Hernán Crespo Bio Send To Friend  

Crespo's Chelsea career has been far from fruitful, with the striker left out of Jose Mourinho's plans for the 2006/07 season and farmed out on loan to Inter Milan for two years.

After being nothing more than a bitpart player in his debut season at the club he was farmed out on loan to AC Milan, seemingly destined never to return.

But when the two clubs failed to strike a deal on a permanent switch the striker returned to Stamford Bridge for 2005/06.

The Argentinean striker failed to win a regular starting berth under Jose Mourinho, with Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba often preferred. And with Chelsea playing with only the one striker Crespo was often left riding the pine.

Crespo came to the rescue in the opening game of the campaign, rifling home a superb injury time winner at Wigan Athletic after coming off the bench.

But after that he found it difficult to get in front of Drogba until his rival was injured in November of that season.

Crespo may outwardly insist he is happy with his role at Chelsea, but a player of his calibre will not be for too long.

A tall and athletic centre-forward who is strong in the air, the striker should be well suited to the Premiership and be able to fit into the mould of the traditional English striker.

Born into a middle class family in Florida, a suburb of Buenos Aires, Crespo started out in football with River Plate in 1994.

Before long he had earned the nickname 'Valdanito', meaning little Valdano, due to his similarity to 1986 World Cup-winning striker Jorge Valdano. He scored 13 goals in 25 games as River won the Apertura (opening) title while Crespo was the top scorer in the Clausura (closing) championship.

His international debut came in February 1995 in a 4-1 win over Bulgaria.

River Plate supporters fondly remember his performances as they won the Libertadores Cup, the South American club championship, in 1996 scoring twice in the home leg of the final.

That year he was also top scorer at the Atlanta Olympics as Argentina claimed the silver medal.

European clubs had been alerted to his progress, and he forged a formidable reputation in Italy, netting 108 goals in 188 games for Parma, Lazio and Inter - a fantastic record in a league which is probably regarded more for its defensive attributes than goalscoring prowess.

Whereas many footballers in Serie A prefer the glitch and glamour of the celebrity lifestyle, Crespo is a man who does not aim to fit into the stereotype - preferring more casual approach.

Parma invested £2.6million to take him to Italy - a good investment given that four years later he was sold on to Lazio for a then world record £36million.

Crespo fired 24 goals in his first two seasons with Parma, but it was in the 1998/99 season that he exploded - hitting 28 goals in 45 appearances as the club won the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. He bagged another 22 the following season.

He joined a Lazio side that had just claimed the Serie A title and was reunited with his Argentina and former Parma team mate Juan Sebastian Veron - who he linked up with for a third time at Chelsea.

Crespo was Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals in 32 games in that first year with Lazio but he managed just half that amount in an injury-plagued second season.

Then came disappointment in the World Cup with Argentina who failed to get beyond the group stage in Japan and South Korea.

His only season with Inter Milan was disrupted by a torn thigh ligament injury in January which kept him out of action for three months. He was bought to replace the Real Madrid-bound Ronaldo. But despite injury he still bagged 16 goals in 30 games.

Crespo became Chelsea's ninth major signing of 2003 when he penned a four-year deal - costing the big-spending London club £16.8million from Inter Milan.

Crespo's Chelsea debut came in a 1-0 win at Slavia Prague in a Champions League qualifier, when he himself admitted that he had a shocker.

But he made up for that when, four days later, he scored a brace from the bench in a 5-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After enjoying a successful start to his career, Crespo had to face the wrath of manager Claudio Ranieri after his picked up an injury against Liverpool in January.

Crespo had told Ranieri of a calf injury the day before the game but had assured him he was fit to play. The Argentine insisted on playing but then limped off 10 minutes into the game and faced several weeks out.

He failed to shine in 2003/04, playing just 19 Premiership games and scoring only six goals.

And after he failed to turn up for pre-season training on time in July 2004 it looked as though he could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge. Within a matter of days he had been loaned to AC Milan for 2004/05.

Crespo impressed for the 'other' San Siro side, scoring ten Serie A goals. And he also netted six in the Champions League - including a brace in the final as Milan surrendered a three-goal lead to Liverpool before losing on penalties.

At the start of 2005/06 it appeared beyond doubt that Crespo would sign for AC Milan on a permanent basis. But the move was delayed as the two clubs haggled over a price.

Crespo went with Argentina to the 2006 World Cup, and despite the squad being disappointed to go out at the Quarter-Final stage, Crespo enjoyed a relatively succesful tournament, scoring three times in four of their five matches.

Eventually, at the beginning of the 2006/07 season, after Chelsea signed Andriy Shevchenko for £30m, he agreed a two year loan deal with Inter Milan, something Crespo described as like returning to a big family.

The two year deal takes him up to the end of his Chelsea contract, though Chelsea have a clause that allows them to recall Crespo after one year if they feel it is necessary.