Fernando Belluschi

Fernando Daniel Belluschi (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈlustʃi], Italian: [belˈluski]; born 10 September 1983) is an Argentine midfielder currently playing for Club Atlético Lanús of the Argentine Primera División.

Fernando Belluschi

Belluschi with San Lorenzo in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Fernando Daniel Belluschi
Date of birth	10 September 1983
Place of birth	Los Quirquinchos, Argentina
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Lanús
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2005	Newell's Old Boys	90	(25)
2005–2007	River Plate	48	(13)
2007–2009	Olympiacos	36	(6)
2009–2012	Porto	69	(6)
2012	→ Genoa (loan)	14	(1)
2012–2015	Bursaspor	89	(11)
2015	Cruz Azul	8	(0)
2016–2020	San Lorenzo	77	(11)
2020–	Lanús	4	(0)
National team^‡
2005–	Argentina	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 March 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 June 2019

Club career

Belluschi began playing professionally at Newell's Old Boys in 2002, with whom he won the 2004 Apertura Championship. He moved to River Plate in 2006 and with the departure of Marcelo Gallardo to Paris Saint-Germain following the 2006 Apertura, he was named team captain, a position he would fill for two years. He then joined Olympiacos for reported €6.5 million in early 2008.[2]

On 6 July 2009, Porto purchased Belluschi's playing rights and 50% of his economic rights[3] for €5 million.[4] The other 50% was owned by private investment company Rio Football Services Ltd.[5] He signed a contract until 2013 with a release clause of €30 million.[4]

In 2012, Belluschi was sent on to Genoa under a purchasing option of €3.5 million, or €5 million if the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League.[6] In summer 2012, Porto sold its 50% ownership of his economic rights for €1.05 million.[7]

On 10 July 2015, Cruz Azul signed Belluschi on a free transfer. His salary was set at €1.1 million. He debuted for the side as a substitute in the 61st minute for an injured Marc Crosas in the Clasico Joven. He did not receive his international pass until the Clasico Joven, which was why he did not participate in any league matches up to that point. He failed to score for Cruz Azul, having a penalty saved by Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Fraga on matchday 11.

On 26 January 2016, San Lorenzo signed the then-32-year-old Belluschi on a free transfer.

Career statistics

As of match played on 3 March 2018[8]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Olympiacos Piraeus	2007–08	Superleague Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	2	0
	2008–09		25	5	0	0	0	0	8[lower-alpha 2]	2	33	7
	Total		25	5	0	0	0	0	10	2	35	7
Porto	2009–10	Primeira Liga	27	3	4	1	3	1	5[lower-alpha 3]	0	39	5
	2010–11		26	2	4	0	2	0	14[lower-alpha 4]	1	46	3
	2011–12		16	1	1	0	2	0	7[lower-alpha 5]	0	26	1
	Total		69	6	9	1	7	1	26	1	108	9
Genoa (loan)	2011–12	Serie A	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1
Bursaspor	2012–13	Süper Lig	30	5	3	1	0	0	0	0	33	6
	2013–14		27	3	9	1	0	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	37	4
	2014–15		32	3	9	1	0	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	42	4
	Total		89	11	21	3	0	0	2	0	112	4
Cruz Azul	2015–16	Liga MX	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
San Lorenzo	2016	Argentine Primera División	14	2	4	1	0	0	6[lower-alpha 7]	1	24	4
	2016–17		26	6	2	0	0	0	13[lower-alpha 8]	2	41	8
	2017–18		14	2	0	0	0	0	6[lower-alpha 9]	2	20	4
	Total		54	10	6	1	0	0	25	5	85	16
Career totals			259	33	36	5	7	1	63	8	365	47

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Seven appearances in UEFA Europa League, One appearance in UEFA Champions League
3. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
4. Thireteen appearances in UEFA Europa League, One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
5. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
6. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
7. Five appearances in Copa Libertadores, One appearance in Supercopa Argentina
8. Six appearances in Copa Libertadores, Six appearances in Copa Sudamericana, One appearance in Torneos de Verano
9. Four appearances in Copa Libertadores, One appearances in Torneos de Verano

International career

Belluschi has won six caps for Argentina, all in friendlies. In November 2017, after six years away from the national team, Belluschi was named in coach Jorge Sampaoli's squad for friendlies against Russia and Nigeria in the former.[9]

Personal life

Belluschi is married to Florencia, whom he met in his home city of Los Quirquinchos. They began dating when he was 17 years old and have been together since. He is best friends with fellow professional footballer Ignacio Scocco, and both served as best men at each other's wedding.

Belluschi also holds an Italian passport due to his Italian ancestry from the province of Pavia, where his paternal great-grandfather emigrated to Argentina from.[10]

Honours

Club

Newell's Old Boys

• Argentine Primera División (1): Torneo Apertura 2004

Olympiacos

• Superleague Greece (2): 2007–08, 2008–09
• Greek Cup (2): 2007–08, 2008–09

Porto

• Primeira Liga (2): 2010–11, 2011–12
• Taça de Portugal (2): 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (3): 2009, 2010, 2011
• UEFA Europa League (1): 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up, 2011

San Lorenzo

• Supercopa Argentina (1): 2015

International

Argentina

• South American Youth Championship (1): 2003

Individual

• Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 2016

References

1. Olympiakos profile Archived 13 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Olympiacos switch thrills Belluschi". UEFA.com. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
3. Economic rights stand for the portion of the future transfer fee that Porto will receive
4. "Comunicado da FC Porto – Futebol, SAD" (in Portuguese). fcporto.pt. 6 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
5. "Asamblea aprobada" (in Spanish). Club Atlético River Plate. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
6. "FC Porto revela valores dos empréstimos de Belluschi e Guarín". Público. 31 January 2012.
7. "Relatório e Contas Consolidado 2011/2012" [Consolidated financial statements and report 2011–12] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
8. Fernando Belluschi at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
9. "Jorge Sampaoli definió los convocados del fútbol argentino para los amistosos con Rusia y Nigeria" [Jorge Sampaoli names the call-ups from Argentine football for the friendlies against Russia and Nigeria]. La Nación (in Spanish). 2 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
10. "Si scrive Belluschi, si legge Bellus-ci". canalegenoa.it. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.

External links

• Guardian statistics at the Wayback Machine (archived 8 September 2010)
• Fernando Belluschi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Player Profile on the River Plate Website (in Spanish)
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (in Spanish)