Emiliano Insúa

Early career

Insúa began his football career with youth team Pinocho in Villa Urquiza, Argentina, later moving to, Buenos Aires-based team, Boca Juniors. The left back did not break into the first-team at La Bombonera when he caught the attention of scouts Frank McParland and Paddy Murphy from Liverpool. After some solid performances for the Argentinian U17s, many clubs were desperate to sign him, a player who rarely had appearances for his then club, and Boca were also very keen to get a profit from this young prodigy which led to negotiations between Liverpool and Boca. The defender agreed to an 18-month loan deal with the Merseyside club on 28 November 2006, beginning his loan period in January.

Liverpool

Insúa made his first-team debut against Portsmouth on 28 April 2007, but made only one more league appearance that season. His loan deal was made permanent in August 2007 in the deal which saw Gabriel Paletta move 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 youngsters. His performances impressed manager Rafael Benítez enough to offer him a new three-year deal at the club. In December 2008 Insua got a run of games in the Liverpool first team, due to an injury to Fábio Aurélio and also due to the form of Andrea Dossena. Insúa found himself starting in Liverpool's opening six Premier League games and the…

The player succeeded on the Under-20s international scene, playing three games to finish with the runner-up medal at the 2007 South American Youth Championship, which served as a qualifier for the FIFA U20 World Cup where he played seven games, conceding just 4 goals in the entire tournament and aiding the Argentina Under-20 team to victory against the Czech Republic in the FIFA U20 World Cup final on 22 July 2007. On 24 August 2009, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez 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.

Club

As of match played 5 November 2020

International

Insúa is a citizen of the European Union through one of his grandparents, who is Spanish. His younger brother, Emanuel, is also a footballer and left back.