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Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both rival clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Caniggia scored two goals to help Argentina reach the final but was suspended for the final against
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. Caniggia also scored two goals at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in a first-round match against
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. As well as appearing for River Plate and Boca Juniors, his other clubs include
Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
, Benfica,
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
and Rangers. Throughout his playing career, he played for clubs in Argentina, Italy, Portugal, Scotland and Qatar.


Club career

At club level, Caniggia played for River Plate (1985–88), Hellas Verona (1988–89),
Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
(1989–92 and 1999–2000), Roma (1992–93), S.L. Benfica (1994–95), Boca Juniors (1995–98),
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
(2000–01) and Rangers (2001–03). He has become a club legend and cult-hero at many of the clubs he has played at, for instance when scoring against Dunfermline in 2003 to help Rangers win the title. In 1988, Caniggia moved to
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club Hellas Verona after accumulating 53 appearances and 8 goals for River Plate. He then moved to Atalanta in 1989, where he would remain for three years and score 26 goals in 85 league games. With Atalanta, he competed twice in the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
, helping the club reach the quarter-finals in the 1990–91 edition. Despite not winning any silverware, Caniggia later described his experience with Atalanta as "the best years in his career". Caniggia moved to Roma in 1992, a move both parties believed would help the club aim for the '' Scudetto'', though Roma lost its momentum mid-season with only 15 points from 17 games. After a 1–1 draw against Napoli on 21 March 1993, following a surprise doping test, Caniggia was handed a 13-month ban for taking
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
; he has a history of enjoying the high life. After his ban expired, he joined Benfica on a year-long loan financed by the Parmalat dairy company. During his Benfica run,
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
contacted him. He played with the white kit during a friendly match where Valencia faced Brazil in Mestalla. He played as a guest player in a team where
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
player Diego Latorre was also included in the squad. Valencia had to pay 80 million pesetas for the inclusion of both players for that friendly, receiving only 66 million in ticket sales. Argentine media mogul Eduardo Eurnekian then acquired the rights to Caniggia from Roma and Diego Maradona from Racing Club de Avellaneda, loaning them to Boca Juniors in exchange for matches played on his television stations. At the completion of his one-year contract, Caniggia's outspoken wife refused to return to Argentina and he was heavily linked with clubs in England. In September 1996 his mother committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of her building and Caniggia did not play in the 1996–97 season. He returned to play for Boca in 1997–98 but his appearances were sporadic as he missed out on the 1998 World Cup squad. After another season of inactivity he re-joined Atalanta in
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
, helping the club achieve promotion to Serie A, but left after one season following a dispute with coach Giovanni Vavassori. He then signed for Scottish club Dundee, managed by Ivano Bonnetti whom he knew well from their time together in Italy. Quickly becoming Dundee's star player, he was shortlisted for SPFA Player of the Year in 2001, but was then transferred to Rangers, becoming a fans favourite at Ibrox, after scoring against arch rivals Celtic in a cup final. In June 2012, he was one of several former professional footballers who agreed to join Wembley to play in their FA Cup campaign for the new season. Caniggia and fellow former-internationals Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Graeme Le Saux, Jaime Moreno, Danny Dichio and Brian McBride, plus David Seaman (goalkeeping coach) and former England manager Terry Venables (technical advisor), came out of retirement to play for Wembley who were featured in a television documentary as they endeavoured to help the club play at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. On 12 August 2012, he appeared in a preliminary round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. Aged 45, he scored the first goal in a 3–2 win against Langford.


International career

Caniggia was a key player in both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, but was not picked under the strict regime of coach
Daniel Passarella Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who is considered one of the greatest Defender (association football), defenders of all time. As a ...
for France '98. Caniggia was capped 50 times for Argentina, scoring 16 goals. He played at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, scoring four goals in eight matches. Contrary to popular belief and largely due to loose interpretation, Caniggia was not a pure striker, but rather a
playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...
or creative forward. Caniggia was good friends with Argentina legend Diego Maradona; while playing for Boca Juniors, the duo celebrated a goal in the
Superclásico ''SuperClásico'' is a 2011 Danish romantic comedy film set in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American coun ...
of the 1996 Clausura with a kiss on the lips. Claudio's wife at that time, model Mariana Nannis, said: "At times I believe Diego is in love with my husband. It must be the long hair and big muscles."


1990 World Cup

At the 1990 World Cup, Caniggia scored two key goals to help Argentina reach the final. He came off the bench in the inaugural match against
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
in Milan, memorably being fouled three times in a single dribble as he carried the ball forward, the last, by Benjamin Massing earning the Cameroonian a straight red card (Massing kicked Caniggia so hard his own shoe came off). In the subsequent matches, Caniggia was in the starting lineup. In the second round, Argentina faced
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in Turin, and with the score 0–0 after 80 minutes, a pass by Diego Maradona left Caniggia one on one against Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel; Caniggia dribbled past him and scored on the empty goal, giving Argentina the victory and eliminating Brazil from the tournament in what was seen as a huge upset. The goal gave him legendary status among the Argentine fans for knocking out their chief rivals. Argentina then beat
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
in Florence on penalty kicks, advancing to the semi-finals, where they played against
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in Naples. The Italians had not conceded any goals in five matches, and were up 1–0 at half-time. In the second half, Caniggia headed a cross into the net of goalkeeper
Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...
, ending his record streak at 517 minutes without conceding a goal, and sending the match into extra time. After no change in the score, penalty kicks were taken, and Argentina won again through this method, advancing to the final. Caniggia had been cautioned in the team's second first round match against the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, and then received another yellow card against Italy for deliberately handling the ball, which earned him a suspension (disciplinary records were not wiped out between the first and second rounds at that time). He had to watch the final between his team and
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
from the stands in Rome, which Argentina lost 1–0.


1991 Copa América, 1992 Confederations Cup and 1993 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions

Throughout the
1991 Copa América The 1991 Copa América association football, football tournament was hosted by Chile, from 6 to 21 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL and all ten member nations participated. Until the 2021 edition, this was the last time that the tournament con ...
, Caniggia asserted his dominance and was arguably the most dynamic player; he scored two goals and made four assists in the tournament as Argentina won the title. He also helped Argentina win the 1992 Confederations Cup, in which he scored a goal in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
itself. In February 1993, he scored the goal of the 1–1 tie between Argentina and
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in the
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions The Finalissima or officially CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, formerly known as European/South American Nations Cup and also called Artemio Franchi Cup, is an intercontinental football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested by th ...
, held in Mar del Plata. Argentina finally won by penalties and was declared intercontinental champion.


1994 World Cup

Caniggia scored two goals in the 1994 World Cup, both of them in the first round match against
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, the first from a
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, A ...
free kick rebound and second one from a free kick by Diego Maradona, which he finished, putting the ball in top right hand corner. He was taken out of Argentina's third game against Bulgaria 26 minutes into the match in the boiling heat of Dallas, an Argentine team who were also without Maradona. He was left out of the Argentine squad for the team's Round of 16 match against Romania in Los Angeles; Argentina lost 3–2 and were out of the tournament.


2002 World Cup

After refusing to cut his long hair despite the rules of national coach Daniel Passarella, he was frozen out of the national team for a number of years. He made a brief comeback to the
Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...
-coached squad for the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
, but did not play. He received a
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
for cursing at the referee from the bench in Argentina's last match against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, becoming the first player to be sent off from the bench in a World Cup.


Style of play

A quick and physically strong striker, with good technique and dribbling skills, Caniggia was known in particular for his exceptional speed as a player; he competed in athletics before his football career, taking part in athletic tournaments at the provincial level, running the 100 meters. In addition to his ability to score goals consistently, he was also equally capable of playing off other forwards, and of creating chances for teammates; as such, he was often deployed in deeper roles as an
advanced The Advanced Party (), otherwise known as the Advanced Association () was a liberal and centrist Zionist political association in Mandatory Palestine founded by several urban liberal Zionists. The party was founded in order to represent the voice ...
playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...
or creative forward, or even more frequently out wide as a winger. Due to his explosive running, which enabled him to get past opponents consistently, throughout his career, he was nicknamed ''El Hijo del Viento'' ("Son of the Wind") and ''El Pájaro'' ("The Bird"). Despite his reputation as one of Argentina's greatest players ever, he was also known to be a controversial player. In addition to his playing ability and goalscoring, Caniggia stood out for his recognisable long blonde hair.


Personal life

Caniggia was married to Mariana Nannis. They had three children: Kevin Axel, Álex Dimitri and Charlotte Chantal. In September 2019, Caniggia asked his wife for a divorce and started dating Sofia Bonelli, a 26-year-old Argentine model. In November 2019 he and Bonelli got married in Tulum, Mexico.Las pruebas del divorcio entre Caniggia y Nanis
on ''Caras'' magazine, 13 September 2019


Career statistics


Club


Honours

River Plate *
Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...
: 1985–86 *
Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...
:
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
Rangers *
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
: 2002–03 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2001–02, 2002–03 *
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
: 2001–02, 2002–03 Argentina *
Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
:
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
*
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
:
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
* Artemio Franchi Cup:
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
*
Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...
: 1992 *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
runner-up: 1990


References


External links

* *
Short biography


at Argentine Soccer * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caniggia, Claudio 1967 births Living people Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent People from Hipolito Yrigoyen Partido Footballers from Buenos Aires Province Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Atlético River Plate footballers Hellas Verona FC players Atalanta BC players AS Roma players S.L. Benfica footballers Boca Juniors footballers Dundee F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Qatar SC players Wembley F.C. players Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Serie B players Primeira Liga players Scottish Premier League players Qatar Stars League players Argentine sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in association football Argentina men's international footballers 1987 Copa América players 1989 Copa América players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 Copa América players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Copa América–winning players Copa Libertadores–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in England 20th-century Argentine sportsmen 21st-century Argentine sportsmen