 López in 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Claudio Javier López | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1974-07-17)17 July 1974 (age 51) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Río Tercero, Argentina | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Racing Club | 116 | (25) | |||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Valencia | 126 | (47) | |||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Lazio | 106 | (29) | |||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | América | 87 | (27) | |||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Racing Club | 34 | (10) | |||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Kansas City Wizards | 57 | (13) | |||||||||||
| 2010 | Colorado Rapids | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||
| Total | 537 | (151) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Argentina Olympic | 17 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 1995–2003 | Argentina | 55 | (10) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Claudio Javier López (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈklawðjoˈlopes], born 17 July 1974) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer, who played as aforward. NicknamedPiojo (louse), he is best known for his spells withValencia in Spain andLazio in Italy. López also had a notable impact in theArgentina national team, participating in twoWorld Cups.
López began his professional career withEstudiantes de La Plata in his nativeArgentina in 1990 as a 16-year-old. However, he moved toRacing the next year, where he would remain until he transferred in 1996 to Spanish clubValencia.
After a slow start in 1996–97, Claudio López would enjoy a prolific spell with Valencia over the 3 years that followed, averaging 20 goals each season between 1997–98 and 1999–2000. That included a season best in1998–99 which saw him find the net on 30 occasions across competitions to become the club's top scorer (3rd best in la Liga behindRaul andRivaldo, despite taking fewer penalties than his rivals).
Valencia entrenched their status as one of Spain's emerging clubs throughout the late 1990s, rising from their usual mid-table position to4th in 1998–99 and3rd in 1999–2000, which was Lopez's last season with the club. The Argentine formed a devastating partnership with RomanianAdrian Ilie and played alongside such stars asJocelyn Angloma,Santiago Cañizares andGaizka Mendieta, who would later be his teammate atLazio as well.
López remained with Valencia for four years, helping the team to thefinal of theUEFA Champions League in the1999–2000 season, when he was transferred toLazio ofSerie A for €35 million.[2] During the first half of his spell in Italy's capital, he was partnered with compatriotHernán Crespo in the front-line. However, López suffered from injury problems during his time at Lazio. During the2000–2001 UEFA Champions League, he scored adirect goal from a corner kick againstAnderlecht in theStadio Olimpico.
After Crespo left forInter Milan in the summer of 2002, López was partnered with newcomerBernardo Corradi. They formed a solid partnership that yielded a combined 25 Serie A goals as Lazio finished4th to qualify for the Champions League under new coachRoberto Mancini. The Argentine scored 15 of those goals, his best league tally during his years in Italy; the 4th-place finish for Lazio was also thebest the club would achieve until 2011–12.
In December 2002 he made headlines during a Serie A clash with Inter that ended 3-3: after netting a hat-trick that gave his side a 3–0 lead,[3] Claudio López improvised an "Aserejé" goal celebration with teammate Bernardo Corradi, inspired by thedance routine ofSpanish bandLas Ketchup. In an interview 13 years later, he explained that the unexpected celebration had happened because"crazy Corradi enjoyed doing such things!"[4]
In theUEFA Cup, López found the net twice to help his team reach the semi-finals, where they would be knocked out by the eventual winners,Jose Mourinho'sFC Porto. Thefollowing season was less successful for Lazio as they only finished 6th inSerie A and crashed out of theChampions League at the group stage. Claudio López only found the net 4 times in 36 appearances. He did manage, however, to win his second piece of silverware with the Roman club as they overcameJuventus in thetwo-legged Coppa Italia Final.
López joinedClub América for the 2004Apertura, where he played in 17 games, scoring four goals. The following season,Clausura 2005 brought better results, with López scoring a total of 14 goals overall and helping the team to its tenth League championship in its history. It was his first and only league championship with any team. Claudio was instrumental to the team's success, also helping them win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup by scoring two goals in the Final overTecos UAG. He played the2006 FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2007 López returned toRacing, 11 years after his departure from the club, and the country. In most of those games, usually coming in as a late sub, López scored several important goals.
On 7 March 2008, it was announced López had signed with theKansas City Wizards on a free transfer. López fell under the league'sdesignated player qualification, which means only the first $415,000 of his salary counted against Kansas City Wizards’ team salary cap. He later had his contract restructured to take him below designated player status.[5] He scored on his debut for Kansas City againstD.C. United on 29 March 2008.
On 23 February 2010, the Argentine striker left after two seasons Kansas City Wizards.[6] "We would have liked to have Claudio back in 2010, but unfortunately it became clear early in the contract negotiations that we could not give him what he desired," Wizards Manager Peter Vermes said.[7]
López was later signed by league rivalsColorado Rapids on 2 April 2010.[8]
After the2010 MLS season Colorado declined López's contract option and Lopez elected to participate in the2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. López became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft.
López had a distinguished career withArgentina. After winning a silver medal with the Under-23 team during the1996 Summer Olympics, López made appearances in both the1998 and2002 World Cups. He scored a goal against theNetherlands in the 1998 FIFA World Cup quarter-final, when he kicked the ball betweenEdwin van der Sar's legs to tie the match temporarily, although Argentina were ultimately defeated 2–1.[9]
According to media López was capable of playing anywhere along thefront-line, as astriker, in asupporting role, and on thewing. He was highly regarded for his pace, technique, anddribbling skills, as well as his powerful striking ability with his left foot. He was also an effectiveset-piece andpenalty taker. Throughout his career, he was known by the nickname "El Piojo", meaning "the louse".[10]
López was sponsored by sportswear companyNike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed byTerry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such asThierry Henry,Ronaldo,Edgar Davids,Fabio Cannavaro,Francesco Totti,Ronaldinho,Luís Figo andHidetoshi Nakata, with former playerEric Cantona the tournament "referee".[11][12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Racing | 1992–93 | Argentine Primera División | 19 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 1993–94 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 8 | ||
| 1994–95 | 26 | 3 | – | 2 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |||
| 1995–96 | 35 | 17 | – | 2 | 2 | 37 | 19 | |||
| Total | 116 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 128 | 31 | ||
| Valencia | 1996–97 | La Liga | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 5 |
| 1997–98 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 0 | – | 37 | 12 | |||
| 1998–99 | 32 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 33 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 54 | 17 | ||
| Total | 130 | 47 | 20 | 9 | 28 | 11 | 173 | 67 | ||
| Lazio | 2000–01[b] | Serie A | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 5 |
| 2001–02 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 12 | ||
| 2002–03 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 17 | ||
| 2003–04 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||
| Total | 106 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 27 | 9 | 143 | 38 | ||
| América | 2004–05 | Mexican Primera División | 33 | 13 | ||||||
| 2005–06 | 30 | 5 | ||||||||
| 2006–07 | 12 | 3 | ||||||||
| Total | 75 | 21 | ||||||||
| Racing | 2006–07 | Argentine Primera División | 18 | 5 | ||||||
| 2007–08 | 16 | 5 | ||||||||
| Total | 34 | 10 | ||||||||
| Kansas City Wizards | 2008 | Major League Soccer | 28 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 7 | ||
| 2009 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 57 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 61 | 14 | ||||
| Colorado Rapids | 2010 | Major League Soccer | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 525 | 148 | ||||||||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 12 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 February 1997 | Estadio Metropolitano,Barranquilla, Colombia |  Colombia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | [14] |
| 2 | 10 September 1997 | Estadio Nacional,Santiago, Chile |  Chile | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | [15] |
| 3 | 10 March 1998 | José Amalfitani Stadium,Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Bulgaria | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [16] |
| 4 | 29 April 1998 | Maracanã Stadium,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  Brazil | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | [17] |
| 5 | 4 July 1998 | Stade Vélodrome,Marseille, France |  Netherlands | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | [18] |
| 6 | 29 March 2000 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Chile | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [19] |
| 7 | 19 July 2000 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Ecuador | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [20] |
| 8 | 3 June 2001 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Colombia | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [21] |
| 9 | 8 November 2001 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Peru | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [22] |
| 10 | 14 November 2001 | Estadio Centenario,Montevideo, Uruguay |  Uruguay | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [23] |
Valencia
Lazio
América
Colorado Rapids[25]
Argentina
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||
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