# César Delgado

César Fabián Delgado Godoy (born 18 August 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a winger. He also played as a central midfielder, making piercing forward runs through the center of the opposition's defence. His nickname "Chelito" is derived from that of Marcelo Delgado (known as "El Chelo") because of their same last name. Since 2013, he also holds Mexican citizenship.

## Club career

Born in Rosario, Argentina, Delgado started his career at Rosario Central. He joined Cruz Azul for the 2003 Apertura, where he finished with 16 appearances and eight goals. Delgado made 21 appearances in the subsequent Apertura, again scoring eight goals. In the 2004 Apertura, Delgado scored another six goals in 15 games.
On 8 January 2008, Delgado moved to French club Lyon who paid a transfer fee of €11 million. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 20 January 2008 against RC Lens. Delgado came on as an 85th-minute substitute Lisandro López on 21 October 2009 against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory. It was Lyon's first win in the UEFA Champions League against English opposition.
On 10 June 2011, Delgado signed with C.F. Monterrey, and participated in the 2011 Mexican League Apertura, CONCACAF Champions League and Club World Cup tournaments.

## International career

Delgado played for Argentina in the 2004 Copa América, scoring one goal, and was part of their gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
He played several matches for the Argentina national team during 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, but due to injury he did not make the 23-man squad for the tournament.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals |
| Rosario Central | 2001–02 | Argentine Primera División | 27 | 3 |
| Rosario Central | 2002–03 | Argentine Primera División | 38 | 11 |
| Cruz Azul | 2003–04 | Liga MX | 37(29) | 16(13) |
| Cruz Azul | 2004–05 | Liga MX | 33(29) | 16(14) |
| Cruz Azul | 2005–06 | Liga MX | 38(32) | 18(18) |
| Cruz Azul | 2006–07 | Liga MX | 27(25) | 7(7) |
| Cruz Azul | 2007–08 | Liga MX | 24 | 9 |
| Lyon | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Lyon | 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 31(19) | 3(2) |
| Lyon | 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 36(27) | 5(4) |
| Lyon | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 15 | 1 |
| Monterrey | 2011–12 | Liga MX | 69 | 15 |
| Total | Total | Total | 337 | 91 |

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Argentina | 2003 | 5 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2004 | 11 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2005 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 20 | 2 |
    Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Delgado goal.
List of international goals scored by César Delgado :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 9 September 2003 | Estadio Olímpico, Caracas, Venezuela | Venezuela | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 25 July 2004 | Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru | Brazil | 2–1 | 2–2 (2–4 p.) | 2004 Copa America Final |

## Honours

Cruz Azul
* Copa Panamericana 2007
Lyon
* Ligue 1: 2007–08
* Coupe de France: 2007–08
Monterrey
* CONCACAF Champions League: 2011–12, 2012–13
Argentina
* Olympic Games: 2004
* Copa América runner-up: 2004
* FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2005
Individual
* FIFA Club World Cup top scorer: 2012, 2013