Gabriel Paletta facts for kids
.jpg)
Paletta with Monza in 2022
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Alejandro Paletta | ||
| Date of birth | 15 February 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Longchamps, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.90 m | ||
| Playing position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | Banfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2006 | Banfield | 42 | (5) |
| 2006–2007 | Liverpool | 3 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Boca Juniors | 59 | (5) |
| 2010–2015 | Parma | 123 | (5) |
| 2015–2018 | AC Milan | 44 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | → Atalanta (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Jiangsu Suning | 42 | (1) |
| 2019–2023 | Monza | 45 | (2) |
| Total | 382 | (21) | |
| National team | |||
| 2005 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 2014 | Italy | 3 | (0) |
|
|||
Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born 15 February 1986) is a former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back, which is a defensive position in the middle of the field.
Gabriel was born in Argentina. His parents were of Italian descent. He played for Argentina's national team when he was under 20 years old. He even helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. In 2014, Gabriel was chosen to play for the Italy national team. He played his first game for Italy against Spain. Later that year, he represented Italy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career
Playing for Banfield
Gabriel Paletta started his football journey in the youth teams of Banfield. He joined their main team in 2005. Banfield made it to the knockout rounds of the Copa Libertadores, a big South American club competition. Gabriel played well in these matches. However, he had to leave the tournament early. He was called up to play for the Argentina under-20 team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Playing for Liverpool
In February 2006, Gabriel decided to join Liverpool, a famous English club. He signed a four-year contract in July 2006. He was only the second player from Argentina to play for Liverpool.
Gabriel's first game for Liverpool was a friendly match in July. He scored his first goal for the club in October 2006 during a League Cup game. He made his first appearance in the Premier League, England's top league, in December. He played in a 4–0 win against Wigan Athletic. Gabriel also played in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Europe's biggest club competition.
By August 2007, Gabriel had played only a few games for Liverpool. The club then agreed for him to move to Boca Juniors in Argentina.
Playing for Boca Juniors
In August 2007, Gabriel joined Boca Juniors, a very popular club in Argentina. He played his first game for them in the Torneo Apertura league. A month later, he scored his first goal for Boca Juniors in a match against Gimnasia de Jujuy.
Gabriel also played in his first Superclásico, which is a huge match against their rivals, River Plate. He also played in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. Boca Juniors reached the final but lost to AC Milan.
In 2008, Gabriel scored a goal in a friendly tournament against River Plate. He also scored his first goal in the 2008 Copa Libertadores against Maracaibo. Boca Juniors made it to the semi-finals of that tournament.
In November 2008, Gabriel had a serious injury. He tore a ligament in his right knee and was out of play for six months. Despite his injury, Boca Juniors won the Torneo Apertura league title that season. He returned to play in May 2009.
In August 2009, there were talks about Gabriel moving to an Italian club, Palermo, but the deal didn't happen. He continued to play for Boca Juniors. His last game for Boca Juniors was in May 2010 against his old club, Banfield.
Playing for Parma
On 6 July 2010, Gabriel moved to Italy to play for Parma, a club in Serie A, Italy's top football league. He quickly became a regular player for the team. He often played alongside Alessandro Lucarelli in defense.
In August 2012, Gabriel signed a new contract with Parma. This showed that the club wanted him to stay until 2017. He continued to be an important player for Parma for several seasons.
Playing for AC Milan
On 2 February 2015, Gabriel joined AC Milan, another big Italian club. He signed a contract for three and a half years.
In August 2015, he went on loan to Atalanta for one season. After returning to AC Milan, Gabriel played many games during the 2016–17 season. He scored two goals that season. He also received several red cards during this time.
Later, with many new players joining AC Milan, Gabriel had fewer chances to play. Even though he trained with the main team, he sometimes played for the club's youth team. He left AC Milan in January 2018.
Playing for Jiangsu Suning
On 23 February 2018, Gabriel moved to China. He signed with Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning. He played for them for about a year and a half.
Playing for Monza
After leaving China, Gabriel joined Monza on 6 November 2019. At that time, Monza was in Serie C, a lower Italian league. The club was owned by Silvio Berlusconi, a famous Italian businessman.
Gabriel helped Monza get promoted to Serie B for the 2020–21 season. Then, he helped them get promoted again to Serie A for the 2022–23 season. This was a big achievement for the club. However, he did not play any games in Serie A due to an injury. His contract with Monza ended in February 2023.
International Career
In 2005, Gabriel Paletta was chosen to play for the Argentina under-20 team. He played in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was a key player in defense, playing in all seven games. Future football stars like Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero were also on that team. Argentina won the tournament, and Gabriel's strong performances caught the eye of big clubs.
Gabriel also had an Italian passport because his family came from Italy. This meant he could play for the Italy national team. In March 2014, he was called up to Italy's squad for a friendly game against Spain. He played his first game for Italy on 5 March.
On 1 June 2014, Gabriel was named in Italy's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played his first World Cup game against England in Brazil.
Style of Play
Gabriel Paletta was a centre-back, a defender who plays in the middle. He could play in different defensive setups. He was known for being good with the ball and for marking opponents closely. He was also good at heading the ball and winning aerial challenges. Sometimes, he was criticized for being inconsistent or too aggressive, which led to him getting yellow or red cards.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Banfield | 2005–06 | Primera División | 42 | 5 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 42 | 5 | |||
| Liverpool | 2006–07 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | |
| Boca Juniors | 2007–08 | Primera División | 21 | 4 | — | — | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2008–09 | Primera División | 16 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | Primera División | 22 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |||
| Total | 59 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 72 | 6 | ||
| Parma | 2010–11 | Serie A | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 4 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Serie A | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 123 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 6 | ||
| AC Milan | 2014–15 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Serie A | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 2 | ||
| Atalanta | 2015–16 | Serie A | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| Jiangsu Suning | 2018 | Chinese Super League | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | Chinese Super League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
| Monza | 2019–20 | Serie C | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Serie B | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Serie B | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 375 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 414 | 23 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2014 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Boca Juniors
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2008
- Argentine Primera División: 2008 Torneo Apertura
- FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2007
AC Milan
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2016
Monza
- Serie C Group A: 2019–20
Argentina U20
See also
In Spanish: Gabriel Paletta para niños
