Martín Palermo facts for kids
![]() Palermo in 2018
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Martín Palermo | ||
Date of birth | 7 November 1973 | ||
Place of birth | La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.88 m | ||
Playing position | Striker | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Olimpia (head coach) | ||
Youth career | |||
Estudiantes de La Plata | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1992–1997 | Estudiantes de La Plata | 93 | (34) |
1997–2001 | Boca Juniors | 102 | (81) |
2001–2003 | Villarreal | 70 | (18) |
2003–2004 | Betis | 11 | (1) |
2004 | Alavés | 14 | (3) |
2004–2011 | Boca Juniors | 216 | (112) |
Total | 592 | (249) | |
National team | |||
1999–2010 | Argentina | 15 | (9) |
Teams managed | |||
2012–2013 | Godoy Cruz | ||
2014–2015 | Arsenal de Sarandí | ||
2016–2018 | Unión Española | ||
2019 | Pachuca | ||
2020–2021 | Curicó Unido | ||
2021–2022 | Aldosivi | ||
2023 | Platense | ||
2024– | Olimpia | ||
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Martín Palermo (born November 7, 1973) is a famous Argentine football manager and former player. He was known as a powerful striker. Today, he is the head coach for Olimpia.
Palermo mostly played as a forward for Boca Juniors, one of Argentina's biggest clubs. He is Boca Juniors' all-time top scorer with 236 goals. He also ranks 7th among all-time top scorers in the Argentine First Division. He played for other teams in Argentina and Spain, like Estudiantes de La Plata, Villarreal, Real Betis, and Alavés.
Fans gave him nicknames like Loco (meaning "crazy") and Titán (meaning "titan"). In a 2008 poll, Boca Juniors fans even voted him as the greatest idol in their club's history. For the Argentina national football team, Palermo played 15 games and scored 9 goals. He played in the 1999 Copa América and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After retiring as a player, he became a manager in 2012.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting with Estudiantes
Martín Palermo was born in La Plata, Buenos Aires. He started his football journey at Estudiantes de La Plata. He played there for five years, from 1992 to 1997. After that, he moved to Boca Juniors.
Becoming a Legend at Boca Juniors
Palermo's start at Boca Juniors was a bit slow. But on September 30, 1997, he scored his first goal for them. It was in a 2–1 win against Independiente.
In 1999, European clubs like Lazio and Milan were interested in him because he was scoring so many goals. However, on November 13, 1999, he suffered a serious knee injury. Even with the injury, he managed to score his 100th goal in the Argentine First Division before leaving the game.
He spent six months recovering. On May 24, 2000, he made a big comeback. He played the last 15 minutes of a Copa Libertadores match against River Plate. He scored a goal that helped Boca Juniors win 3–0.
Later in 2000, he played in the Intercontinental Cup. He scored both goals in Boca's 2–1 victory over Real Madrid. He was named man of the match, which caught the eye of Spanish clubs.
Playing in Spain
In January 2001, Palermo joined the Spanish team Villarreal. He signed a four-year deal. He scored six goals in 17 games in his first season.
On November 29, 2001, he scored a goal in a cup match. While celebrating, he stood on a concrete wall, which collapsed. This caused him to break both bones in his left leg. He didn't play again until April 2002.
Villarreal reached the final of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Palermo left Villarreal in August 2003. He then joined Real Betis for a year. He played 12 games and scored one goal there. In March 2004, he left Betis and joined Alavés in the second division. He scored three goals in 14 games.
Return to Boca Juniors
On July 13, 2004, Palermo made a big return to Boca Juniors. On December 17, he scored his 100th goal with Boca. It was in the final of the 2004 Copa Sudamericana, a 2–0 win.
In May 2005, Palermo scored twice in a Copa Libertadores match. Later, in a game against Chivas Guadalajara, he was involved in a fight and was sent off. The match ended early because of a large brawl.
In November 2005, he scored an important goal in the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals. Boca Juniors went on to win the tournament. Even though he missed a penalty in the final shootout, Boca still won.
Palermo continued to be one of the best scorers in Argentina. In the 2007 Clausura tournament, he had amazing moments. On February 25, he scored a goal from half-pitch. Two weeks later, he scored three goals against his old team, Estudiantes. This was his fourth hat-trick. A week after that, he scored four goals in one game.
In the 2007 Apertura, he scored 13 goals. On September 16, he scored four goals in a 6–0 win against Banfield.

In August 2008, he suffered another serious knee injury. This meant he would be out for several months. Argentina's coach, Alfio Basile, had planned to call him up for the national team.
Palermo's first goal after his injury came on March 1, 2009. This was his 195th goal with Boca Juniors. It broke Francisco Varallo's record of 194 goals. On April 30, Martín scored his 200th goal for Boca with a bicycle kick.
In October 2009, Palermo scored a very special goal against Vélez Sársfield. It was a header that traveled almost 39 meters! This goal gave him 200 goals in the Argentine First Division.
On July 22, 2010, at 36 years old, Palermo announced he would retire at the end of his contract. He scored his sixth career hat-trick on September 19, 2010. On December 13, 2010, he scored his 300th career goal.
On April 24, 2011, Palermo scored his first goal in 10 matches. He then scored in the next three games, including a goal against River Plate in the Superclasico.
Martín Palermo became a legend at Boca Juniors. On June 12, 2011, he played his last home match at La Bombonera. The club honored him and gave him one of the goal frames from the stadium. He officially retired from football on June 18, 2011. He even provided an assist in his final game.
International Career with Argentina
Martín Palermo played 15 matches for the Argentina national football team and scored 9 goals. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for a unique event. In a match against Colombia in the 1999 Copa América, he missed three penalty kicks in the same game!
After a long break, Diego Maradona called Palermo back to the national team in September 2009. This was for a World Cup qualifying match. A few weeks later, he scored both goals in a friendly game against Ghana. On October 10, 2009, Palermo scored a winning goal in the 93rd minute against Peru. Maradona called it "one more miracle of Saint Palermo."
On May 19, 2010, Palermo was chosen for Argentina's team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This was his first World Cup. On June 22, 2010, he played his first World Cup match against Greece. In the 89th minute, he scored his first World Cup goal. This made him the oldest Argentine player to score in a World Cup.
Managerial Career
After his playing career, Martín Palermo became a football manager.
In May 2012, he was suggested for the manager position at Estudiantes de La Plata. On November 26, 2012, Palermo became the head coach of Godoy Cruz. He stayed there until the end of 2013.
On April 18, 2014, Palermo was appointed head coach of Arsenal de Sarandi. He managed them for the 2014–15 season. He resigned from his position in April 2015.
His next job was with the Chilean team Unión Española. In his first tournament, they finished third. In 2017, they were runners-up in the league. However, he left the club in November 2018.
Palermo then moved to Mexico. On January 22, 2019, he became the new manager of Pachuca. He left at the end of his contract in December 2019. In November 2020, he was appointed manager of Curicó Unido in Chile, but he resigned nine months later.
Returning to Argentina, Palermo became the manager of Aldosivi in September 2021. He resigned in May 2022. In November of that year, he became the new coach of Platense. He led them to the final of the 2023 Copa de la Liga Profesional, but they lost. He then resigned from Platense.
In February 2024, Palermo agreed to become the new head coach of the Paraguayan team Olimpia. In his first year with the team, Martín Palermo won his first title as a club manager.
Career statistics
Club
- Source:
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Estudiantes | 1991–92 | Clausura | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
1992–93 | Apertura | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |||
Clausura | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
1993–94 | Apertura | 10 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
Clausura | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
1994–95 | Primera B | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
1995–96 | Apertura | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | 27 | 17 | ||||
Clausura | 19 | 11 | ||||||||||
1996–97 | Apertura | 19 | 6 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 38 | 17 | |||
Clausura | 17 | 9 | ||||||||||
Total | 93 | 34 | — | 6 | 2 | — | 99 | 36 | ||||
Boca Juniors | 1997–98 | Apertura | 17 | 8 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 36 | 21 | ||
Clausura | 15 | 12 | ||||||||||
1998–99 | Apertura | 19 | 20 | — | 4 | 3 | — | 39 | 35 | |||
Clausura | 16 | 12 | ||||||||||
1999–2000 | Apertura | 13 | 14 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 26 | 21 | |||
Clausura | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||
2000–01 | Apertura | 18 | 11 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 14 | ||
Total | 102 | 81 | — | 21 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 124 | 91 | |||
Villarreal | 2000–01 | La Liga | 17 | 6 | — | — | — | 17 | 6 | |||
2001–02 | La Liga | 19 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 21 | 7 | |||
2002–03 | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 43 | 8 | ||
Total | 70 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | 81 | 21 | |||
Real Betis | 2003–04 | La Liga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
Alavés | 2003–04 | Segunda | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
Boca Juniors | 2004–05 | Apertura | 13 | 6 | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 21 | |
Clausura | 12 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||||||||
2005–06 | Apertura | 16 | 7 | — | 7 | 4 | — | 43 | 22 | |||
Clausura | 19 | 11 | ||||||||||
2006–07 | Apertura | 16 | 11 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 27 | ||
Clausura | 16 | 11 | 12 | 4 | ||||||||
2007–08 | Apertura | 19 | 13 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 32 | ||
Clausura | 14 | 10 | 12 | 7 | ||||||||
2008–09 | Apertura | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 13 | ||
Clausura | 15 | 7 | ||||||||||
2009–10 | Apertura | 17 | 6 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 16 | |||
Clausura | 19 | 10 | ||||||||||
2010–11 | Apertura | 19 | 8 | — | — | — | 38 | 14 | ||||
Clausura | 19 | 6 | ||||||||||
Total | 216 | 112 | — | 58 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 280 | 145 | |||
Career total | 506 | 249 | 4 | 3 | 93 | 41 | 7 | 4 | 610 | 297 |
International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Argentina | |||
1999 | 7 | 3 | |
2000 | 0 | 0 | |
2001 | 0 | 0 | |
2002 | 0 | 0 | |
2003 | 0 | 0 | |
2004 | 0 | 0 | |
2005 | 0 | 0 | |
2006 | 0 | 0 | |
2007 | 0 | 0 | |
2008 | 0 | 0 | |
2009 | 3 | 3 | |
2010 | 5 | 3 | |
Total | 15 | 9 |
International goals
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 1 July 1999 | Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay | ![]() |
2–0 | 3–1 | 1999 Copa América |
2. | 3–0 | |||||
3. | 7 July 1999 | Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay | ![]() |
2–0 | 2–0 | 1999 Copa América |
4. | 30 September 2009 | Estadio Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
5. | 2–0 | |||||
6. | 10 October 2009 | El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
7. | 10 February 2010 | Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata, Argentina | ![]() |
1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
8. | 5 May 2010 | El Coloso del Ruca Quimey, Cutral Có, Argentina | ![]() |
2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
9. | 22 June 2010 | Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa | ![]() |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
Managerial statistics
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
Godoy Cruz | ![]() |
27 November 2012 | 31 December 2013 | 44 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 31.82 |
Arsenal | 16 April 2014 | 19 April 2015 | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 30.56 | |
Unión Española | ![]() |
1 June 2016 | 3 November 2018 | 93 | 39 | 28 | 26 | 136 | 117 | +19 | 41.94 |
Pachuca | ![]() |
25 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 39 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 38.46 |
Curicó Unido | ![]() |
27 November 2020 | 25 July 2021 | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 14.81 |
Aldosivi | ![]() |
28 September 2021 | 31 May 2022 | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 35 | −4 | 44.44 |
Platense | 1 January 2023 | 18 December 2023 | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 32.61 | |
Olimpia | ![]() |
13 February 2024 | present | 44 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 50.00 |
Career totals | 356 | 132 | 108 | 116 | 448 | 415 | +33 | 37.08 |
Honours and Achievements
Player
Estudiantes
- Primera B Nacional: 1994–95
Boca Juniors
- Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2008 Apertura
- Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2007
- Copa Sudamericana: 2004, 2005
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2006, 2008
- Intercontinental Cup: 2000
Individual Awards
- Primera División top scorer: 1998 Apertura (20 goals, short tournament record), 2007 Clausura
- Boca Juniors top scorer: 1998 Clausura, 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 1999 Apertura, 2000 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2005 Clausura, 2006 Clausura, 2007 Clausura, 2007 Apertura, 2008 Clausura, 2009 Clausura, 2009 Apertura, 2010 Clausura, 2010 Apertura, 2011 Clausura
- South American Footballer of the Year: 1998
- South American Team of the Year: 1998, 2000
- Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award: 2000
- American Golden Shoe: 2007 (shared with Giancarlo Maldonado)
- Konex Award Merit Diploma as one of the five best football players of the last decade in Argentina: 2010
Manager
Unión Española
- Primera División runner-up: 2017
Platense
- Copa de la Liga Profesional runner-up: 2023
Olimpia
- Paraguayan Primera División: 2024 Clausura
Records and Interesting Facts
- First professional match: July 5, 1992, for Estudiantes.
- First professional goal: May 22, 1993, for Estudiantes.
- First International match for Argentina: February 3, 1999.
- First International goal for Argentina: July 1, 1999.
- First European professional match: February 4, 2001, for Villarreal.
- First European professional goal: February 11, 2001, for Villarreal.
- He is in the Guinness book of records for missing three penalty kicks in one match. This happened against Colombia in the 1999 Copa América.
- Palermo has an Italian passport, which allowed him to play as a UEFA player in Europe.
- World Cup debut: June 22, 2010, against Greece in the 2010 World Cup.
- Oldest player to score for the Argentina national football team: He was 36 years and 7 months old when he scored against Greece in the 2010 World Cup. This record was previously held by Diego Maradona.
- Tied for 5th place all-time among Argentine Primera División top scorers with 227 goals.
- 1st place among Boca's all-time top scorers with 236 goals. He passed Roberto Cherro's record.
- Top scorer in the professional era for Boca's top scorers with 236 Goals.
- Boca Junior's top scorer in international matches with 43 goals.
See also
In Spanish: Martín Palermo para niños