Nicolás Blandi

Nicolás Blandi (born 13 January 1990) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Colo-Colo.

Nicolás Blandi
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Blandi
Date of birth (1990-01-13) 13 January 1990
Place of birth Campana, Argentina
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Colo-Colo
Number 20
Youth career
1995–2000 EFI
2000–2001 Puerto Nuevo
2001–2002 Villa Dálmine
2002–2005 Chacarita Juniors
2005–2010 Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Boca Juniors 43 (13)
2010–2011 → Argentinos Juniors (loan) 25 (6)
2014–2019 San Lorenzo 111 (44)
2015 → Evian TG (loan) 6 (2)
2015 → Evian TG II (loan) 1 (0)
2020– Colo-Colo 14 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October 2020

Club career

Early career

Born in Campana, Buenos Aires, Blandi began his career at the age of five at Escuela de Fútbol Infantil (EFI), a footballing school directed by Peter Ithurburu, as a central midfielder.[1] In 2000, aged ten, he moved to Puerto Nuevo, representing the club for one year before joining Villa Dálmine.[2]

In 2002, Blandi joined Chacarita Juniors' youth setup, now already a forward.[1] He played for the side for three seasons before moving to Boca Juniors at the age of 15.[2]

Boca Juniors

In May 2010, after impressing with the reserve team, Blandi was called up to the main squad ahead of a pre-season tour in the United States.[3][4] He made his first-team debut on 24 May in a 1–0 loss at Los Angeles Galaxy,[5] and scored his first goal five days later in a 3–2 defeat to Portland Timbers.[6]

Loan to Argentinos Juniors

In July 2010, Blandi was loaned to fellow Primera División side Argentinos Juniors, for one year.[7] He made his professional debut on 16 August, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Independiente.

Blandi scored his first professional goal on 14 November 2010, netting the game's only in a home success over San Lorenzo.[8] He scored six goals in 25 appearances for the club.

Return to Boca

Returning to Boca ahead the 2011–12 campaign, Blandi was initially listed for loan by manager Julio César Falcioni, but remained in the squad after impressing during the pre-season. He made his official debut for the club on 23 September 2011, in a 1–0 home win against Estudiantes.

Blandi scored his first official goals for the club on 26 October 2011, netting a brace in a 2–0 away success over Colón.[9] He was regularly used during the season, mainly as a backup to Pablo Mouche and Darío Cvitanich, and beat off competition from Orlando Gaona Lugo, Sergio Araujo and injured Lucas Viatri.[10]

Blandi continued to feature mainly as a backup option in the following seasons.

San Lorenzo

On 13 January 2014, Blandi joined San Lorenzo on three-year contract, for a fee of US$ 1.8 million for 50% of his federative rights.[11] He made his debut for the club on 8 February in a 1–0 away loss against Olimpo, and scored his first goal eight days later in a 1–0 home defeat of Racing Club.

He was a part of the squad who lifted the 2014 Copa Libertadores, acting mainly as a rotation option with Mauro Matos and Martín Cauteruccio.

Loan to Evian TG

On 17 January 2015, Blandi was loaned to Ligue 1 side Evian Thonon Gaillard for six months.[12] After struggling with an injury in his first two months, he made his debut for the club on 21 March by replacing Mathieu Duhamel in a 1–0 home win against Montpellier HSC.

Blandi scored his first goal abroad on 18 April 2015, netting the equalizer in a 1–1 away draw against EA Guingamp. He contributed with six appearances during his spell, as his side suffered relegation.

Return from loan

Upon returning Blandi remained as a backup during the remainder of the 2015 season, but was a regular starter during the 2016 campaign. He scored eight goals during the latter year, including braces against Olimpo and River Plate.

On 1 August 2016, San Lorenzo bought the remaining 50% rights of Blandi.[13]

Career statistics
As of 26 July 2018[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Argentinos Juniors (loan) 2010–11 Primera División 256—2[lower-alpha 1]0—276
Boca Juniors 2011–12 Primera División 156424[lower-alpha 2]1—239
2012–13 184228[lower-alpha 3]200288
2013–14 1030000—103
Total 431364123006120
San Lorenzo 2013–14 Primera División 1242000—144
2014 140007[lower-alpha 2]100211
2015 622000—82
2016 148003[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 4]11810
2016–17 23113314[lower-alpha 5]8—4022
2017–18 229205[lower-alpha 6]2—2911
2018–19 00001[lower-alpha 7]1—11
Total 91349330131113151
Evian TG (loan) 2014–15 Ligue 1 61———61
Evian TG B (loan) 2014–15 CFA 2 10———10
Career totals 1665415744161122678
  1. One appearance in Copa Sudamericana, one appearance in Copa Libertadores
  2. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. Seven appearances and two goals in Copa Libertadores, one appearance in Copa Sudamericana
  4. Appearance(s) in Supercopa Argentina
  5. Eight appearances and five goals in Copa Sudamericana, six appearances and three goals in Copa Libertadores
  6. Four appearances and two goals in Copa Libertadores, one appearance in Copa Sudamericana
  7. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana

Honours
Boca Juniors
San Lorenzo

References
  1. "Descubriendo a Nicolás Blandi" [Discovering Nicolás Blandi] (in Spanish). El Gráfico. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. "Nicolás Blandi, un nueve elegante" [Nicolás Blandi, an elegant nine] (in Spanish). El Gráfico. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. "Boca practicó antes de viajar a la gira" [Boca trained before travelling on tour] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. "Boca Juniors Announce Travel Roster". Los Angeles Galaxy. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. "Boca cayó en Los Ángeles" [Boca fell in Los Angeles] (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  6. "Timbers defeat Boca Juniors on late goal by Lopez". Portland Timbers. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  7. "Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors" (in Spanish). De Rabona al Ángulo. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  8. "Argentinos Juniors le ganó a San Lorenzo" [Argentinos Juniors defeated San Lorenzo] (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. 14 November 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  9. "Con un Blandi goleador, Boca le ganó a Colón" [With a goalscoring Blandi, Boca defeated Colón] (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  10. "Mouche, el goleador menos pensado" [Mouche, the least thinking goalscorer] (in Spanish). La Nación. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  11. "Nicolás Blandi ya se entrena con San Lorenzo: "Es un privilegio pasar de un grande a otro"" [Nicolás Blandi already trains with San Lorenzo: "It is a privilege to go from one big to another"] (in Spanish). La Nación. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  12. "L'Argentin Nicolas Blandi signe à Evian-Thonon" [Argentine Nicolas Blandi signs with Evian-Thonon] (in French). Ouest-France. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  13. "100% Blandi" (in Spanish). Olé. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  14. Nicolás Blandi at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.