Emiliano Adrian Insúa Zapata
(born 7 January 1989) is an Argentine
footballer who
plays as a left wingback. He
plays for
English Premier League club
Liverpool and for the
Argentine national
team.
Career
Club Career
Insúa
began his football career with youth team Pinocho in Argentina,
later moving to, Buenos
Aires
-based team, Boca Juniors. The
left-back did not break into the
first-team at
La Bombonera but
nevertheless caught the attention of
Liverpool. The defender agreed to an
18 month
loan deal with the
Merseyside club on 28 November 2006,
beginning his loan period in January. Insúa soon got a chance to
impress, making his first-team debut against
Portsmouth on 28 April 2007. However, he
only made one more league appearance that season.
The player succeeded on the Under-20's international scene, playing
3 games to finish with the runner-up medal at the South American
U-20 Championship, which served as a qualifier for the World U-20
World Cup where he played seven games and aiding the
Argentina Under-20
team to victory against the
Czech Republic in the
FIFA U-20 World Cup final on 22
July 2007.
His loan deal was made permanent in August 2007 in the deal which
saw
Gabriel Paletta moved to
Boca Juniors .The
following season Insúa made only
three more first-team league appearances but found success with
Gary Ablett's
Premier Reserve League
winning team; along with other
Liverpool
FC youngsters. His performances impressed manager
Rafael Benítez enough to offer him a new
deal at the club. Insúa signed a three year contract on 2 July
2008,. Insua was given the number 22 shirt for the start of the
2008-2009 campaign. In December 2008 Insua got a run of games in
the Liverpool team, due to an injury to
Fábio Aurélio and also due to the
disappointing form of
Andrea Dossena.
His biggest opportunity came on December 21, 2008 against
Arsenal F.C. Insua greatly impressed during his
spell of games, leaving many fans believing that he is almost
Liverpool's first choice left
back.
On 5
January 2009, Liverpool announced that Emiliano would be
participating in the 2009 South American Youth
Championship in Venezuela
, meaning he would miss crucial Premier League
matches, including the clash with title rivals Chelsea FC. However,
Argentina finished
bottom of the final group stage, meaning that they failed to
qualify for the
U-20 World Cup
and would be unable to defend their title. Upon his return to
Liverpool, and after a brief spell in the reserves, Insúa became
increasingly part of the Liverpool first team squad.
Due to an injury to Fábio Aurélio, Insúa found himself starting in
Liverpool's opening six Premier League games and the first tie of
their Champions League campaign, beating off competition from
Andrea Dossena. He gave a good account of himself defending and
going forward and is seen both as a bright prospect for the future
and a current first team player.
He scored
his first goal for Liverpool in spectacular fashion in a Football League Cup match against
Arsenal at the Emirates
Stadium
on 28 October 2009, with a stunning half-volley from outside the area, leaving no
chance for Arsenal keeper Lukasz
Fabianski as it dipped over him.
International Career
On 24 August, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said that
Diego Maradona was monitoring the progress of
Insúa and considering calling him up for international duty with
Argentina. Maradona eventually did call him up on 26 September
2009, for the crucial World Cup qualifiers against
Peru and
Uruguay, making his first
start in a 2-1 win over Peru.
Career statistics
- Up to date, as of November 30, 2009.
Honours
Argentina
Liverpool
Personal Life
Insua has been rumoured to be in a relationship with a nightclub
promotions assistant. Her name is Helen but she keeps out of the
public eye. Other rumours had emerged about Insua's personal life
but are not believed to be true
References
External links
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