Enzo Perez

Enzo Nicolás Pérez Seguí is an Argentine professional footballer who currently plies his trade as a central midfielder for River Plate in the Primera Division in Argentina. Enzo was born on 22 February 1986 in Maipu, Argentina.

He also plays for the Argentina national team and has played one World Cup so far, reaching the finals. Enzo is seen as a central midfielder who possesses box-to-box ability and can also start attacks from scratch. He has a good long-range shot, and can score from tight angles.

Background

Enzo Perez began his football at Deportivo Maipu in 1996, which is located in his hometown of Maipu, Argentina. He spent his youth years there before moving to Godoy Cruz in 2003 to begin his professional career, a club where his father had played. He spent a total of four years there and was an important part of the team at a young age.

Enzo has represented the following teams - Argentina, Deportivo Maipu, Godoy Cruz, Estudiantes, Benfica, Valencia and River Plate.

Debut

Enzo Perez made his professional club debut for Godoy Cruz in the 2006-07 season and scored his first goal for the club on 9 September 2006 against Belgrano in a 1-1 draw.

On 30 September 2009, Enzo made his international debut for Argentina under Diego Maradona in a friendly against Ghana. Argentina went on to win 2-0.

Rise to Glory

Enzo Perez made his international debut at 23 years of age under Diego Maradona, and has been a part of a squad that has not required him for most of his career. Argentina’s attack and midfield had been so good that Enzo was able to play in the 2014 World Cup only when winger Angel Di Maria was left out due to injury.

In spite of the unavailability of positions to play in, Enzo was selected due to his impressive performances for Estudiantes and Benfica. His rise in Benfica was remarkable, as he struck an impressive partnership with Serbian teammate Nemanja Matic who later moved to Chelsea. Enzo scored his first and only goal for Argentina in a friendly 4-2 win against Paraguay in the celebrated Estadio Centenario.

Alejandro Sabella, who was Argentina’s manager during the 2014 World Cup campaign, was impressed by Enzo’s composure and called him up to play for the team. After Angel Di Maria was sidelined due to injury, Enzo played the semi final as well as the final. He was left devastated by the 1-0 loss to Germany in the final.

Enzo played a total of 12 friendlies, 8 World Cup Qualification matches, and 3 World Cup matches. He scored one goal and provided one assist in 23 appearances.

Club Career

Enzo began his professional club career at Godoy Cruz and made a total of 84 appearances in the league for them. He scored 12 goals at the club, most of them coming from penalties. Perez then moved to Estudiantes in 2007 and 2009 Copa Libertadores with them. He was also runners up in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana. He made 119 appearances for them, scoring 14 goals.

In 2011, Benfica were impressed by Perez and added him to their squad for a rumoured 5.5 million euros. Since he picked up an injury when he joined, he was loaned to Estudiantes where he made 13 appearances. After returning to Benfica, he became a successful central midfielder by striking up a partnership with Nemanja Matic and was a crucial part of the team. When Nemanja Matic left for Chelsea in 2014, Enzo became an even more prolific player and won the domestic treble with Benfica. He was also a part of the team that reached two successive Europa League finals. Enzo received the Benfica Player of the Year award that season. He scored 9 goals in 70 appearances for them in the league.

A Valencia move was in effect in 2015 and he stayed there till the 2016-17 season. He made 61 appearances for them, and failed to score a single goal. He currently plays for River Plate in the 2017-18 season.