Who is PABLO AIMAR

Pablo César Aimar (born November 3, 1979 in Rio Cuarto) is an Argentine football player, who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Sport Lisboa e Benfica of the Portuguese Liga. He also holds a Spanish passport.^[1]

Club career

Aimar began his ascent to stardom with Club Atlético River Plate, whose first team he joined for the 1997/98 season after rejecting a place at medical school, and with whom he quickly established himself as one of the best young players in Argentina.

Valencia CF signed Aimar in January 2001, at a price of €24 million. The purchase proved justified, as Aimar helped lead the team to a first-place finish in the 2001-02 Spanish season as well as finishing runners-up in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, in which they were defeated by Bayern Munich. Aimar also won the UEFA Cup with Valencia, defeating Olympique Marseille in 2004.

On April 12, 2006, he was hospitalized after being diagnosed with acute viral meningitis, but made a quick recovery and returned to play for his team.

During the summer of 2006, Aimar joined Spanish Real Zaragoza for €12 million. The Aragonese side would be relegated at the end of 2007-08.

On July 17, 2008, after a period of intense negotiations, Aimar signed a four-year contract with Portuguese side SL Benfica, for a fee of 6.5 million euros.

International career

Aimar first represented Argentina at the youth level. Along with senior team stars Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Román Riquelme, he won the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

He has played over 50 times for Argentina since his debut in 1999.He played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

In the 2002 World Cup, he played against England, subbing in for Juan Sebastián Verón, which led coach Marcelo Bielsa to start him against Sweden, at the latter's expense.

Diego Maradona said that Aimar was "his legitimate successor as the world's best player" and that he would pay to watch Aimar play.

He scored the last goal of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, during Argentina's 4-1 loss in the final to champions Brazil, also appearing with the national side in the Copa América 2007 (losing in the final to the same team, this time 0-3).

Pablo Aimar
Personal information
Full name	Pablo César Aimar
Date of birth	November 3, 1979 (1979-11-03) (age 28)
Place of birth	Rio Cuarto, Argentina
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder, winger
Club information
Current club	SL Benfica
Number	10
Youth clubs
1995–1997	River Plate
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–2000 2001–2006 2006–2008 2008–	River Plate Valencia CF Real Zaragoza SL Benfica	083 (21) 162 (27) 053 0(5) 004 0(0)
National team2
1999–	Argentina	051 0(8)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 1, 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of April 14, 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)