Germán Denis
Germán Gustavo Denis (born 10 September 1981) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Italian club Reggina. Career. Denis began his career in 1997 playing for his local team Talleres de Remedios de Escalada in Primera B Metropolitana, the regionalised third division of Argentine football. In 2000, he moved to Primera newcomers Club Atlético Los Andes, in Lomas de Zamora, but the club was relegated at the end of his first season. He continued playing for them in Primera B Nacional until he was signed by Italian Serie B side Cesena. In 2003, Denis made  his return to Argentina and the Primera Division with Jorge Burruchaga's Arsenal de Sarandí. He played for them for two seasons before moving on to Colón. In summer 2006, he rejoined former manager Jorge Burruchaga at Independiente. After scoring 15 goals in the first 13 games of the Apertura 2007 tournament, Denis was called up to join the Argentina national football team for the first two matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, against Chile and Venezuela. He made his debut with a brief substitute appearance against Venezuela on 16 October 2007. Napoli. In June 2008 Denis signed  for Italian Serie A club Napoli for a fee about €7.5285 million. In his first appearance for the club, he scored a hat-trick as Napoli ran out winners in a friendly against Austrian side Jennersdorf. Napoli beat Jennersdorf 10–0. Denis scored his first official goal for Napoli against Vllaznia in the UEFA Cup, on 14 August 2008. He also scored once more in the UEFA Cup against Benfica. On 29 October, Denis scored the first hat-trick of his career in Serie A during Napoli's 3–0 victory over Reggina. However, new manager Donadoni preferred the Zalayeta-Lavezzi  striking partnership, reducing Denis's playing time. Udinese. Denis moved to Udinese for the 2010–11 Serie A season. He played the second leg against Arsenal in 2011–12 UEFA Champions League play-off round. Atalanta. Upon achieving promotion from Serie B, Atalanta B.C. signed Denis on a season-long loan for the 2011–12 season. Denis scored 12 goals in 16 matches between the start of the season and the winter break. He then scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Roma on 26 February 2012, bringing his goal tally up to 15 for the season. Denis ended the season  as the club's top scorer with 16 goals. In November 2011, Atalanta director Pierpaolo Marino confirmed that Denis would join the club on a permanent deal after the end of the player's loan contract. On 19 June, the deal was finalized and Denis signed a three-year contract with the club for an undisclosed fee. On 27 April 2015, Denis was banned for five matches after he burst into the opposition dressing room the day before and punched Empoli defender Lorenzo Tonelli. On 30 January 2016, Denis scored on his final appearance for Atalanta, a 1–1 draw against  Sassuolo, before returning to play for Independiente in Argentina. He is the joint-highest non-Italian goalscorer in the club's history in Serie A, alongside Duván Zapata, with 56 goals. Reggina. Denis signed a two-year contract with Serie C club Reggina on 22 August 2019, making a return to Italy after three years. Style of play. A powerful striker, who is capable of playing anywhere along the front-line, and of using his physique to hold up the ball for teammates, Denis is known for his goalscoring, as well as ability in the air. During his time in  Argentina, he was given the nickname "el tanque", which means "the tank" in Spanish, due to his physical strength. He is also an accurate penalty taker.