Leonardo Ángel Biagini (born 13 April 1977) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. Most of his professional career was spent in Spain where he arrived at the age of 18, going on to represent six clubs in more than one decade with totals of 244 games and 43 goals, 145 matches and 18 goals being in La Liga. He was part of

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

's squad when they conquered

the double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in 1996, although he did not feature prominently with the team. In 2007, in his 30s, he returned to his country.

Football career

Born in Arroyo Seco, Santa Fe, Biagini started his career at Newell's Old Boys in the

Primera División 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, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

, in 1993. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he was a main part of the Argentina under-20 team that won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Biagini signed for

at just 18, being an important attacking element as the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

club won

in his first year. He was mainly and regularly used as a substitute for compatriot Juan Esnáider and Kiko during his spell and, after a poor second season, moved to fellow league side

CP Mérida Club Polideportivo Mérida was a Spanish football team based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Having played twice in La Liga ( 1995–96 and 1997–98), the club was dissolved in 2000, due to serious economic debts. Its ...

in the summer of 1997, where he would be eventually relegated. Biagini then played five seasons with

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

where, safe for his first year where he scored a career-best 11 goals (also helping the team to the final of the

1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The 1998–99 season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup club tournament was the last season of the competition before it was abolished. Lazio won the final against Mallorca to earn their only title in the competition. Chelsea were the defending champio ...

by scoring the 1–0 winner against Chelsea in the last-four's second leg, in a 2–1 aggregate victory), he would be very scarcely used due to several injury problems, also serving a six-month loan to England's Portsmouth in the First Division, where he found the net against Millwall and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. Biagini returned to Spain and Mallorca for the 2002–03 campaign, being part of the side that

won Won may refer to: *The Korean won from 1902–1910 *South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea *North Korean won, the currency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea * Won (Korean surname) * Won (Korean given name) * Won Buddhis ...

Copa del Rey – even though he did not appear in any matches – and being subsequently released. After four additional years in the Spanish second division, in representation of three teams, he returned home and joined Arsenal de Sarandí.

Honours

Club

Atlético Madrid * La Liga: 1995–96 * Copa del Rey: 1995–96 Mallorca *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Arsenal Sarandí *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

International

Argentina * FIFA U-20 World Cup:

Individual

* South American Youth Football Championship Top Scorer:

(4 goals)

References

External links

Argentine League statistics
* * *
Football-Lineups profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biagini, Leonardo 1977 births Living people People from Rosario Department Copa Sudamericana-winning players Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Argentine Primera División players Newell's Old Boys footballers Arsenal de Sarandí footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Atlético Madrid footballers CP Mérida footballers RCD Mallorca players Rayo Vallecano players Sporting de Gijón players Albacete Balompié players English Football League players Portsmouth F.C. players Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from Santa Fe Province