Hernán Crespo facts for kids
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Crespo in 2018
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 5 July 1975 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Florida, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1993 | River Plate | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | River Plate | 64 | (24) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Parma | 116 | (62) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Lazio | 54 | (39) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Inter Milan | 18 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | Chelsea | 49 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | → AC Milan (loan) | 28 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | → Inter Milan (loan) | 49 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Inter Milan | 14 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Genoa | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Parma | 46 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 453 | (197) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Argentina U23 | 6 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2007 | Argentina | 64 | (35) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Parma Primavera | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Modena | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Banfield | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Defensa y Justicia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | São Paulo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Al-Duhail | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Al Ain | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Hernán Jorge Crespo (born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al Ain.
Crespo was a fantastic striker, scoring over 300 goals in his 19-year career. For his country, Argentina, he scored 35 goals. This makes him Argentina's fourth highest goalscorer ever. Only Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Batistuta, and Lionel Messi have scored more. He played in three FIFA World Cups: 1998, 2002, and 2006.
In 2000, Crespo became the world's most expensive player. This happened when Lazio bought him from Parma for about €56 million. He was the top scorer in Italy's 2000–01 Serie A league with 26 goals. Many people think he was one of the best strikers of his time.
Crespo won many awards, including three Italian league titles (scudetti). He also won a Copa Libertadores, a Premier League title, and an Olympic Games silver medal. In 2004, the famous player Pelé included Crespo in his FIFA 100 list. This list featured the world's greatest living players. An amazing fact about Crespo is that he never received a red card in his entire career!
Contents
Club Football Journey
Starting at River Plate
Crespo began his professional career with River Plate in Argentina. This was during the 1993–94 season. He scored 13 goals in 25 league games. River Plate won the league title that year. In 1996, he helped River Plate win the Copa Libertadores. He scored two goals in the final match held in Buenos Aires.
Time at Parma
Crespo moved to Parma in Italy on 14 August 1996. Before this, he won a silver medal with Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was also the top scorer there with six goals. At first, he struggled to score for Parma. But he soon found his form, scoring 12 goals in his first season. Parma finished second in the league that year.
Parma won the 1998–99 Coppa Italia (Italian Cup). Crespo scored the first goal in Parma's 3–0 win in the 1999 UEFA Cup Final. This was a big European trophy. He scored 80 goals for Parma in four seasons.
Playing for Lazio
In 2000, Lazio paid a record amount to sign Crespo. He then became the top scorer in Italy's Serie A league with 26 goals. However, Lazio did not win the league title that year. The next season, Crespo had some injuries. Lazio also faced financial problems. This led to the club selling many players.
Moving to Inter Milan
On 31 August 2002, Crespo joined Inter Milan. He was brought in to replace Ronaldo. Crespo scored seven goals in 18 league games for Inter. He also scored nine goals in 12 Champions League matches. Unfortunately, an injury in early 2003 kept him out for four months.
Joining Chelsea
Crespo moved to English club Chelsea on 26 August 2003. He made his league debut as a substitute. His first goals for Chelsea were two goals in a 5–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played 73 games for Chelsea and scored 25 goals.
Loan to AC Milan
After José Mourinho became Chelsea's manager, Crespo was loaned to AC Milan for the 2004–05 season. He scored ten league goals for Milan. He also scored two goals in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. Milan lost that final to Liverpool.
By scoring a Champions League goal with Milan, Crespo became the first player to score for five different teams in the competition. These were all the teams he had played for in Europe since 1996.
Coming Back to Chelsea
Chelsea recalled Crespo for the 2005–06 season. He scored his first goal of the season against Wigan Athletic. It was a winning goal in the 93rd minute. Crespo won his first league title in Europe with Chelsea that season.
Returning to Inter Milan
Even though he scored 13 goals and won the league with Chelsea, Crespo wanted to return to Italy. On 7 August 2006, he rejoined Inter Milan on a two-year loan. He scored his 125th Serie A goal in December 2006. On 13 May, Crespo scored three goals to help Inter win the Scudetto (league title).
After his loan ended, Crespo signed a permanent one-year contract with Inter Milan in 2008. Under his former manager José Mourinho, he played 13 league games.
Playing for Genoa
After his contract with Inter ended, Crespo joined Genoa in 2009. He wanted to play well to be chosen for Argentina's 2010 World Cup team. He scored his first goal for Genoa in September against Napoli.
Final Years at Parma and Retirement
In January 2010, Crespo returned to Parma. He had played there ten years earlier. He scored one goal before the season ended. In the 2010–11 season, he scored eleven goals. This made him Parma's top scorer for the fourth time, a club record.
Crespo and Parma ended his contract early on 2 February 2012. He is the club's all-time top scorer with 94 goals in 201 games. Crespo officially ended his football career in November 2012.
International Football Career
Crespo first played for Argentina in February 1995. He was part of the Argentina team that finished second in the 1995 King Fahd Cup. This competition is now known as the FIFA Confederations Cup.
In 1996, Crespo played for Argentina's team at the Olympic Games. He scored six goals in the tournament. Argentina reached the final but lost to Nigeria. Crespo scored from a penalty in that final.
Crespo scored his first goal for the senior Argentina team in a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador. He also scored three goals in a friendly match before the 1998 World Cup. He was in the squad for the 1998 World Cup. He played once as a substitute. Argentina won a penalty shootout against England in that tournament.
For the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Crespo was Argentina's top scorer with nine goals. During the World Cup itself, he came on as a substitute in all three group games. He scored a late goal against Sweden, but it was not enough. Argentina was eliminated from the tournament.
After the 2002 World Cup, Crespo became Argentina's main striker. He scored seven goals in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. This included two goals against their rivals, Brazil. These goals helped Argentina qualify for the World Cup.
Crespo scored Argentina's first goal in the 2006 World Cup. This was in their opening match against Ivory Coast. He also scored in the next game against Serbia and Montenegro. He scored again in the second round match against Mexico. Argentina's journey ended in the quarter-finals. They lost to host nation Germany on penalties.
Crespo's last games for Argentina were at the 2007 Copa América. He scored two goals against the United States. This tied Diego Maradona's scoring record for Argentina. He then scored a penalty against Colombia, breaking Maradona's record. However, he got injured and missed the rest of the tournament.
Crespo finished his international career with 35 goals in 64 matches. He is currently Argentina's fourth highest goalscorer of all time.
Playing Style
Crespo was known as a fast, strong, and complete striker. He had good technique and was calm when he had the ball. He was excellent at scoring goals, both with his feet and his head. He was also known for scoring amazing acrobatic goals. He worked hard without the ball and moved smartly to create space for his teammates. Because of his goal-scoring ability and many skills, he is seen as one of the best strikers of his time. He also faced several injuries during his career.
Nicknames
Hernán Crespo was sometimes called "Valdanito". This nickname came from another famous Argentine striker, Jorge Valdano. People thought Crespo would be like him because they looked similar and both scored many goals. He was also sometimes called "El Polaco" (The Pole). This was because of his light hair when he was young.
Life After Playing and Coaching Career
Coaching at Parma and Modena
On 12 November 2012, Crespo announced he would become a coach. He started coaching the youth team of Parma in 2014. On 30 June 2015, Crespo became the new manager of Serie B club Modena. He was sacked on 26 March 2016.
Returning to Parma as Vice President
On 22 June 2017, a Chinese businessman bought a large part of Parma. He made Crespo the new vice president of the club. Later, on 2 January 2018, Crespo became a club ambassador.
Managing Banfield
On 19 December 2018, Crespo was named manager of Argentine Primera División team Banfield. He signed an 18-month deal. After finishing 16th in his first season, he was sacked in September 2019. He had won only one of his last five games.
Leading Defensa y Justicia
On 25 January 2020, Crespo became the manager of Defensa y Justicia in Argentina. On 23 January 2021, he led Defensa y Justicia to win their first international trophy. They won the Copa Sudamericana by beating Lanús 3–0.
Coaching São Paulo
On 12 February 2021, Crespo was appointed manager of Brazilian club São Paulo. He signed a two-year deal. He won the Campeonato Paulista title on 23 May. This was São Paulo's first trophy in nine years.
On 13 October 2021, Crespo left São Paulo by agreement. He was replaced by club legend Rogério Ceni.
Managing Al-Duhail
On 24 March 2022, Crespo took over as manager of Al-Duhail in Qatar. In his first season, he won three trophies: the league, the Qatar Cup, and the Qatari Stars Cup. His team also reached the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. He left the club on 11 October 2023.
Coaching Al Ain
After leaving Al-Duhail, Crespo signed with Al Ain in November 2023. He led the team to the Asian Champions League final. They won the final against Yokohama F. Marinos. In the 2024–25 season, after some difficult results, including a big loss to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, the club decided to let him go.
Personal Life
In May 2005, Crespo married Alessia Andra Rossi from Italy. They have three children together.
Honours and Achievements
As a Player
River Plate
- Argentine Primera División: 1993 (Apertura), 1994 (Apertura)
- Copa Libertadores: 1996
Parma
- Coppa Italia: 1998–99
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1999
- UEFA Cup: 1998–99
Lazio
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2000
AC Milan
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2004-05
Chelsea
- Premier League: 2005–06
- FA Community Shield: 2005
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2006, 2008
- Coppa Italia runner-up: 2006-07, 2007-08
Argentina National Team
- Pan American Games Gold Medal: 1995
- Olympic Games Silver Medal: 1996
Individual Awards
- Argentine Primera División top scorer: 1993–94
- Football at the Summer Olympics top scorer: 1996 (shared)
- UEFA Cup Final Man of the Match: 1999
- Coppa Italia top scorer: 1998–99, 2006–07 (shared)
- Serie A top scorer: 2000–01
- FIFA 100 (one of the world's greatest living players)
- FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe: 2006
- FIFA World Cup All-star team: 2006
As a Manager
Defensa y Justicia
- Copa Sudamericana: 2020
São Paulo
- Campeonato Paulista: 2021
Al-Duhail
- Qatar Stars League: 2022–23
- Qatari Stars Cup: 2022–23
- Qatar Cup: 2023
Al Ain
- AFC Champions League: 2023–24
Individual Manager Awards
- Copa Sudamericana Manager of the Year: 2020
- Campeonato Paulista Manager of the Year: 2021
Images for kids
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Crespo in 2018
See also
In Spanish: Hernán Crespo para niños
