

Banega made his Serie A debut on 21 August 2016, starting and playing 70 minutes in a 0–2 away loss against ChievoVerona.[32] On 11 September, at newly promoted Pescara, he provided the first goal of Mauro Icardi in an eventual 2–1 comeback win for the first three points of the season.[33]

Banega was named in Inter's Europa League squad,[34] starting in their first match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, which finished in a 0–2 defeat at the San Siro.[35] He scored his first goal for the nerazzurri on 2 October, but in a 1–2 away loss to Roma.[36]

During the first part of the campaign, Banega started mostly but was also benched on occasion, which led to rumours of a possible move in the winter transfer window.[37] On 5 March 2017 he returned to the starting XI for the league match against Cagliari, assisting Ivan Perišić and scoring himself a free-kick in a 5–1 away victory.[38] One week later, he netted his first hat-trick as a professional in the 7–1 home thrashing of Atalanta,[39] which set a new league personal best at six goals.[40][41]

Return to Sevilla

On 27 June 2017, a mere 13 months after leaving the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Banega returned to Sevilla.[42] He was sent off in his first league game in his second spell for allegedly insulting the referee, immediately after being booked for committing a foul in the last minutes of the 1–1 home draw against Espanyol.[43]

Al Shabab

In January 2020, it was announced that Banega would join Al Shabab of the Saudi Professional League when the Europa League, in which Sevilla were winners, ended.[44][45]

International career
Banega and Raul Meireles of Portugal in a 2011 friendly

Banega was selected for the Argentine under-20 team, alongside Sergio Agüero, for the 2007 FIFA World Cup in Canada, appearing in all seven games in an eventual tournament conquest.

Soon after joining Valencia in January 2008 he made his debut for the full side, in a 5–0 friendly win over Guatemala on 6 February, which he started.[46] During that summer, he appeared for the nation at the Summer Olympics, helping conquer the gold medal.[47]

In spite of a solid season with Valencia, Banega was not selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa by manager Diego Maradona. He was however a member of the 2011 Copa América squad, playing the first two group matches as the hosts reached the quarter-finals under Sergio Batista. On 26 March 2013 he scored his first goal, finishing a Clemente Rodríguez cross to equalise in a 1–1 draw away to Bolivia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers,[48] but was not chosen for the squad that appeared in the finals.

Banega was selected by coach Gerardo Martino for the 2015 Copa América,[49] starting in the team's opening fixture against Paraguay in La Serena.[50] He was one of two players to miss his penalty shootout attempt in the final, a 1–4 loss to Chile, with Claudio Bravo saving it.[51]

Banega started all the games in the Copa América Centenario in the United States, lost 2–4 in the same fashion to the same opponent.[52] Previously, in the opening match of the group stage, he had scored in a 2–1 win over the same team, also setting up Ángel Di María's first goal.[53]

Banega was included in the final squad for the 2018 World Cup.[54] He made his debut in the competition on 16 June, playing 36 minutes in the 1–1 group stage draw against Iceland after replacing Lucas Biglia.[55] In the final group match against Nigeria at the Krestovsky Stadium, he assisted Lionel Messi's opening goal with a long ball over the defence; the match eventually ended in a 2–1 victory, which saw his team progress to the second round as group runners-up behind Croatia,[56][57] and he also featured the entire 3–4 round-of-16 defeat to France.[58]

Style of play

A tactically intelligent and versatile playmaker, Banega is mostly known for his technical skills, dribbling ability, quick feet, vision and accurate passing, which enables him to retain possession, dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield and create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. Although he is usually deployed as a central midfielder, he can also be deployed as an attacking one; whilst at Boca Juniors, he operated as a defensive midfielder, or as a deep-lying playmaker due to his creativity, work-rate, and ball-winning abilities, and he is also an accurate set-piece taker.[59][60][61][62][63]

Banega's former Internazionale coach Roberto Mancini said of him: "Banega is a midfielder who likes to mix it up a lot. He can start by playing off the front man and drop deep to pick up the ball. He plays for Argentina, he's got quality and charisma and I'm sure he'll be very useful to us."[64]

Career statistics

Club
As of 27 November 2020[65]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Boca Juniors 2006–07 Primera División 140–140–280
2007–08 140––20160
Boca Juniors Total 280–14020440
Valencia 2007–08 La Liga 1202000–140
Atlético Madrid 2008–09 2414030–311
Valencia 2009–10 3622090–472
2010–11 2822140–343
2011–12 1308140–251
2012–13 2946050–404
2013–14 1510010–161
Valencia Total 1339202230–17611
Newell's Old Boys 2013–14 Primera División 1310060–191
Sevilla 2014–15 La Liga 3433012000493
2015–16 2556113211459
Inter Milan 2016–17 Serie A 2861040–336
Sevilla 2017–18 La Liga 31381111–505
2018–19 3235013510518
2019–20 3333070–433
Sevilla Total 155172525682123828
Al Shabab 2020–21 Saudi Pro League 5200––52
Career total 3863650410684154649

International
As of match played 30 June 2018[66]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 200820
200900
201030
201190
201200
2013102
201421
2015120
2016131
201781
201861
Total656

International goals
As of 23 March 2018 (Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Banega goal)[66]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2013Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia17 Bolivia1–11–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 14 August 2013Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy20 Italy2–02–1Friendly
3 14 October 2014Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong25 Hong Kong1–07–0
4 7 June 2016Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States42 Chile2–02–1Copa América Centenario
5 14 November 2017Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia59 Nigeria1–02–4Friendly
6 23 March 2018City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England60 Italy1–02–0

Honours

Boca Juniors

Valencia

Sevilla

Argentina U20

Argentina U23

Argentina

Individual

Notes
  1. In isolation, Banega is pronounced [baˈneɣa].

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2019.
  2. "Gago me dijo que nunca me olvide de jugar" ("Gago told me to never forget to play"); Olé, 3 April 2007 (in Spanish)
  3. Boca, successo e standing ovation per Banega (Boca, win and standing ovation for Banega); Tutto Mercato Web, 1 April 2007 (in Italian)
  4. "Valencia agree to sign Argentine midfielder Banega". Reuters. 5 January 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  5. Picard, Laurent (14 January 2008). "Banega happier than ever". Setanta Sports. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
  6. Banega swaps Valencia for Atlético; UEFA, 28 August 2008
  7. Aguero brace sinks Eindhoven; ESPN Soccernet, 16 September 2008
  8. Atlético fight back to earn thrilling point; UEFA, 26 October 2008
  9. Almeria 1–1 Atlético Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 18 January 2009
  10. Everton secure Banega work permit; BBC Sport, 22 August 2009
  11. Valencia 2–0 Sevilla FC; ESPN Soccernet, 30 August 2009
  12. Valencia thrash rivals; ESPN Soccernet, 17 January 2010
  13. Soccer: Valencia star out for season after own car rolls over foot; The New Zealand Herald, 20 February 2012
  14. Car accident ends Banega's season at Valencia; UEFA, 20 February 2012
  15. Banega injured in car crash; Sky Sports, 19 February 2012
  16. Banega faces six months out; ESPN Soccernet, 19 February 2012
  17. Valencia and Argentina star Ever Banega run over by own car after failing to set handbrake; Fox Sports, 20 February 2012
  18. Banega jugará en Newell's (Banega to play in Newell's); Marca, 1 February 2014 (in Spanish)
  19. Walker, Joseph (19 August 2014). "Deulofeu and Banega add to Sevilla influx". UEFA. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  20. Campos, Tomás (23 August 2014). "Punto de fe del Valencia" [Valencia point of faith] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  21. Kell, Tom (27 May 2015). "Sevilla defeat Dnipro to land record fourth title". UEFA. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  22. Retortillo, Santi (27 May 2015). "Sevilla overwhelmed by historic success". UEFA. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  23. "Pedro is Barcelona's UEFA Super Cup hero again". UEFA. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  24. Lagos, Daniel (1 April 2015). "Banega, de no contar a indiscutible en sólo una vuelta" [Banega, from surplus to automatic first-choice in only half a season] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  25. Rivero, J. A. (21 March 2016). "Todo es más difícil sin Banega" [Everything is harder without Banega] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  26. "Sevilla make it three in row at Liverpool's expense". UEFA. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
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  43. "Éver Banega, expulsado por roja directa a la media hora de reaparecer en LaLiga por insultar al árbitro" [Éver Banega, sent off with a straight red thirty minutes into his LaLiga return for insulting referee] (in Spanish). El Economista. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  44. Ridge, Patric (26 January 2020). "Al Shabab signs Sevilla playmaker Ever Banega". Sportstar. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  45. Kershaw, Tom (21 August 2020). "Farewell Ever Banega, Sevilla's tormented maestro who leaves on his own terms". The Independent. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
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  47. Éver Banega – FIFA competition record
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  49. "Gerardo Martino confirmó la lista de 23 convocados y mantuvo a Casco para la Copa América" [Gerardo Martino confirmed list of 23 selected and kept Casco for the Copa América] (in Spanish). La Nación. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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  52. Timms, Aaron (27 June 2016). "Chile win Copa América once again as Argentina title drought continues". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  53. Eliceche, Andrés (6 June 2016). "Los otros rosarinos: sin Messi, la selección ganó en el debut de la mano de Di María y Banega" [The other from Rosario: without Messi, national team won in debut courtesy of Di María and Banega] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  54. "World Cup 2018: Messi and Aguero in Argentina squad but Icardi out". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  55. Bevan, Chris (16 June 2018). "Argentina 1–1 Iceland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  56. Skelton, Jack (26 June 2018). "Nigeria 1–2 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
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  58. Begley, Emlyn (30 June 2018). "France 4–3 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
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  60. López Vázquez, Rodrigo (7 March 2016). "Ever Banega, goleador" [Ever Banega, goal scorer] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
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  62. Furlan, Michele (4 February 2016). "Tattica del mercato – Inter, Banega: un regista vero per Mancini" [Market tactics – Inter, Banega: a real playmaker for Mancini] (in Italian). Calcio Mercato. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  63. Tabacco, Andrea (23 May 2016). "Che tipo di giocatore è Ever Banega: regista o "picchiatore"?" [What type of player is Ever Banega: playmaker or "destroyer"?] (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  64. "Mancini pleased with Inter progress". Inter Milan. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  65. "É. Banega". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  66. "É. Banega – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  67. Rose, Gary (27 May 2015). "Dnipropetrovsk 2–3 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  68. Begley, Emlyn (21 August 2020). "Sevilla 3–2 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
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  70. "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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