Walter Samuel

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Luján and the second or maternal family name is Samuel.
Walter Samuel

Samuel with Internazionale in October 2011
Personal information
Full name Walter Adrián Luján Samuel
Date of birth (1978-03-23) 23 March 1978
Place of birth Laborde, Argentina
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Newell's Old Boys 42 (0)
1997–2000 Boca Juniors 77 (4)
2000–2004 Roma 122 (9)
2004–2005 Real Madrid 30 (2)
2005–2014 Internazionale 169 (14)
2014–2016 Basel 29 (2)
Total 469 (31)
National team
1997 Argentina U20 6 (0)
1999–2010 Argentina 56 (5)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Walter Adrián Luján Samuel (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwalter saˈmwel]; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is a retired Argentine professional footballer.[1] Gifted with natural power and good defensive skills, Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation,[2] and as one of football's toughest defenders,[3] with former international teammate and Inter captain Javier Zanetti referring to him as the "hardest player" he has played with.

Samuel began his club career with domestic club Newell's Old Boys in 1996, later moving to Boca Juniors the following year. This was soon followed by a move to Europe in 2000, and spells with Italian club Roma, and Spanish club Real Madrid. In 2005, he returned to Italy, joining Inter, where he remained for nine seasons, winning five consecutive Serie A titles; he played a key role in the club's treble success in the 2009–10 season, partnering with Lúcio in defence under José Mourinho. At international level, he has accumulated over 50 caps for the Argentine national team, representing his country at two FIFA World Cups, the 1999 Copa América, and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won a runners-up medal.

Early life and personal life

Samuel was born Walter Adrián Luján, but adopted the family name of his stepfather, "Samuel" as a teenager.[4] He has a daughter and two sons with his wife Cecilia.[5]

Club career

Walter Samuel with Internazionale.

Early career

Samuel started playing professionally in 1996 in Argentina for Newell's Old Boys, and a year later moved to Boca Juniors, where he played 103 matches and scored five goals in all competitions until 2000.[6] In that year, Roma bought his contract for 40.265 billion Italian lire (about €20 million).[7][8] He gained fame as one of the best defenders in the Italian league and gained a nickname to match, winning the Serie A title with Roma in 2001.[9] His quality attracted interest from Spanish team Real Madrid.

Real Madrid paid €25 million for his transfer in 2004.[10] Samuel failed to make an impact at Madrid and was not the leader at the back that Real so desperately needed. He was one of the three non-EU players of the team, along with Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos; they all obtained Spanish passports, however, in 2005.[11]

Internazionale

In August 2005, he returned to the Serie A with a transfer to Internazionale on a four-year contract for reported €16 million fee.[12]

Walter Samuel with Internazionale as a substitute.

In the Derby della Madonnina on 23 December 2007, he hurt himself whilst marking the Brazilian international Kaká, and a couple weeks later, he had reconstructive surgery on his medial collateral ligament. He was expected to be out until the end of the 2007–08 season. In actuality, he started training with the first team again in October of the 2008–09 season and promptly earned a first team place back under manager José Mourinho. Under Mourinho Samuel was a fixture in Inter's first team, alongside his defensive partner Lúcio, as they won the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2009–10 season, completing a historic treble.[13] Samuel was praised for his defensive performances against Barcelona and Bayern Munich on Inter's road to the Champions League title. Samuel suffered a severe knee injury in the 7 November 2010 fixture against Brescia.[14]

Basel

After 9 seasons with Inter, on July 23, 2014, Samuel signed a one-year contract with Basel in the Swiss Super League.[15] He made his first team league debut on 31 August 2014 in the 3–1 home win against the Young Boys.[16] The Basel 2014–15 Super League season was a very successful one. They won the championship for the sixth time in a row[17] and reached the final of the 2014–15 Swiss Cup. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw in Anfield against Liverpool.[18] But then Basel then lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under trainer Paulo Sousa Samuel totaled 26 appearances, 13 League, 1 Cup, 4 Champions League, as well 8 in test games. He scored 2 goals in these matches.[19]

In June 2015, Samuel prolonged his contract with Basel for another year;[20] in October, however, he communicated his intention to retire at the end of the 2015–16 season, due to physical difficulties.[21] He made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance playing for them in the closing match of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage during the 1–0 away win in the INEA Stadion against Lech Poznań on 10 December 2015.[22]

Under trainer Urs Fischer Samuel won the Swiss Super League championship wit Basel at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season for the second time. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total.[23] Samuel played the final match of his career in a 1–0 home defeat against Grasshoppers, on 25 May 2016, at the age of 38.[9][24][25]

International career

Samuel has played 56 matches for Argentina between 1999 and 2010, scoring five goals.[26] He played for his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup,[27][28] as well as in the 1999 Copa América,[29] and in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup,[28] in which Argentina won a runners-up medal.[30]

Style of play

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation,[2] Samuel was a large, quick, powerful, and aggressive centreback, who excelled in the air, both defensively, and as a goal threat on set pieces. His defensive skills, which included an excellent positional sense, tough, tight marking, and hard tackling, made him extremely effective at anticipating opponents. His strong, uncompromising style of play earnt him the nickname Il Muro ("The Wall").[3][24][31] Despite his ability as a defender, his career was also marked by several injuries that affected his fitness.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of 25 May 2016.[32][33]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newell's Old Boys
1995–96 50———50
1996–97 350———350
1997–98 20———20
Total 420———420
Boca Juniors
1997–98 120———120
1998–99 342—70—412
1999–00 312—191—503
Total 774—261—1035
Roma
2000–01 3412083—414
2001–02 305201201[lower-alpha 1]0455
2002–03 31260100—472
2003–04 3012080—401
Total 12291203831017312
Real Madrid
2004–05 3022080—402
Total 3022080—402
Internazionale
2005–06 27250901[lower-alpha 1]0422
2006–07 18350301[lower-alpha 1]0273
2007–08 120105100181
2008–09 171201000201
2009–10 2831013100424
2010–11 10000302[lower-alpha 2]0130
2011–12 27210611[lower-alpha 1]0353
2012–13 1611050—221
2013–14 14210——152
Total 169141704535023617
Basel
2014–15 1212040—181
2015–16 1713071—272
Total 29250111—473
Career total 469313601288—64139
  1. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in the Supercoppa Italiana
  2. ↑ One appearances in the UEFA Super Cup and one appearance in the Supercoppa Italiana

International

[34]

Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
1999101
2000100
200182
200260
200351
200460
200551
200620
200700
200800
200900
201040
Total565

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors[35]
Roma[35]
Internazionale[36]
FC Basel[32]

International

Argentina U-20
Argentina[32]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Basel secure Samuel signature". TEAMtalk. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 Joe Wright (18 February 2015). "Walter Samuel, il Muro si è sgretolato a Basilea" (in Italian). Goal.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Christian Liotta (19 February 2014). "Tutto Samuel: Inter, la tappa più importante! Gli attaccanti più forti..."" (in Italian). F.C. Inter News.it. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "El juvenil Luján que asombró a Argentina" – Diario AS (Spanish)
  5. ↑ "Congratulations to the Samuel family". Inter.it. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "Samuel, Walter Adrián". Historiadeboca.com.ar. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "BILANCIO D'ESERCIZIO E CONSOLIDATO DI GRUPPO AL 30 GIUGNO 2000" (PDF). AS Roma (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Samuel a Roma!". AS Roma (in Italian). 4 April 2000. Archived from the original on 13 April 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  9. 1 2 Tommaso Maggi (26 May 2016). "Samuel, l'addio di una leggenda. Le lacrime con Aldair e Burdisso" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  10. ↑ PERFEZIONATO IL CONTRATTO DI TRASFERIMENTO DEL CALCIATORE SAMUEL
  11. ↑ "Ronaldo e Samuel comunitari come Carlos" (require login). La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 4 July 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "Inter complete Samuel signing". uefa.com. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  13. ↑ SW Lim (29 August 2015). "Miranda: Murillo and I are like Lucio and Samuel". goal.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Walter SAMUEL out for 6-8 months". Mundo Albiceleste. 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  15. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2014). "Walter Samuel zum FC Basel" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  16. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2014). "FCB-YB 3–1: Dank Effizienz zum Sieg gegen die Berner" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
  17. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-05-29. (German)
  18. ↑ "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  19. ↑ Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
  20. ↑ "BASILEA: SAMUEL RINNOVA IL CONTRATTO" (in Italian). Mediaset. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Samuel announces retirement". Football Italia. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  22. ↑ EUFA.com (2015). "Samuel reaches century as Basel beat Lech". EUFA.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  23. ↑ Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  24. 1 2 3 Matteo Serra (25 May 2016). "Si ritira Samuel, il muro del Triplete" (in Italian). CalcioMercato.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "FC Basel bs. Grasshoppers". ESPN FC. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "Basel snap up experienced defender Samuel". UEFA.com. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Happy birthday to you!". FIFA.com. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Walter SAMUEL". FIFA.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  29. ↑ Neil Morrison (2 February 2005). "1999 INTERNATIONAL MATCHES". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Argentina Team Of The Decade 2000-2010". Goal.com. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  31. ↑ "Campioni ai Raggi X - Walter Samuel: Il Muro Nerazzurro" (in Italian). Calcio Mercato.it. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  32. 1 2 3 "Argentina - W. Samuel - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  33. ↑ "Football : Walter Samuel". Football Database. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  34. ↑ "Wálter Samuel". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  35. 1 2 "Walter Samuel – UEFA.com". Union of European Football Associations. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  36. ↑ "WALTER ADRIAN SAMUEL – CAREER AND HONOURS". Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  37. ↑ "INTER TRIUMPH AT AIC 2010 'FOOTBALL OSCARS'". 25 January 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  38. ↑ "South American Team of the Year". 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  39. ↑ Karel Stokkermans (14 March 2007). "ESM XI". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  40. ↑ http://www.fifpro.org/en/events/world-xi/players?sortname2=2010
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