Benjamín Rollheiser (born 24 March 2000) is an Argentine professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who plays as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

club

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

Club career

Early career

Rollheiser was spotted while playing for local side Independiente de San José at the age of eight by Carlos Bottegal, a coordinator of Estudiantes, and joined the club in early 2010. He asked to leave the club in 2012 after Bottegal was fired, and returned to his hometown with . Rollheiser made his debut with Sarmiento's first team in 2014, aged 14, scoring once in eight matches. In late 2014, he moved to River Plate's youth categories after a trial period.

River Plate

After being a part of the first team pre-season under

Marcelo Gallardo Marcelo Daniel Gallardo (; born 18 January 1976) is an Argentine football manager and former professional player who is the current head coach of River Plate. During his playing career, Gallardo was an attacking midfielder and playmaker. He wa ...

in 2018, Rollheiser signed a new contract with River on 17 July 2019. He was promoted to the main squad ahead of the 2019–20 campaign, netting in pre-season friendlies in the United States with

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on th ...

(twice) and

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. On 16 July 2019, Rollheiser made his professional debut by coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow youth graduate

Julián Alvarez Julián Alvarez (; born 31 January 2000) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team. Alvarez began his football career in his native Argentina, where he was an a ...

in a

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

win over

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

side

Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza Club Atlético Gimnasia y Esgrima (usually known as Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza) is an Argentine football club located in the city of Mendoza. They currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league ...

; he provided the assist to

Exequiel Palacios Exequiel Alejandro Palacios (; born 5 October 1998) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Argentina national team. Club career River Plate Palacios is a youth e ...

' opener in the 1–1 draw, and also converted the decisive spot-kick as River won on penalties. He made his Primera División debut eleven days later, starting in a 1–1 away draw against

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

. Despite featuring rarely in his first two senior seasons, Rollheiser became a regular option during the 2021 campaign, and scored his first professional goal on 19 December of that year, netting River's third in a 4–0 home routing of Colón in the 2021 Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional. Ahead of the 2022 season, however, he was separated from the first team squad after not reaching an agreement to renew his contract.

Estudiantes

On 25 June 2022, after spending the first six months of the year without playing, Rollheiser returned to Estudiantes on a three-year deal. He made his club debut five days later, replacing

Franco Zapiola Franco Zapiola Yamartino (born 19 February 2001) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a midfielder for Platense. Career Born in Magdalena, Buenos Aires, Zapiola was an Estudiantes de La Plata youth graduate. He made his first team – and ...

in a 1–1

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

away draw against

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. Rollheiser scored his first goal for Estudiantes on 20 July 2022, netting the team's second in a 3–1 home win over

Barracas Central Club Atlético Barracas Central is an Argentine professional association football, football club from the district of Barracas, Buenos Aires. Established in 1904, Barracas Central returned to the Argentine Primera División, Primera División, th ...

. He became a key unit for the side during the 2023 season, helping them to win the

2023 Copa Argentina The 2023 Copa Argentina (officially the Copa Argentina AXION energy 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was the thirteenth edition of the Copa Argentina football tournament, and the eleventh since the relaunch of the tournament in 2011. The competition ...

Benfica

On 20 January 2024, Rollheiser joined

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club Benfica on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season, with a subsequent obligation-to-buy, reported to be around €9.5 million for 90% of the player's economic rights. Nine days later, he made his debut for the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based side, coming off the bench to replace compatriot

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (; born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Primeira Liga club Benfica. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Argentine players of all time and one of the best pl ...

for the final minutes of a 4–1 league victory away at

Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela Amadora SAD (), sometimes just Estrela da Amadora, is a Portuguese professional sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. The team is currently competing in the Primeira Liga, after winnin ...

. Rollheiser scored his first goal abroad on 14 April 2024, netting Benfica's third in a 3–0 home win over

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...

Santos

On 12 February 2025,

side

announced the signing of Rollheiser on a contract until 2028. He made his club debut on 2 March, replacing

Yeferson Soteldo Yeferson Julio Soteldo Martínez (; born 30 June 1997) is a Venezuelan professional association football, footballer who plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense FC, Fluminense and the Venezuela national football team, Venezuela ...

in a 2–0

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

home win over

Red Bull Bragantino Red Bull Bragantino () is a Brazilian football club based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo. It competes in the Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the highest lev ...

. Rollheiser scored his first goal in Brazil on 1 May 2025, netting the opener in a 1–1 home win over CRB.

International career

Rollheiser represented Argentina at

U17 U17 or U-17 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , various vessels * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Cessna U-17 Skywagon, an American utility aircraft * Nonconvex great rhombicuboctahedron In geometry, the nonconvex g ...

level, notably winning three caps at the 2017 South American Championship in Chile. He has also trained with their senior team.

Career statistics

Personal life

Born in Argentina, Rollheiser is of

Volga German The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in th ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an descent.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollheiser, Benjamin 2000 births Living people People from Coronel Suárez Partido Footballers from Buenos Aires Province Argentine men's footballers Argentine people of Volga German descent Argentine sportspeople of Paraguayan descent Argentina men's youth international footballers Men's association football wingers Torneo Argentino C players Argentine Primera División players Primeira Liga players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers S.L. Benfica footballers Santos FC players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil 21st-century Argentine sportsmen