7. ANGEL DI MARIA
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Birthdate:
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14 Feb 1988
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Birthplace:
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Rosario, Argentina
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Position:
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Midfielder
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Appearances
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5
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Goals
Scored
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3
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Joined
United:
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26 Aug 2014
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United
Debut:
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30 Aug 2014 v
Burnley (A)
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International:
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Argentina
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One of the top players
in world football, Angel Di Maria has proved himself at the very highest
echelons of the game.
The Argentinian won the
2014 Champions League with Real Madrid and was named Man of the Match after the
final triumph over local rivals Atletico, making him hugely popular with the
Bernabeu faithful. By increasing his influence in Carlo Ancelotti's side,
despite Gareth Bale joining Cristiano Ronaldo at the club last summer, he
showed versatility, tenacity and strength of character.
Nobody supplied more
assists than the wiry South American in 2013/14's La Liga and his incisive
dribbling and passing is an exciting feature of his play. His goalscoring also
helped Argentina beat Switzerland in the knockout stages of this summer's World
Cup, though injury would unfortunately rule him out of the latter stages of the
competition, including the final defeat to Germany.
Before all of this, the
left-footed star made his professional debut for Rosario Central in his
homeland at the tender age of 17 but spent only two seasons with his first club
before earning a move to Europe and Benfica.
Nicknamed 'Fideo' ('Noodle') because of his skinny frame, he won
many plaudits with the Estadio da Luz giants as the team claimed the Primeira
Liga in 2010 during his final campaign in Portugal. After also scooping two
League Cups, he was off to Real Madrid for an initial fee of €25million and
fully repaid that investment with a string of stellar displays.
In
his four full seasons in the Spanish capital, Di Maria won La Liga in 2012 and
two Copa del Reys, in addition to earning the fabled 10th European Cup triumph
in 2014 and the UEFA Super Cup. At international level, he was also part of
Argentina's victorious teams in the FIFA World Youth Championship and the 2008
Olympic Games.
As
such, the gold medalist has many respected admirers in the world of football,
with compatriots Diego Maradona and Diego Simeone among those to laud his
talents. Interestingly, the latter claimed in the week before the deal was
agreed: "He's the best player they [Real] have. He's the most dominant
player in pushing the play up the pitch."
It
is clear Di Maria has the potential to become a genuine superstar at Old
Trafford as he will enjoy his peak years in the red shirt following his record move to Manchester United.
Source : manutd.com
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