Roberto Abbondanzieri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Roberto Abbondanzieri

Abbondanzieri in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Carlos Abbondancieri
Date of birth	(1972-08-19) 19 August 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Bouquet, Argentina
Height	1.86 m
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Rosario Central
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1996	Rosario Central	57	(0)
1996–2006	Boca Juniors	204	(0)
2006–2009	Getafe	83	(0)
2009–2010	Boca Juniors	22	(0)
2010	Internacional	8	(0)
Total		374	(0)
National team
1989	Argentina U-17	3	(0)
2004–2008	Argentina	46	(0)
Teams managed
2012–2013	Godoy Cruz (assistant)
2014–2015	Arsenal de Sarandí (assistant)
2016–2018	Unión Española (assistant)
2019	Pachuca (assistant)
2020–2021	Curicó Unido (assistant)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roberto Carlos Abbondanzieri (born August 19, 1972) is a famous former footballer from Argentina. People often called him El Pato, which means The Duck. He played as a goalkeeper.

Roberto spent most of his career playing for Boca Juniors in Argentina. He also played for Getafe in Spain and Internacional in Brazil. After he stopped playing, he became a coach. He played 49 games for the Argentina national football team between 2004 and 2008. He even played in two Copa America tournaments and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Roberto's Club Career

Starting His Football Journey

Roberto Abbondanzieri was born in Bouquet, a town in Santa Fe, Argentina. He started his professional football career on December 6, 1994, with Rosario Central. Soon after, in 1995, he helped his team win the CONMEBOL Cup. He stayed with Rosario Central until 1997.

After that, he moved to Boca Juniors, one of Argentina's biggest clubs. At Boca, he was the backup goalkeeper, learning from the main goalie, Óscar Córdoba.

Becoming Boca Juniors' Main Goalkeeper

Roberto got his chance when Óscar Córdoba got injured in 1999. But then, Roberto himself got a shoulder injury during a big match against River Plate. The third-choice goalkeeper, Cristian Muñoz, had to step in.

Once Roberto recovered, he was again Córdoba's backup. This changed in February 2002 when Córdoba moved to an Italian club. Roberto then became Boca Juniors' main goalkeeper.

In July 2002, Roberto changed the spelling of his last name from "Abbondancieri" to "Abbondanzieri." This was the original family spelling. He made this change because it helped with his Italian citizenship, which was important if he wanted to play in European leagues. In 2003, he was named the best goalkeeper in South America.

By September 2006, Roberto had won 14 titles with Boca Juniors. This was a club record at the time, later broken by another player, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Playing in Spain with Getafe

In June 2006, Roberto decided it was time to play in Europe. He signed a three-year contract with Getafe CF, a team in Spain's top league, La Liga. In his first season, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy. This award is given to the best goalkeeper in La Liga, and he earned it by letting in only 30 goals in 37 games.

On April 10, 2008, during a UEFA Cup game against Bayern Munich, Roberto made a mistake. A long free kick slipped under him, allowing a Bayern player to score. Bayern then scored again, and Getafe lost the game because of the away goals rule.

Back to South America

After his time in Spain, Roberto returned to Boca Juniors in 2009. He became their number one goalkeeper again. He played in the Clausura tournament and the Copa Libertadores.

On February 16, 2010, Roberto moved to Internacional, a Brazilian team. He played his last professional game on December 18, 2010, for Internacional in the FIFA Club World Cup. His team won that match 4–2, and Roberto retired from playing football.

Roberto's International Career

Playing for Argentina's Youth Team

When he was younger, Roberto Abbondanzieri played for Argentina's national team. He represented his country in the 1989 FIFA U-17 World Championship.

Playing for Argentina's Senior Team

As he became a key player for Boca Juniors, Roberto also became the main goalkeeper for the Argentina national football team in June 2004. He played in the Copa América 2004 and helped Argentina qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On May 6, 2006, coach José Pekerman chose him to be part of the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

During the World Cup quarter-finals on June 30, 2006, Argentina played against Germany. Roberto was injured during the game when a German player, Miroslav Klose, accidentally collided with him. Roberto tried to continue but had to leave the game on a stretcher. He was replaced by Leo Franco. Argentina later lost the game in a penalty shootout.

After the 2006 World Cup, Roberto continued to be Argentina's main goalkeeper under a new coach, Alfio Basile. He played in all six games of the 2007 Copa América, where Argentina reached the final but lost to Brazil. He also played in the early games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. However, he got injured again. When he recovered, a new coach, Diego Maradona, had taken over and did not include Roberto in the team.

Roberto's Coaching Career

After retiring as a player, Roberto Abbondanzieri became a coach. In November 2012, he joined his former Boca teammate Martín Palermo as an assistant coach for Godoy Cruz. In April 2014, they both moved to Arsenal de Sarandí in the same roles.

In May 2016, Roberto and Martín Palermo moved to Chile to coach Unión Española.

On November 28, 2020, Roberto was appointed assistant coach at another Chilean club, Curicó Unido, again working with Martín Palermo. However, in May 2021, Roberto decided to step away from football coaching to spend more time with his family.

Personal Life

Roberto Abbondanzieri shares his nickname, "El Pato," with another famous Argentine goalkeeper named Ubaldo Fillol.

Career Statistics

Here are some details about Roberto Abbondanzieri's playing career.

Club Appearances

International Appearances

Games played and goals scored for Argentina

Honours and Awards

Roberto Abbondanzieri won many titles during his career:

With Rosario Central

• Copa CONMEBOL: 1995

With Boca Juniors

• Argentine League: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2003 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura
• Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2001, 2003
• Copa Sudamericana: 2004, 2005
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2005
• Intercontinental Cup: 2000, 2003

With Internacional

• Copa Libertadores: 2010

Individual Awards

• Best goalkeeper in South America: 2003
• Best goalkeeper of the Copa Sudamericana: 2005
• Best Player of the Copa Sudamericana Final: 2005
• Ricardo Zamora Trophy (best goalkeeper in La Liga): 2006–07
• Ranked among the Top 10 Goalkeepers of the 21st Century by IFFHS (2001–2011)

See also

In Spanish: Roberto Abbondanzieri para niños