.jpg) Palermo in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martín Palermo | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-11-07)7 November 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fortaleza (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) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2010 | Argentina | 15 | (9) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Godoy Cruz | ||
| 2014–2015 | Arsenal de Sarandí | ||
| 2016–2018 | Unión Española | ||
| 2019 | Pachuca | ||
| 2020–2021 | Curicó Unido | ||
| 2021–2022 | Aldosivi | ||
| 2023 | Platense | ||
| 2024–2025 | Olimpia | ||
| 2025– | Fortaleza | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Martín Palermo (Spanish pronunciation:[maɾˈtimpaˈleɾmo]; born 7 November 1973) is an Argentinefootball manager and former player who played as astriker. He is the manager ofFortaleza.
Palermo played mainly as aforward forBoca Juniors. A prolific goalscorer, he isBoca Juniors' all-time top scorer with 236 goals,[1] and is placed 7th amongall-time Primera División top scorers with 227 goals in 408 matches.[2] He also played in Argentina forEstudiantes de La Plata and in Spain forVillarreal,Real Betis, andAlavés. During his playing career, he was nicknamedLoco (pronounced[ˈloko], English:crazy) andTitán (pronounced[tiˈtan], English:titan). In a 2008 poll, Boca Juniors fans chose him as the greatest idol in the club's history.[3]
With theArgentina national team, Palermo earned 15 caps and scored 9 goals. He played at the1999 Copa América and the2010 FIFA World Cup, with a decade-long hiatus in between. Since 2012, he has worked as a manager in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Paraguay.
Born inLa Plata, Buenos Aires, Palermo began his career atEstudiantes de La Plata and played there for five years from 1992 to 1997 and later was transferred toBoca Juniors.
Palermo had a slow to start with Boca Juniors.[4] In their seventh match of the1997 Apertura on 30 September 1997, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory againstIndependiente.[5]In 1999, Palermo's good goal average and performances with Boca and with theArgentina national team led European teamsLazio,Real Betis, andMilan to be interested in signing him up.[6] But on 13 November 1999, in a game againstColón, he had a complete tear of theanterior cruciate ligament of his right knee; before leaving and without knowing the seriousness of the injury, he scored his 100th goal in theArgentine First Division.[7]
He took six months to recover from the injury. On 24 May 2000, he returned, playing the last fifteen minutes of the quarterfinal match of theCopa Libertadores against River Plate and scoring a goal, leaving the score at 3–0 to Boca Juniors (the first match had ended 1–2).
He played in theIntercontinental Cup in 2000, scoring the two goals in Boca's 2–1 victory overReal Madrid, winning the man of the match award and catching the attention of football clubs in Spain.[8]
Palermo signed with SpanishLa Liga newcomersVillarreal in January 2001, on a deal for the next four seasons.[9] The transfer fee was 1.2 billionSpanish pesetas (€7.2 million).[10] He made his debut on 5 February in a 2–0 home win overAlavés, in which he was substituted after 65 minutes for goalscorerGheorghe Craioveanu.[11] A week later, he scored his first goal to equalise in a 3–1 win atReal Oviedo.[12] He scored six goals in 17 games in his first season for the team from theProvince of Castellón,[13] including one on 22 April as he was sent off in a 2–2 draw againstMallorca.[14]
On 29 November 2001, Palermo scored an extra-time goal away toLevante in the last 32 of theCopa del Rey. He celebrated by standing on a small concrete wall, which collapsed under the weight of his team's fans and broke both thetibia andfibula of his left leg.[15] He did not recover until April 2002.[16] On 5 May, his first start since the recovery, he took nine minutes to score in a 2–1 win overReal Zaragoza.[17]
Villarreal reached the final of the2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and Palermo was sent off for a foul onJosemi as they lost on aggregate to compatriotsMálaga; the Spaniard also received a red card for retaliation.[18] He did not score a league goal until the 11th game, when he netted in a 1–1 draw at a Mallorca side who were chasing first place.[19] The 2002–03 season produced his best league figures of seven goals for Villarreal, but he left by mutual consent on 20 August 2003 after theYellow Submarine addedSonny Anderson andJosé Mari to their front line.[20]
The day after leaving Villarreal, Palermo signed forReal Betis of the same league on a one-year deal with the option of two more.[21] He played only 12 total games for the team fromSeville, scoring once on 3 September in a 2–2 home draw withEspanyol.[22]
Palermo left Betis in March 2004 due to lack of playing time, and joined Alavés in theSegunda División.[23] He scored three times in 14 games.[24]
On 13 July 2004, Palermo returned toBoca Juniors.[25][26] On 17 December he scored his 100th goal with Boca on the final of the2004 Copa Sudamericana a 2–0 victory overBolívar.[27]
On 26 May 2005, Palermo scored twice in a 4–0 Copa Libertadores victory over Atletico Junior, with Boca winning 7–3 on aggregate after a 3–3 draw in the first leg and qualifying to the Quarterfinals, which would be played againstChivas Guadalajara.[28] In the first leg against Chivas atEstadio Jalisco, Boca suffered a heavy 4–0 defeat. In the second leg at home on 2 June, Palermo was involved in a brawl with Chivas playerAdolfo Bautista and was sent off, and the match was eventually finished early due to a large brawl.[29]
On 22 November 2005, in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana SF against Chilean clubUniversidad Católica, Palermo scored Boca's second goal to tie the score at 2–2; this goal proved to be very important as Boca won 1–0 away in the second leg and qualified to the finals. In the second leg of theCopa Sudamericana finals on 18 December 2005 againstPumas UNAM, Palermo scored a goal in the match which eventually finished 1–1 and went to penalties. In the penalty shootout, Palermo missed his penalty, but regardless Boca were champions after winning the shootout 4–3.[30]
Palermo, once again back in top form, remained one of the best scorers in the Argentine league, scoring 11 goals in three consecutive matches (2006 Clausura,2006 Apertura and top scorer of the2007 Clausura). During the 2007 Clausura tournament he had several memorable moments, on 25 February he scored a half pitch goal in the last seconds of a 3–1 victory overIndependiente[31] and two weeks later, on 10 March, he scored three goals against his former teamEstudiantes in a 3–1 Boca victory atLa Plata.[32] It was the fourthhat-trick of his career. A game later, on 18 March, he scored a career-high of four goals in the 5–1 victory againstGimnasia de la Plata,[33]Estudiantes de La Plata's arch-rivals.
The following season the2007 Apertura, he continued to be among the Argentine leaguetop scorers with 13 goals. His best game that season was on 16 September, in a game againstBanfield, in which he scored four goals, in the 6–0 Boca victory.[34]
In the second leg of the2008 Copa Libertadores QF againstAtlas, Palermo scored his fifth careerhat-trick in a 3–0 victory inJalisco,Mexico, on 21 May 2008, a hat-trick which sent Boca to the Copa Libertadores semi-finals.[35] In the semifinals againstFluminense, Boca lost 5–3 on aggregate, with Palermo scoring Boca's only goal in the 3–1 loss inRio de Janeiro.
At the beginning of the2008 Apertura, on 24 August he suffered yet another serious injury, this time he injured hisanterior cruciate and tore hismedial collateral ligament during the 2–1 victory againstLanús, with an expected recovery period of 5 to 8 months.[36]After this was known, Argentine coachAlfio Basile said that he had chosen him to play for the national team for the following match in the World Cup qualifiers.[37]
Palermo's first goal since his injury came on the fourth game he played, during a 3–1 victory overHuracán on 1 March in the2009 Clausura; this was Martín Palermo's 195 goal with Boca Juniors, breakingFrancisco Varallo record of 194 goals in the professional era.[38] Nearly two months later. on 30 April, Martín scored abicycle kick goal, which gave him 200 goals with Boca Juniors, in a 3–0 victory againstDeportivo Táchira.[39]
During the2009 Apertura, on 4 October in a game againstVélez Sársfield, Martín Palermo scored a very special goal (a header that traveled around 38.9 meters). This goal gave him 200 goals in theArgentine First Division and also gave Boca a 3–2 victory.[40]
On 22 July 2010, at 36 years of age, Palermo announced that he had renewed his contract with Boca Juniors for one year and that he would retire at the end of the contract.[41][42] Palermo scored his sixth careerhat-trick on 19 September 2010 in a 3–1 Boca victory overColón.[43][44]
On 13 December 2010, Palermo scored his 300th career goal in the final match of the2010 Apertura in a 1–1 draw against Gimnasia de La Plata.[45]
On 24 April 2011, Palermo scored the third goal ofBoca Juniors againstHuracán in a 3–0 away win, ending a streak of 10 matches without scoring.[46] Then he scored in the next consecutive matches againstIndependiente,[47]Argentinos Juniors[48] and in the 2–0 victory overRiver Plate in theSuperclasico.[49]
Palermo achieved legendary status in Boca in the last few years,[50] thanks to his many memorable goals for both the club and the Argentina national team. On 12 June 2011, Palermo played his last home match atLa Bombonera,[51] after the match Martín was honored by the club and was given several gifts, among them being one of the goal frames in the stadium.[52]
Palermo officially retired from football on 18 June 2011, in a 2–2 draw against his classic rival Gimnasia de La Plata. He provided a headed assist for Boca's second goal in the last minute of the match, marking the end of a 19-year playing career at senior level.[53]
With theArgentina national football team, Palermo played fifteen matches and scored nine goals. He is in theGuinness Book of World Records formissing three penalties for Argentina in a single international match againstColombia in the1999 Copa América; the first penalty rebounded off the crossbar; the second penalty went over; the third was saved by the Colombian goalkeeper,Miguel Calero. Though his international career seemed to be over at the end of 1999, the 2008 Argentine national coachAlfio Basile stated that he had been considering offering Palermo a return to international football and was disappointed that Palermo was injured at the time.[37]
In September 2009,Diego Maradona recalled Palermo to the national team and introduced him as a substitute in a2010 World Cup qualifying match againstParaguay after a 10-year exile from the international scene.[54]A couple of weeks later he was once again called up to play afriendly againstGhana.[55] In this game, Palermo was part of the starting eleven and made the most of it by scoring both of Argentina's goals, resulting in a 2–0 win.[56] Palermo's next match was on 10 October, a2010 World Cup qualifier againstPeru. Palermo sealed a 2–1 victory for Argentina with a 93rd-minute strike,[57] causingMaradona to describe the goal after the game as"one more miracle of Saint Palermo."[58]
On 19 May 2010, Palermo was selected by Maradona as part of theArgentina national team's 23-man final roster for the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Palermo's first World Cup.[59] On 22 June 2010, Palermo played his first World Cup match, coming in as a substitute in the second half of Argentina's final group match againstGreece. In the 89th minute, he scored his first ever World Cup goal on a rebound from a shot byLionel Messi.[60] Argentina won the match 2–0 and finished at the top of theirgroup.[61] This goal also made Palermo the oldest Argentine national footballer to score a goal in World Cup play, an honor previously held by Maradona himself.[62][63]
In May 2012,Carlos Bilardo recommended Palermo for the open manager position atEstudiantes de La Plata stating "He can manage it, he is a man from the club"[64] Bilardo also mention that the previous times that he had recommended someone (Alejandro Sabella andDiego Simeone) Estudiantes had won championships.[65]
On 26 November 2012, Palermo was announced as the head coach ofGodoy Cruz alongside former teammateRoberto Abbondanzieri.[66] Placing fourteenth in theArgentine Primera Division Torneo Inicial and seventh place in theArgentine Primera Division Torneo Final of the recently known asSuperliga. As the 2012–13 season ended so did his tenure at the club.[67]
On 18 April 2014, Palermo was appointed as head coach ofArsenal de Sarandi.[68] He took charge for the2014–15 season, where the club managed to place in ninth. On 19 April 2015, he announced his departure from the club, resigning from his position.[69]
His next role was with Chilean sideUnión Española;[70] In his first tournament,2016 Torneo Apertura, they finished in third place of theChilean Primera Division, and runners-up in the2017 Campeonato Nacional. However, in November 2018, with results suffering the club decided to part ways with Palermo.[71]
Palermo returned to management and on 22 January 2019, when he was confirmed as the new manager of Mexican sidePachuca on a one-year deal afterPako Ayestarán resigned.[72] He left at the end of his contract,[73] and did not get another job until November 2020, when he was appointed the manager ofCuricó Unido;[74] his time there was largely unsuccessful and nine months later he resigned from his post.[75]
Back to Argentina, on 30 September 2021, Palermo became the manager ofAldosivi;[76] but on May 2022 Palermo resigned after a falling with the club management.[77] On November of that same year, Palermo is presented as the new coach ofPlatense.[78] During his time at the helm of Platense, Palermo would lead them to the final of the2023 Copa de la Liga Profesional,[79] but his team would lose 1–0 toRosario Central and he would subsequently resigned from his post at Platense.[80]
On February 2024, Palermo agree to become the new head coach of the Paraguayan teamOlimpia.[81] On his first year with the team, Martín Palermo won his first title as a club manager.[82]
Palermo was sacked by Olimpia on 10 April 2025, with the club in the fifth position of the Apertura.[83] On 3 September, he replacedRenato Paiva at the helm ofCampeonato Brasileiro Série A clubFortaleza.[84]
| 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[a] | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Clausura | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1993–94 | Apertura | 10 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| Clausura | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | Primera B | 3 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1995–96 | Apertura | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | 27 | 17 | ||||
| Clausura | 19 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Apertura | 19 | 6 | — | 2[a] | 2 | — | 38 | 17 | |||
| Clausura | 17 | 9 | ||||||||||
| Total | 93 | 34 | — | 6 | 2 | — | 99 | 36 | ||||
| Boca Juniors | 1997–98 | Apertura | 17 | 8 | — | 4[a] | 1 | — | 36 | 21 | ||
| Clausura | 15 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 1998–99 | Apertura | 19 | 20 | — | 4[b] | 3 | — | 39 | 35 | |||
| Clausura | 16 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Apertura | 13 | 14 | — | 5[b] | 2 | — | 26 | 21 | |||
| Clausura | 4 | 4 | 4[c] | 1 | ||||||||
| 2000–01 | Apertura | 18 | 11 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 1[d] | 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[e] | 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[f] | 3 | 1[g] | 0 | 40 | 21 | |
| Clausura | 12 | 6 | 9[c] | 6 | ||||||||
| 2005–06 | Apertura | 16 | 7 | — | 7[f] | 4 | — | 43 | 22 | |||
| Clausura | 19 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Apertura | 16 | 11 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 2[g] | 1 | 47 | 27 | ||
| Clausura | 16 | 11 | 12[c] | 4 | ||||||||
| 2007–08 | Apertura | 19 | 13 | — | 2[f] | 2 | 2[h] | 0 | 49 | 32 | ||
| Clausura | 14 | 10 | 12[c] | 7 | ||||||||
| 2008–09 | Apertura | 2 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 5 | 1[g] | 1 | 25 | 13 | ||
| Clausura | 15 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 2009–10 | Apertura | 17 | 6 | — | 2[f] | 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 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1999 | 7 | 3 |
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 3 | |
| Total | 15 | 9 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 July 1999 | Estadio Feliciano Cáceres,Luque, Paraguay |  Ecuador | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1999 Copa América | [87] |
| 2 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 3 | 7 July 1999 | Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay |  Uruguay | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1999 Copa América | [88] |
| 4 | 30 September 2009 | Estadio Córdoba,Córdoba, Argentina |  Ghana | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [89] |
| 5 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 10 October 2009 | Estadio Monumental,Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Peru | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [90] |
| 7 | 10 February 2010 | Estadio José María Minella,Mar del Plata, Argentina |  Jamaica | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [91] |
| 8 | 5 May 2010 | Cutral Có, Argentina |  Haiti | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [92] |
| 9 | 22 June 2010 | Peter Mokaba Stadium,Polokwane, South Africa |  Greece | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | [93] |
| 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 | 031.82 |
| Arsenal | 16 April 2014 | 19 April 2015 | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 030.56 | |
| Unión Española |  | 1 June 2016 | 3 November 2018 | 93 | 39 | 28 | 26 | 136 | 117 | +19 | 041.94 |
| Pachuca |  | 25 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 39 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 038.46 |
| Curicó Unido | | 27 November 2020 | 25 July 2021 | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 014.81 |
| Aldosivi | | 28 September 2021 | 31 May 2022 | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 35 | −4 | 044.44 |
| Platense | 1 January 2023 | 18 December 2023 | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 032.61 | |
| Olimpia |  | 13 February 2024 | 9 April 2025 | 58 | 27 | 17 | 14 | 77 | 55 | +22 | 046.55 |
| Fortaleza |  | 3 September 2025 | present | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 042.86 |
| Career totals | 384 | 143 | 115 | 126 | 486 | 455 | +31 | 037.24 | |||
Estudiantes
Boca Juniors
Individual
Unión Española
Platense
Olimpia
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||
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Awards | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
