Érik Lamela
|
Lamela with Tottenham Hotspur in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Érik Manuel Lamela | ||
| Date of birth | 4 March 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Winger / Attacking midfielder[2] | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| River Plate | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | River Plate | 36 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Roma | 62 | (19) |
| 2013– | Tottenham Hotspur | 84 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Argentina U20 | 4 | (3) |
| 2011– | Argentina | 23 | (3) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:17, 15 October 2016 (UTC). | |||
Érik Manuel Lamela (born 4 March 1992) is an Argentine footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Tottenham Hotspur and the Argentina national team. He is known for his exceptional dribbling ability and pace and is nicknamed Coco.[3]
He began his career at River Plate, and in 2011 transferred to Roma for an initial €12 million. After two Serie A seasons, he joined Tottenham for a fee of £25.8 million. A full international since 2011, he was part of the Argentine squad which finished as runners-up at the 2015 Copa América.
Early life
After he had joined River Plate as a seven-year-old, Barcelona reportedly offered Lamela and his family £100,000 a year, as well as a house and employment for his parents, to move to the city of Barcelona, in a similar deal to the one that saw Lionel Messi move to Spain as a youngster.[4] In 2004, a Trans World Sport film crew travelled to Argentina to interview a 12-year-old Lamela who was already making headlines after scoring 120 goals for River Plate's youth side the previous season. In the video, Lamela declares his wish to follow in the footsteps of Diego Maradona and win a World Cup for Argentina.[5]
Club career
River Plate
Lamela made his first team debut for River Plate on 14 June 2009 in a game against Tigre for the 2009 Clausura tournament. He entered the field on the 80th minute, substituting Robert Flores. Lamela scored his first goal for River on 5 December 2010 in a match against Colón for the Apertura tournament. He scored his second goal against Lanús in the final fixture of that Apertura, helping River win the match 4–2.
The midfielder was a regular starter for River during the 2010–11 Argentine Primera División season, playing 34 games and scoring four goals.[6] He helped his team to finish in an overall sixth place that would have qualified them for the 2011 Copa Sudamericana. Due to the relegation format of the Argentine Primera that accounts a team's last three seasons, however, River was relegated after losing a playoff with Belgrano.
Roma
2011–12 season
On 6 August 2011, Lamela joined Italian club Roma of Serie A for a fee of €12 million, plus €2 million in bonuses, which was activated after his 20th club appearance.[7] Roma also paid an additional €3.2 million to Orel B.V.[8] — plus 10% added value if the player was later sold above €12 million — and €3.06 million in the form of taxes to the Government of Argentina. Lamela signed a 5-year contract worth €1.8 million in gross in the first season, but would gradually increase by €350,000 on 1 July 2012 (to €2.15M), 2014 (€2.5M) and 2015 (€2.85M).[7] On 23 October 2011, he scored his first goal in Serie A against Palermo.[9] Later, he scored goals against Lecce,[10] Novara,[11] and Cesena.[12] Lamela ended his first season at the Stadio Olimpico with six goals in 31 games in all competitions.
2012–13 season
Lamela began the 2012–13 season well, his first goal of the season coming against Bologna on 16 September 2012. Lamela hit a superb patch of form in October and early November, scoring seven goals in six games, including a brace against Udinese in a 3–2 home defeat and goals against Atalanta, Genoa, Parma, and Palermo. He also scored a goal in the Derby della Capitale against Lazio. After almost a month out with an ankle ligament injury, he returned to the field and scored a brace against Milan in a 4–2 victory on 22 December.[13]
Lamela went on to score 15 times in 33 games, putting him joint-fifth in Serie A and second to striker Pablo Osvaldo (16 goals) at Roma.[14] Lamela's and Roma's season, however, ended in heartache with defeat to Rome rivals Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, coupled with finishing sixth in Serie A, meaning that Roma would not play European football for the second consecutive season.[15]
Tottenham Hotspur
On 30 August 2013, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur completed the transfer of Lamela from Roma for a deal worth an initial £25.8 million, plus up to £4.2 million in bonus payments.[16][17] The fee for Lamela made him the most expensive player in the club's history, breaking the two previous records that had been set earlier in the transfer window, first for Paulinho and then Roberto Soldado.[18]
2013–14 season
On 1 September, Lamela made his debut for Tottenham as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–0 North London derby loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.[19] On 19 September, he made his first start for Tottenham against Tromsø IL in the UEFA Europa League, assisting Jermain Defoe for Tottenham's opening goal in a 3–0 win at White Hart Lane.[20] On 22 September, he assisted Paulinho's stoppage-time winning goal after appearing as a substitute in Tottenham's 1–0 win at Cardiff City.[21]
On 29 October, with Lamela having yet to start a Premier League match, Tottenham manager André Villas-Boas said of the player, "He knows he isn't producing half of what he can produce, but he understands the situation now is that he has to compete for his place."[22] On 7 November, Lamela scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 Europa League win against Sheriff Tiraspol.[23] Seventeen days later, he made his first start in the Premier League as Tottenham were beaten 6–0 by Manchester City.[24] His season was ended by a back injury in April 2014.[25]
2014–15 season
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham's new Argentine manager, Lamela was named in the starting line-up for the opening match of the 2014–15 Premier League season against West Ham United, making his first appearance of 2014.[26] On 21 August, he appeared from the bench in Spurs' UEFA Europa League match at AEL and assisted goals for Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane to secure a 2–1 win against the Cypriot club.[27] He then recorded two more assists in a 4–0 win over Queens Park Rangers three days later at White Hart Lane.[28]
Lamela scored his first goals of the season on 23 October, a brace in a 5–1 victory over Greek club Asteras Tripoli in the Europa League.[29] His first goal was a rabona-style strike from outside the area, the goal being praised by the BBC as brilliant and by ITV as "world-class."[29][30] He scored his first Premier League goal on 20 December in a 2–1 win against Burnley at White Hart Lane.[31]
2015–16 season
Lamela's first goal of the 2015–16 season came in a 3–1 UEFA Europa League win over Qarabağ FK on 17 September 2015. On 26 September, he scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a 4–1 home victory over Manchester City.[32] Lamela scored his first career hat-trick as Tottenham thrashed Monaco 4–1 in the Europa League on 10 December.[33]
2016–17 season
Lamela scored with a second half header on the opening day of the 2016–17 season in a 1–1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.[34]
International career
Lamela took part in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup with the Argentina national under-20 team and scored three goals in four matches.[35]
Lamela made his debut with the Argentina national team on 25 May 2011 in a friendly game against Paraguay.[36]
On 3 September 2014, Lamela scored his first goal for the senior national team, putting Argentina 2–0 ahead against Germany, in an eventual 4–2 win in a rematch of the World Cup final.[37]
In May 2015, Lamela was selected by coach Gerardo Martino in Argentina's squad for the 2015 Copa América held in Chile.[38]
In 2016, Lamela was selected by coach Gerardo Martino in Argentina's squad for the 2016 Copa América. Lamela was part of the Argentine side that ran to the final. He was subbed on in the 111th minute of the final against Chile, which Chile won 4–2 on penalties.
International goals
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 September 2014 | Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany |  Germany | | | Friendly |
| 2. | 14 June 2016 | CenturyLink Field, Seattle, United States |  Bolivia | | | Copa America Centenario |
| 3. | 18 June 2016 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States |  Venezuela | | | Copa America Centenario |
Career statistics
Club
- As of 13 August 2016.[39]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate | 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 34 | 4 | — | — | 34 | 4 | |||
| Total | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | |
| Roma | 2011–12 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 31 | 6 | |
| 2012–13 | 33 | 15 | 3 | 0 | — | 36 | 15 | ||
| Total | 62 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 21 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2013–14[40] | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 1 |
| 2014–15[41] | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2015–16[42] | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 11 | |
| 2016–17[43] | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 82 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 9 | 115 | 19 | |
| Career total | 180 | 31 | 15 | 4 | 23 | 9 | 218 | 44 | |
International
- As of 6 September 2016[44]
HonoursClub
International
References
External links
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