Ezequiel Lavezzi

Estudiantes (BA)

Lavezzi moved to the youth side of Estudiantes (BA) in 2003 where, over one season, he played 39 games and scored 17 goals.

San Lorenzo

Known as el Pocho ("the Chubby One"), he was bought by Italian side Genoa in 2004 for €1 million, but was loaned out straight-away to Argentina side San Lorenzo. Here at the age of 19, he competed in the Apertura 2004 tournament scoring eight goals in total over the course of the season; which saw him finish as 4th top scorer. Lavezzi's most notable contributions included a spectacular effort against River Plate at River Plate Stadium. He scored in the 69th minute to give San Lorenzo a famous victory and seriously damage River's title challenge. This gained him the nickname la Bestia ("the Beast") from the Argentine media. Although it was planned for Lavezzi to return to Genoa after a season on loan, there were problems: while Lavezzi was playing in Argentina, Genoa were involved in an alleged match-fixing scandal which saw them relegated down to Serie C1, the third level of Italian football. Due to financial constraints, the promising forward was sold to San Lorenzo for €1.2 million. On his return to San Lorenzo for the Apertura 2005 season, he managed to help the club up into the top half of the table, and with eight goals, he finished as the overall fourth top scorer. His last act as a San Lorenzo player was to help them to the Clausura 2007 title, beating out Boca Juniors by six points.

Napoli…

Lavezzi debuted for the Argentina national football team in a friendly match against Chile on 18 April 2007. In 2008, he was selected to the Olympic football team, which represented Argentina at the 2008 Olympics. During the Olympic games, Lavezzi scored two goals, one against Australia on 10 August and a penalty against Serbia on 13 August. He also appeared in the final minutes of extra time of the gold medal match against Nigeria, which Argentina won 1–0. Lavezzi's club form was not enough to see him included in Diego Maradona's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, a surprise exclusion along with Newcastle United defender Fabricio Coloccini. On 17 November 2010, Argentina faced Brazil in a friendly match in Qatar, in which Argentina won by a goal from Lionel Messi in injury time after a superb one-two play with Lavezzi. He was named in Argentina's 2011 Copa América squad by Batista. In Argentina's final pre-tournament warm-up game on 21 June 2011, he scored the opening goal in a friendly match played against Albania, the match ended 4–0 in favour of Argentina and was Lavezzi's first goal for the national side. In the final tournament on home soil, Lavezzi made three appearances in the group stage, but was suspended for the quarter-final match, in which the hosts were knocked out by the eventual champions Uruguay on penalties. Lavezzi was chosen by new manager Alejandro Sabella for Argentina's 23-man 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He made six appearances throughout the tournament,…

Lavezzi is known for his pace, acceleration, energy, sturdy physique, movement, and hardworking style of play, as well as his technique, creativity, quick feet, dribbling ability, and sharpness around the box; he is also a good shooter. ESPN has described Lavezzi as being "excellent at roaming and finding space in the gap between the opposition's midfield and defence. He has excellent pace and crossing ability and is also adept at beating an opponent or drawing a foul in dangerous areas. He is considered a quality player physically, tactically and technically." A versatile forward, although he is usually deployed as a winger on either flank, due to his ability with either foot, he has also been used as a second striker or as an attacking midfielder on occasion, due to his ability to both score goals and create chances for his teammates. He has also been used as a centre-forward, in a role which is known as a centravanti di manovra in Italian football jargon (literally "maneuvering centre-forward"), which is similar to the modern false 9 role, due to his ability to drop deep and open up defences. In spite of his skill and abilities as a footballer, he has been accused of being overly temperamental on the pitch at times, and has been criticised for arguing with officials.

Lavezzi is of Italian origin, from Pavia. He is Catholic and has a tattoo of Jesus on his chest, a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his right arm and a tattoo of a pair of rosary beads on his right abdomen. Lavezzi has been married twice: with Débora, with whom he has a son, Tomás (born 2006); and with Yanina Screpante. He later dated Natalia Borges until 2022. He is currently in a relationship with María Guadalupe Tauro, with whom he had a second son, Vittorio (born July 2024). Lavezzi's nephew Agustín is also a professional footballer.