Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi (Spanish pronunciation: [leoˈnaɾðo piskuˈlitʃi]; born 18 January 1984) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.[1] He won the Copa Sudamericana in 2014 and Copa Libertadores in 2015 with River Plate. [2][3]
Pisculichi in his return to Argentinos Juniors | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi | ||
Date of birth | (1984-01-18) 18 January 1984 (age 38) | ||
Place of birth | Rafael Castillo, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2002–2005 | Argentinos Juniors | 57 | (18) |
2006 | Mallorca | 20 | (3) |
2007–2012 | Al-Arabi | 124 | (67) |
2012–2013 | Shandong Luneng | 9 | (1) |
2014 | Argentinos Juniors | 15 | (4) |
2014–2016 | River Plate | 69 | (10) |
2017 | Vitória | 3 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Argentinos Juniors | 35 | (5) |
2019–2021 | Burgos | 38 | (6) |
National team | |||
2003 | Argentina U20 | 2 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Pisculichi started his career with Argentinos Juniors, making his first division debut on 20 February 2002, against Talleres de Córdoba. He was transferred to Spain's RCD Mallorca on 4 January 2006.[4] He netted three times in his first five games - including a penalty kick equalizer against Real Madrid on 26 February, in an eventual 2–1 home triumph.
![]() | This section contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (September 2019) |
On 30 November 2006, was transferred to Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar for €3.6 million, with the move being made effective in January of the following year.
In July 2012, Pisculichi transferred to the Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng Taishan. In 2014, he joined the Argentine powerhouse River Plate. During his tenure at River Plate, he won the 2014 Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional. He left River in December 2016 and signed for Brazilian side Esporte Clube Vitória in January 2017.
Having left Vitória in May 2017, Pisculichi signed with newly promoted Argentinos Juniors, the team he started his career with in August 2017. He was the first signing of the campaign.
In June 2019, Pisculichi had joined Spanish Segunda División B club Burgos CF.[5]
Pisculichi played 134 minutes in the 2003 South American Youth Championship held in Uruguay, representing the Argentina youth football team. He started in the game against hosts Uruguay and scored in the 82nd minute. He also came on as a substitute in a match against Brazil.[6]
He was set to be naturalized to play for the Qatar national team by 2009. However, he neglected to mention that he had previously represented the Argentina under-20 team, rendering him ineligible to play for the Qatar team without special permission from FIFA.
However, the same scenario occurred in 2012. The Al-Arabi administration wanted to naturalize him so they could have an extra foreign player in their squad to participate in the AFC Champions League. He did not gain Qatari citizenship and the club's management were criticized by local media.[6][7]
Pisculichi is of Croatian descent. His family Hispanicized their surname Piškulić (originally from the town of Novi Vinodolski) to its current spelling.
Club | Season | League | State League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Argentinos Juniors | 2001–02 | Argentine Primera División | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
2002–03 | Primera B Nacional | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
2003–04 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
2004–05 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||||
2004–05 | Argentine Primera División | 34 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 7 | |||||
2005–06 | 14 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 10 | ||||||
Mallorca | 2005–06 | La Liga | 16 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||||
2006–07 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
Total | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | ||
Al-Arabi | 2009–10 | Qatar Stars League | ? | 18 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | ? | 18 | |||
2008–09 | ? | 21 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | ? | 21 | |||||
2009–10 | ? | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | ? | 3 | |||||
2010–11 | ? | 8 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | ? | 8 | |||||
2011–12 | 21 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | — | 26 | 2 | ||||
Total | ? | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ? | 57 | ||
Shandong Luneng | 2012 | Chinese Super League | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
2013 | 7 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||||
Total | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
Argentinos Juniors | 2013–14 | Argentine Primera División | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | ||||
River Plate | 2014 | Argentine Primera División | 16 | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | 9[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | — | 27 | 7 | ||
2015 | 17 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 12[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 34 | 1 | |||
2016 | 7 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
Total | 40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 10 | ||
Vitória | 2017 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
Argentinos Juniors | 2017–18 | Argentine Primera División | 18 | 5 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 5 | |||
2018–19 | 17 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
Total | 110 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 28 | ||
Burgos | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 22 | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | |||
2020–21 | 10 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||||
Total | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 6 | ||
Career total | ? | 99 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 0 | ? | 105 |
2014 South American Team of the Year | |
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