Gabriel Paletta


Personal information

Full name	Gabriel Alejandro Paletta
Date of birth	15 February 1986
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	190 cm
Club information
Previous clubs	Banfield
Number	6
Position	Centre Back
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
2004-2006 2006-Present	Banfield Liverpool	36 (4) 0 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 April 06.

Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born 15 February, 1986) is an Argentinian central defender, who signed for Liverpool F.C. in the summer of 2006 from Club Atlético Banfield for an undisclosed fee. He will be the second Argentine to play for Liverpool, after Mauricio Pellegrino

Career

Paletta first came to prominence in 2005. At the start of the year he was still yet to make his first team debut with Banfield, but when he finally got his chance he impressed. When Banfield qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores they altered their 25 man squad for the event to include Paletta and immediately threw him into action against the Colombian team Independiente Medellín.

Paletta played well and Banfield progressed, but Paletta was to play no further part in the tournament after being called up to the Argentinian under-20 team to contest the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Paletta started all seven games playing in the heart of the Argentine defence. Argentina lead upfront by Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero went on to win the tournament and Paletta's performances brought him to the attention of Liverpool's scouts.

Rafael Benitez said of the player: "Paletta is very tough and he's exactly the sort of player we need who will suit the Premiership. When you talk about the Argentinean defenders I worked with in Valencia, Paletta is more like Roberto Ayala than Mauricio Pellegrino. If you're talking about Liverpool, he's more like Jamie Carragher than Sami Hyypia. This is good because we will have a balance in the style of defenders."