Darío Conca
Encyclopedia
Darío Leonardo Conca or simply Darío Conca (born 11 May 1983 in General Pacheco
) is an Argentine
professional football attacking midfielder. Conca was elected for two consecutive years as the best player of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
in 2009 and 2010.
at the age of just 15 years old. River Plate
took him just a year later and Conca made the steady rise to River's first team. On 23 November 2003, under then Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini
, who later managed Real Madrid
, Conca made his first team debut in a 1–0 defeat to Chacarita Juniors.
However in 2004 Conca was loaned to Chilean club Universidad Católica
by new River manager Leonardo Astrada
and in 2005 won his first title. In 2006 River loaned him out again, this time to Rosario Central where after some impressive displays, Vasco da Gama
made a successful bid to bring him to Brazil on 5 January 2007, signing an initial one year loan deal from River Plate
. He made his Vasco debut and scored in friendly 4-0 win over Villa Rio
on 14 January 2007.
In 2008, Conca signed a loan deal with Fluminense
, and was a key player in the squad under coach Renato Gaúcho
. Conca played an important role in the team's brilliant 2008 Copa Libertadores
campaign, along with others such as Thiago Neves, Thiago Silva
, Washington, and Cícero
. In 2009, he signed a three-year deal with Fluminense. He was voted the best player in Brazil
in a poll organized annually by Globo
, and was ranked as the fifteenth best player in Latin America
and the best player in Brazil by Uruguayan newspaper El País. After a successful season where Fluminense won the Brazilian league, Conca renewed his contract with Fluminense for another five years.
On 2 July 2011, it was reported that Conca would join Chinese Super League
club Guangzhou Evergrande for an annual salary of $
10.4 million, putting him among the highest paid players in the world. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win against Nanchang Hengyuan on 14 July 2011. Conca scored 9 goals in 15 appearances as Guangzhou successfully achieved Super League champion for the first time in the club's history.
General Pacheco
General Pacheco is a city in Tigre Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The city's position inside Tigre significantly sums up to its importance inside the partido...
) is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
professional football attacking midfielder. Conca was elected for two consecutive years as the best player of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
in 2009 and 2010.
Career
Conca started his career in Argentina's Second Division, (Primera B Nacional), and made his debut for TigreClub Atlético Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre is a football club from Victoria, San Fernando Partido, Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the end of the 2006-2007 season the club was promoted to the Primera Division Argentina...
at the age of just 15 years old. River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
took him just a year later and Conca made the steady rise to River's first team. On 23 November 2003, under then Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini
Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti is a Chilean manager and former footballer. His current club is La Liga side Málaga CF.-Club career:...
, who later managed Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Conca made his first team debut in a 1–0 defeat to Chacarita Juniors.
However in 2004 Conca was loaned to Chilean club Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.Universidad Católica is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile and considered one of the three "big teams"...
by new River manager Leonardo Astrada
Leonardo Astrada
Leonardo Rubén Astrada is a retired Argentine football player, who went on to become a football manager. He currently manages Paraguayan team Cerro Porteño.-Playing career:...
and in 2005 won his first title. In 2006 River loaned him out again, this time to Rosario Central where after some impressive displays, Vasco da Gama
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama |Rowing Club]]), usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a famous and traditional Brazilian multisports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898...
made a successful bid to bring him to Brazil on 5 January 2007, signing an initial one year loan deal from River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
. He made his Vasco debut and scored in friendly 4-0 win over Villa Rio
Villa Rio Esporte Clube
Villa Rio Esporte Clube, usually known simply as Villa Rio, is a Brazilian professional football team from the city of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro state founded in 2004.-History:...
on 14 January 2007.
In 2008, Conca signed a loan deal with Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
, and was a key player in the squad under coach Renato Gaúcho
Renato Gaúcho
Renato Gaúcho, real name Renato Portaluppi is a former association footballer who played forward and a football manager, he was born in Guaporé, Rio Grande do Sul.He is currently unemployed...
. Conca played an important role in the team's brilliant 2008 Copa Libertadores
Copa Libertadores 2008
The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Santander. As such, the competition is officially the 2008 Copa Santander...
campaign, along with others such as Thiago Neves, Thiago Silva
Thiago Emiliano da Silva
Thiago Emiliano da Silva, , commonly known as Thiago Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a centre back for Italian Serie A club Milan...
, Washington, and Cícero
Cícero Santos
Cícero Santos , simply known as Cícero, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for São Paulo.-Early career:...
. In 2009, he signed a three-year deal with Fluminense. He was voted the best player in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in a poll organized annually by Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, and was ranked as the fifteenth best player in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the best player in Brazil by Uruguayan newspaper El País. After a successful season where Fluminense won the Brazilian league, Conca renewed his contract with Fluminense for another five years.
On 2 July 2011, it was reported that Conca would join Chinese Super League
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
club Guangzhou Evergrande for an annual salary of $
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
10.4 million, putting him among the highest paid players in the world. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win against Nanchang Hengyuan on 14 July 2011. Conca scored 9 goals in 15 appearances as Guangzhou successfully achieved Super League champion for the first time in the club's history.
Clubs
- Universidad CatólicaClub Deportivo Universidad CatólicaClub Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.Universidad Católica is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile and considered one of the three "big teams"...
- Chilean Primera DivisionLiga Chilena de Fútbol: Primera DivisiónThe Primera División del Fútbol Profesional Chileno is the top level of Chilean football, and main component of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional and is currently ranked 9th in the IFFHS' Best Leagues of the World ranking...
Clausura: 2005
- Chilean Primera Division
- FluminenseFluminense Football ClubFluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
- Brazilian Série ACampeonato Brasileiro Série AThe Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
: 20102010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série AThe 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A was the 40th season of the Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. It began on May 8 and ended on December 5. Flamengo came as the defending champion having won the 2009 season.-Format:...
- Brazilian Série A
- Guangzhou Evergrande
- Chinese Super LeagueChinese Super LeagueThe Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
: 20112011 Chinese Super LeagueThe 2011 Chinese Super League was the eighth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the eighteenth season of a professional association football league and the 50th top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande F.C...
- Chinese Super League
Individual
- Best Midfielder (Troféu Mesa Redonda) 2010
- Best Player (Troféu Mesa Redonda) 2010
- Bola de OuroBola de OuroThe Bola de Ouro is an award given each year, since 1973, by the authoritative Brazilian magazine Placar to the best player in the Brazilian National Championship. It is practically the equivalent to a Footballer of the Year award...
(Placar) 2010 - Bola de PrataBola de OuroThe Bola de Ouro is an award given each year, since 1973, by the authoritative Brazilian magazine Placar to the best player in the Brazilian National Championship. It is practically the equivalent to a Footballer of the Year award...
(Placar) 2010 - Best Player - People's ChoicePrêmio Craque do BrasileirãoThe Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão is an award given by the Brazilian Football Confederation and Rede Globo for the best players, head coaches, and referees of the Série A.-2005:The 2005 winners were:*Best Player: Carlos Tévez...
2009, 2010 - Série A Best PlayerPrêmio Craque do BrasileirãoThe Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão is an award given by the Brazilian Football Confederation and Rede Globo for the best players, head coaches, and referees of the Série A.-2005:The 2005 winners were:*Best Player: Carlos Tévez...
2010 - Best Left Midfielder 2010
- Most passes to goal 2010