Lucas Biglia

Career in Argentina

Biglia started his career at Argentinos Juniors and signed his first professional contract in 2004. After scoring against Godoy Cruz on 21 June 2004 in two appearances, he made his Argentinos Juniors debut on 1 July 2004, making his first start, in a 2–1 win over Talleres in play-offs. Eventually, Argentinos Juniors wins 4–2 in the play-offs and is promoted to Argentine First Division. The following season saw Biglia making 15 appearances and scoring 1 goal against Huracán on 28 November 2004. However, a lack of first team appearances led to Biglia leaving the club after only 17 appearances and one goal scored during his time there. In February 2005, he moved to Independiente for an undisclosed fee following his performance at the South American U-20 Championship. Biglia made his Independiente debut on 26 February 2005, in a 1–0 loss against Lanús. In the first half of his season there, he made 11 appearances before becoming a first team player the following season, where he played in every match.

Anderlecht

In July 2006, after one-and-a-half seasons at Independiente, Biglia signed with Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht on a four-year contract and upon joining the club, he took up the number five shirt. Soon after, he was joined by his compatriot teammate Nicolás Pareja, Nicolás Frutos and Cristian Leiva. In the 2006–07 season, Biglia made his debut against K. Sint-Truidense on the opening match of the season, coming on for an injured…

Youth career

Biglia made his first international appearance for the Argentina U-17 squad and was part of the squad that won South American Under-17 Football Championship, and came third in the FIFA U-17 World Championship, in which he was named Player of the Year. During the U17 World Cup, Biglia scored his first national goal in a semi-final, in a 3–2 loss against Spain. While playing for the Argentina U17, Biglia captained the side on numerous of occasions. In January 2005, Biglia played for the Argentina U-20 team, participating in the South American U-20 Championship in Colombia and the side went on to win the tournament. Later in the year, Biglia played for FIFA World Youth Championship and once again win the tournament this year. Three years later, there was a potential chance when Biglia would play for Argentine Olympic team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, along with teammate Pareja, after being called up for the pre-selection. Later in July, it was announced that Biglia would not be part of the Olympic team squad after Sergio Batista announced the final squad.

Senior career

In October 2009, Biglia hoped his performance at Anderlecht could lead him to get his first call up by then Manager Diego Maradona, but it never happened. It wasn't until in November 2010 when Biglia was called up by Batista for the match against Brazil, but did not play. In February 2011, Biglia was called up again, a decision that surprised him. Unlike his first call…

Nicknamed El Principito (Spanish for "Little Prince"), due to his diminutive stature, Biglia was usually deployed as a defensive midfielder, where he normally functioned as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield; during his time with Belgian side Anderlecht, his playing style drew comparisons with compatriot Fernando Redondo. Although Biglia was competent defensively, due to his work-rate and aggression, as well as his ability to read the game and break down opposing attacks, he had also been known for his ability to dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield or create goalscoring opportunities after winning back the ball, courtesy of his good technique, vision, passing accuracy, and anticipation, as well as his personality, temperament and leadership. He was also known for his ball-striking ability from outside the area, and is an accurate free kick and penalty kick taker. His role had also been likened to that of a metodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.

On 20 December 2011, De Standaard reported that Biglia had married his childhood friend, fellow Argentine Cecilia Ambrosio. The wedding took place at The Place Tokeh Sands in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Together, the couple has a daughter (born in 2009) After three years living in Belgium, Biglia was granted Italian citizenship through his Italian heritage. During his early career at Anderlecht, Biglia earned a nickname: "the little prince", as well as being as a perfectionist and notorious brooder. In March 2008, Biglia, along with Frutos and Pareja, were involved in a humanitarian aid to help disadvantaged young people in Argentina. However, in July 2008, Biglia rushed back to Argentina after his father died of a heart attack. He spoke out for the first time with Het Nieuwsblad in October 2008, saying that losing his father affected him. Biglia has an older brother, Christian, also a footballer, who went on a trial at Royal Antwerp in August 2009, but the trial was unsuccessful. In June 2009, Biglia was reportedly in hospital in his homeland, claiming that he had H1N1 (Swine flu) virus, but test revealed at the end that he did not.