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Thiago Ezequiel Almada (born 26 April 2001) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United and the Argentina national team.

Thiago Almada

Personal information
Full name	Thiago Ezequiel Almada[1]
Date of birth	(2001-04-26) 26 April 2001 (age 21)
Place of birth	Ciudadela, Argentina
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, winger
Club information
Current team	Atlanta United
Number	8
Youth career
2005–2006	Santa Clara
2006–2018	Vélez Sarsfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2022	Vélez Sarsfield	79	(17)
2022–	Atlanta United	29	(6)
National team‡
2019	Argentina U20	6	(1)
2021	Argentina U23	2	(0)
2022–	Argentina	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:52, 9 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:33, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

Early life

Thiago 'Guayo' Ezequiel Almada was born on 26 April 2001, in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires in Argentina. He grew up in the neighborhood of Fuerte Apache, which is known for high crime rates and prevalent drug use.[3] Almada spent many of his early years selling fruit and vegetables door-to-door to earn extra money. Much time was spent with his grandparents while his parents worked.[4]

Club career

Vélez Sarsfield

At the age of four, Almada was playing football for a local club, Santa Clara, where Carlos Tevez also began his career. He was picked up by Vélez Sarsfield at age five where he made his way through the youth academy. In August 2018, just four months shy of his 17th birthday, Almada made his professional debut with the club.^{[citation needed]} In October 2018, he was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2018".[5]

Almada began his first-team career as a wing forward under manager Gabriel Heinze. He played alongside Matías Vargas, Nicolás Domínguez, Lucas Robertone, and Fernando Gago. In his first two years with Heinze at the helm, Almada appeared in 46 matches and tallied nine goals.^{[citation needed]} In 2020, new club manager Mauricio Pellegrino, moved Almada to midfielder, due to the departure of several players. In the two seasons since the move to midfield, Almada earned 15 goals in 42 matches.^{[citation needed]}

Atlanta United

On 4 December 2021, Vélez Sarsfield announced that it had reached an agreement with Major League Soccer club Atlanta United for the pre-transfer of Almada in February 2022.[6] The transfer, reportedly worth a league-record $16 million, was officially announced by Atlanta on 9 February 2022.[7][8]

On 10 February 2022, Atlanta United had officially announced the transfer of Almada with a series of photos on the club's Instagram page, showing him with the club's president Darren Eales at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in downtown Atlanta. Shortly afterwards, Almada was unveiled in the club's kit for the very first time in front of thousands of fans in a virtual welcome ceremony (due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic).[9]

On 11 February 2022, Almada came under scrutiny from supporters in Atlanta after it was revealed that in his final match for Sarsfield, he had scored a goal, and celebrated with a racially insensitive gesture with his eyes, this had raised many concerns for the club and his future, but he had apologized shortly after being asked about the situation.[10]

On 14 February 2022, Almada made his official debut for Atlanta wearing the number 8, in a pre-season match versus Mexican outfit C.D. Guadalajara during Atlanta's pre-season tour of Mexico. Atlanta would end up losing the match 3–0.[11]

On 15 March 2022, Almada made his MLS debut against expansion team Charlotte FC as a substitute, in Atlanta's win against them, 2-1. Almada had 18 touches in 34 minutes, he said that "I wanted to be here,” “I wanted to get to know everybody. It worked out well in the end. I’m here. I’m ready to fight for everything that we have to fight for.” Shortly after the Charlotte FC game, on 19 March 2022, Almada scored his first ever MLS goal in a 3-3 draw vs CF Montreal. The goal would end up winning the MLS' Goal of The Week contest for Matchday 4.[12]

International career

Almada played for the Argentina U20 squad in 2019 and the Argentina U-23 squad in 2021.^{[citation needed]}

His debut in the Argentina National Football Team came on September 23rd, 2022, in Miami during a friendly match against Honduras.

Almada has been officially called up to the 2022 Argentinian World Cup squad to replace injured Joaquin Correa only five days before Argentina’s first game of the tournament.

Personal life

In February 2021, Almada was identified as a person of interest by local authorities after a party in San Isidro, Buenos Aires on 4 December 2020. A 28-year-old woman said she was sexually abused by several people in a house rented by Martín Lucero. His club suspended both him and Miguel Brizuela after the investigation became public.[13] A week after Almada was suspended, he was reinstated with the club stating, "substantial modifications were generated by virtue of the incorporation of new evidence, expertise and testimonies."[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 October 2022[15]

Club	Season	League			National cup[lower-alpha 1]		League cup[lower-alpha 2]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vélez Sarsfield	2018–19	Argentine Primera División	16	3	1	0	4	1	—		—		21	4
	2019–20	Argentine Primera División	22	4	0	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	1	—		25	5
	2020–21	Argentine Primera División	—		—		—		8	4	—		8	4
	2021	Argentine Primera División	7	3	0	0	7	4	6	2	—		20	9
	Total		45	10	1	0	12	5	16	7	—		74	22
Atlanta United	2022	Major League Soccer	29	6	2	1	—		—		—		31	7
Career total			74	16	3	1	12	5	16	7	0	0	105	29

International

As of match played 23 September 2022[16]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2022	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Individual

• MLS Newcomer of the Year: 2022[17]

References

На других языках

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[de] Thiago Almada

Thiago Ezequiel Almada (* 26. April 2001 in Buenos Aires) ist ein argentinischer Fußballspieler.

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- [en] Thiago Almada

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[es] Thiago Almada

Thiago Almada (4 de abril del 2001) es un futbolista argentino. Se desempeña como mediocampista ofensivo y su equipo actual es el Atlanta United F. C. de la Major League Soccer de los Estados Unidos. Es jugador internacional con la selección de Argentina.

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[it] Thiago Almada

Thiago Almada (Fuerte Apache, 26 aprile 2001) è un calciatore argentino, centrocampista o attaccante dell'Atlanta Utd e della nazionale argentina.

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[ru] Альмада, Тьяго

Тья́го Эсекье́ль Альма́да (исп. Thiago Ezequiel Almada; родился 26 апреля 2001, Буэнос-Айрес) — аргентинский футболист, атакующий полузащитник клуба «Атланта Юнайтед» и сборной Аргентины.

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