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Leonardo Ponzio
Leo Ponzio 2016.jpg
Ponzio with River Plate in 2016
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Daniel Ponzio
Date of birth (1982-01-29) 29 January 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Las Rosas, Argentina
Height 1.74 m
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Newell's Old Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2003 Newell's Old Boys 90 (9)
2003–2006 Zaragoza 114 (5)
2007–2008 River Plate 55 (1)
2009–2012 Zaragoza 100 (6)
2012–2021 River Plate 185 (8)
Total 544 (29)
National team
2001 Argentina U20 7 (0)
2003–2013 Argentina 8 (0)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Leonardo Daniel Ponzio (born 29 January 1982) is an Argentinian former footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.

After starting out at Newell's Old Boys in 2000, he went on to spend his professional career with Zaragoza and River Plate, appearing in 246 competitive matches with the former club and winning the 2004 Copa del Rey, adding several more accolades during his two spells with the latter and going on to be one of the most decorated players in their history.

Club career

Born in Las Rosas, Santa Fe, Ponzio started his career in the youth system of Newell's Old Boys in neighbouring Rosario, going on to make more than 100 official appearances for the club. At only 21, he was signed by Real Zaragoza for the 2003–04 season, for €3 million. After making his La Liga debut on 31 August 2003 in a 0–1 home loss against Deportivo de La Coruña, he went on to become an essential midfield player for the Spanish side, only missing 11 matches over three seasons.

However, when Zaragoza finished sixth in the 2006–07 campaign and qualified to the UEFA Cup, Ponzio had already left, moving in January 2007 to Club Atlético River Plate. He scored his first goal for his new team in the 2007 edition of the Copa Libertadores, against Chile's Colo-Colo.

In January 2009, Ponzio returned to Zaragoza signing a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the club now in the Segunda División. He contributed regularly as the team returned to the top flight immediately.

Ponzio was an ever-present defensive figure in 2009–10, inclusively featuring at right and left-back, while collecting 15 yellow cards. He scored his only goal of the season on 3 April 2010, striking from long range in a 2–0 home win over Málaga CF.

On 4 January 2012, aged 30, Ponzio, whose link in Aragon ran until June, left struggling – in sporting and financial terms – Zaragoza and returned to River Plate for personal reasons, agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

Ponzio played for Argentina at under-17 and under-20 levels, and earned his first full cap in 2003. In 2001, he played all seven matches (five complete) as the national team won the FIFA U-20 World Cup on home soil.

Career statistics

Club Div. Season League National Cup(1) Continental(2) Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Newell's Old Boys
Primera División 1999–00 1 0 0 - - - - - - 1 0 0
2000–01 26 0 1 - - - - - - 26 0 1
2001–02 33 5 3 - - - - - - 33 5 3
2002–03 30 4 2 - - - - - - 30 4 2
Newell's total 90 9 6 - - - - - - 90 9 6
Zaragoza
La Liga 2003–04 35 3 1 8 0 0 - - - 43 3 1
2004–05 33 1 2 1 0 0 8 0 0 42 1 2
2005–06 35 1 0 9 0 1 - - - 44 1 1
2006–07 11 0 0 2 0 0 - - - 13 0 0
Total 114 5 5 20 0 1 8 0 0 142 5 6
River Plate
Primera División 2006–07 14 1 0 - - - 6 1 0 20 2 0
2007–08 29 0 4 - - - 8 0 0 37 0 4
2008–09 12 0 0 - - - 2 0 0 14 0 0
Total 55 1 4 - - - 16 1 0 71 2 4
Zaragoza
Segunda División 2008–09 18 2 1 - - - - - - 18 2 1
La Liga 2009–10 34 1 2 2 0 0 - - - 36 1 2
2010–11 32 2 1 1 0 0 - - - 33 2 1
2011–12 16 1 1 1 0 0 - - - 17 1 1
Total 100 6 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 104 6 5
Zaragoza total 214 11 8 24 0 1 8 0 0 246 11 9
River Plate
Primera Nacional 2011–12 19 1 0 1 0 0 - - - 20 1 0
Primera División 2012–13 29 4 6 - - - - - - 29 4 6
2013–14 19 1 3 2 0 0 6 0 0 27 1 3
2014 10 0 1 - - - 8 0 0 18 0 1
2015 17 1 0 1 0 0 15 0 0 33 1 0
2016 13 0 1 - - - 4 0 1 17 0 2
2016–17 24 0 0 7 0 0 5 0 0 36 0 0
2017–18 17 1 0 7 0 0 12 0 1 36 1 1
2018–19 14 0 0 7 0 0 11 0 0 32 0 0
2019–20 4 0 0 3 0 0 5 0 0 12 0 0
2020 — 7 0 0 4 0 0 11 0 0
2021 0 0 0 8 0 0 4 0 0 12 0 0
Total 166 7 11 43 0 0 74 0 2 283 8 13
River total 221 9 17 43 0 1 90 1 2 354 10 17
Career total 525 29 31 67 0 1 96 1 2 690 30 34

(1) National Cup refers to Copa Argentina, Copa del Rey, Supercopa Argentina, Copa Superliga and Copa Diego Armando Maradona.

(2) Continental refers to UEFA Europa League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Recopa Sudamericana, FIFA Club World Cup and Suruga Bank Championship.

Honours

Zaragoza

River Plate

  • Argentine Primera División: Clausura 2008, Torneo Final 2014, Superfinal 2014, Campeonato 2021
  • Copa Argentina: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19
  • Supercopa Argentina: 2017, 2019
  • Copa Libertadores: 2015, 2018
  • Copa Sudamericana: 2014
  • Recopa Sudamericana: 2015, 2016, 2019
  • Suruga Bank Championship: 2015
  • Primera B Nacional: 2011–12

Argentina U20

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Leonardo Ponzio para niños

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