# Germán Pezzella

Germán Alejo Pezzella (Spanish pronunciation:; born 27 June 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Argentina national team, with whom he won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

## Club career
### Early career

Pezzella joined Club Atlético River Plate's youth setup in 2005, aged 14, after representing Club Olimpo.
After impressing with the former's reserves he was called up to the pre-season in Canada, appearing in friendlies against Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Everton.

### River Plate

After being an unused substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Club Atlético Huracán on 18 October 2009, Pezzella made his senior debut on 7 December 2011, starting in a 1–0 home win against Defensores de Belgrano for the season's Copa Argentina. His league debut came on 2 March of the following year, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Quilmes Atlético Club.
Pezzella scored his first professional goal on 2 September 2012, netting the last in a 1–1 draw at Club Atlético Colón. He also scored the equalizer in a 1–1 Superclásico home draw against Boca Juniors, just three minutes after coming off the bench.
On 10 December 2014, Pezzella scored the last in a 2014 Copa Sudamericana final 2–0 win against Atlético Nacional, as his side won its first international title after a 17-year absence.

### Betis

On 10 July 2015, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga. He made his debut for the club on 23 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.

### Fiorentina

After a loan spell with Serie A club Fiorentina during the 2017–18 season, Pezzella signed a five-year contract with the club that runs through the end of the 2021–22 season for an €11m transfer fee. Ahead of the 2018–19 season, he was named the club's new captain.

### Betis return

On 19 August 2021, Pezzella returned to Betis after signing a four-year deal.

### River Plate return

On 5 August 2024, Pezzella returned to River Plate after 9 years out of the club.

## International career

Pezzella played represented Argentina in 2009 Toulon Tournament. He also appeared with the side in 2011 South American U-20 Championship and 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, always as a starter.
On 1 September 2011, Pezzella was called up to that year's Pan American Games, appearing in five matches and scoring two goals during the competition.
In October 2017, he was called up to Argentina national team's squad for the first time for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Peru on 5 October and Ecuador on 10 October 2017. In May 2018 he was named in the Argentina national team's preliminary 35-man for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but did not make the final 23. On 27 March 2019, he captained Argentina in a 1–0 friendly away win against Morocco. He was included in Argentina's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and came on as a substitute in extra-time of the final as his nation won a third world title by defeating France on penalties.
In June 2024, Pezzella was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 5 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| River Plate | 2011–12 | Primera B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| River Plate | 2012–13 | Argentine Primera División | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| River Plate | 2013–14 | Argentine Primera División | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 1 |
| River Plate | 2014 | Argentine Primera División | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | – | – | 20 | 3 |
| River Plate | 2015 | Argentine Primera División | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| River Plate | Total | Total | 43 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 6 |
| Real Betis | 2015–16 | La Liga | 25 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 29 | 4 |
| Real Betis | 2016–17 | La Liga | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 37 | 1 |
| Real Betis | Total | Total | 61 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 66 | 5 |
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 35 | 1 |
| Fiorentina | 2018–19 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 35 | 2 |
| Fiorentina | 2019–20 | Serie A | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 34 | 3 |
| Fiorentina | 2020–21 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 1 |
| Fiorentina | 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Fiorentina | Total | Total | 97 | 6 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 103 | 6 |
| Real Betis | 2021–22 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 1 |
| Real Betis | 2022–23 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| Real Betis | 2023–24 | La Liga | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 1 |
| Real Betis | Total | Total | 86 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 320 | 16 | 26 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 382 | 19 |
* ↑ Includes Copa Argentina, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
* 1 2 Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
* ↑ Appearance in Copa Campeonato
* ↑ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Appearances in Recopa Sudamericana
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance in Supercopa de España
* ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

    As of match played 10 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Argentina | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| Argentina | 2018 | 4 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2019 | 10 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| Argentina | 2022 | 9 | 0 |
| Argentina | 2023 | 4 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 42 | 3 |
    Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pezzella goal.
List of international goals scored by Germán Pezzella :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 11 October 2018 | Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Iraq | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 13 October 2019 | Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Alicante, Spain | Ecuador | 4–1 | 6–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 15 June 2023 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing, China | Australia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

River Plate
* Argentina Primera Division: 2013–14
* Copa Campeonato: 2013–14
* Primera B Nacional: 2011–12
* Copa Libertadores: 2015
* Copa Sudamericana: 2014
* Recopa Sudamericana: 2015
Real Betis
* Copa del Rey: 2021–22
Argentina
* FIFA World Cup: 2022
* Copa América: 2021, 2024
* CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 2022