River plate
Born near Buenos Aires, Hernan Crespo, like all kids his age, was a fan of local team River plate, which was on top form when Hernan was growing up. When he was 11 years old, the Argentina soccer team won the 1986 World Cup and Maradona became one of the young boy's heroes. It was around this time that he decided to become a soccer player, trying out several youth clubs before getting into River Plate's youth squad.
His senior debut for River plate in 1993 was a huge step for the young Argentinean and he immediately made an impact, scoring 13 times in his 25 league appearances that season. More impressive is that he wasn't even a full first team member back then, so some of his goals where scored as a substitute.
His next two seasons with River plate were very successful, as the team managed to win the Apertura championship ("half" of the Argentinean championship) twice as well as the Copa Libertadores (the most prestigious South American club competition – a sort of Champions League), scoring twice in the home leg of the final.
Obviously, the great form that he was in attracted offers of big European clubs and the ones that managed to get the young striker were Italian Serie A club Parma.
Parma
It's at Parma that the Argentinean became a world class soccer player, Hernan Crespo scoring no less than 61 goals in his 4 seasons with the club.
His impact with the club was immediate, as he helped Parma get a runner-up position in the Italian Serie A the season he joined and although he never managed to win a title with Parma, he helped turn the club from one that was always in mid table at the end of the season, to one that would fight for the top 3 places in the league, next to titans AC Milan, Internazionale Milano, AS Roma or Juventus Torino.
He even helped Parma win the UEFA Cup in 1999, with Hernan Crespo scoring one of the three goals against Olympique Marseille in the final.
Lazio Roma
In 2000 Hernan Crespo was already a super star in Italy and he was one of the most feared strikers in the league. However, when Lazio Roma made Parma an offer they couldn't resist, of approximately $50 million, Crespo found himself packing up his bags again and moving to his new club.
Despite having played for only 2 seasons with Lazio, Hernan Crespo managed to get an outstanding goal/match ratio in this period, scoring no less than 39 goals in 54 matches, becoming top goal scorer in Serie A in 2001. But Lazio had some financial problems during that period and their most outstanding soccer player, Hernan Crespo, was a perfect way to get out of the trouble, so when Internazionale Milano offered $30 million, plus a talented young player, Bernardo Corradi, Lazio was forced to take the offer.
Latest Seasons
Ever since 2002 when he moved to Inter, Hernan Crespo was in a slow downfall. Playing for clubs like Parma or Lazio, he was extremely successful because he was the number one star in the team, but at Inter he was one of the many world class players in the squad so he found it harder to adapt there.
Moving to Chelsea in 2003 seemed like a good move since Crespo managed to get back on top of his form, scoring 20 goals in 49 matches, but he didn't adapt well to the English lifestyle and Premiership football, so he was loaned back in Italy to AC Milan for the 2004-2005 season where he would pair up with his former Parma coach, Carlo Ancelloti.
After a successful season with Milan (that ended with a shocking upset, Milan losing the Champions League final against Liverpool, after they were 3 goals up at break time, Crespo scoring 2 of the goals), Crespo moved back to Chelsea, but found himself outside the club's plans and had to be loaned to Serie A again, this time to his former club, Internazionale Milano, whom he has a loan deal for another season.
Born near Buenos Aires, Hernan Crespo, like all kids his age, was a fan of local team River plate, which was on top form when Hernan was growing up. When he was 11 years old, the Argentina soccer team won the 1986 World Cup and Maradona became one of the young boy's heroes. It was around this time that he decided to become a soccer player, trying out several youth clubs before getting into River Plate's youth squad.
His senior debut for River plate in 1993 was a huge step for the young Argentinean and he immediately made an impact, scoring 13 times in his 25 league appearances that season. More impressive is that he wasn't even a full first team member back then, so some of his goals where scored as a substitute.
His next two seasons with River plate were very successful, as the team managed to win the Apertura championship ("half" of the Argentinean championship) twice as well as the Copa Libertadores (the most prestigious South American club competition – a sort of Champions League), scoring twice in the home leg of the final.
Obviously, the great form that he was in attracted offers of big European clubs and the ones that managed to get the young striker were Italian Serie A club Parma.
Parma
It's at Parma that the Argentinean became a world class soccer player, Hernan Crespo scoring no less than 61 goals in his 4 seasons with the club.
His impact with the club was immediate, as he helped Parma get a runner-up position in the Italian Serie A the season he joined and although he never managed to win a title with Parma, he helped turn the club from one that was always in mid table at the end of the season, to one that would fight for the top 3 places in the league, next to titans AC Milan, Internazionale Milano, AS Roma or Juventus Torino.
He even helped Parma win the UEFA Cup in 1999, with Hernan Crespo scoring one of the three goals against Olympique Marseille in the final.
Lazio Roma
In 2000 Hernan Crespo was already a super star in Italy and he was one of the most feared strikers in the league. However, when Lazio Roma made Parma an offer they couldn't resist, of approximately $50 million, Crespo found himself packing up his bags again and moving to his new club.
Despite having played for only 2 seasons with Lazio, Hernan Crespo managed to get an outstanding goal/match ratio in this period, scoring no less than 39 goals in 54 matches, becoming top goal scorer in Serie A in 2001. But Lazio had some financial problems during that period and their most outstanding soccer player, Hernan Crespo, was a perfect way to get out of the trouble, so when Internazionale Milano offered $30 million, plus a talented young player, Bernardo Corradi, Lazio was forced to take the offer.
Latest Seasons
Ever since 2002 when he moved to Inter, Hernan Crespo was in a slow downfall. Playing for clubs like Parma or Lazio, he was extremely successful because he was the number one star in the team, but at Inter he was one of the many world class players in the squad so he found it harder to adapt there.
Moving to Chelsea in 2003 seemed like a good move since Crespo managed to get back on top of his form, scoring 20 goals in 49 matches, but he didn't adapt well to the English lifestyle and Premiership football, so he was loaned back in Italy to AC Milan for the 2004-2005 season where he would pair up with his former Parma coach, Carlo Ancelloti.
After a successful season with Milan (that ended with a shocking upset, Milan losing the Champions League final against Liverpool, after they were 3 goals up at break time, Crespo scoring 2 of the goals), Crespo moved back to Chelsea, but found himself outside the club's plans and had to be loaned to Serie A again, this time to his former club, Internazionale Milano, whom he has a loan deal for another season.
