Fernando Daniel Belluschi (, ; born 10 September 1983) is an Argentine former professional player. During his playing career, Belluschi was a midfielder. Belluschi played for clubs as River Plate or San Lorenzo in Argentina, Olympiacos in Greece or Porto in Portugal.
Club career Belluschi began playing professionally at Newell's Old Boys in 2002, with whom he won the 2004 Apertura Championship. He moved to River Plate in 2006 and with the departure of Marcelo Gallardo to Paris Saint-Germain following the 2006 Apertura, he was named team captain, a position he would fill for two years. He then joined Olympiacos for reported €6.5 million in early 2008.
On 6 July 2009, Porto purchased Belluschi's playing rights and 50% of his economic rightsEconomic rights stand for the portion of the future transfer fee that Porto will receive for €5 million. The other 50% was owned by private investment company Rio Football Services Ltd. He signed a contract until 2013 with a release clause of €30 million.
In 2012, Belluschi was sent on to Genoa under a purchasing option of €3.5 million, or €5 million if the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League. In summer 2012, Porto sold its 50% ownership of his economic rights for €1.05 million.
On 10 July 2015, Cruz Azul signed Belluschi on a free transfer. His salary was set at €1.1 million. He debuted for the side as a substitute in the 61st minute for an injured Marc Crosas in the Clasico Joven. He did not receive his international pass until the Clasico Joven, which was why he did not participate in any league matches up to that point. He failed to score for Cruz Azul, having a penalty saved by Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Fraga on matchday 11.
On 26 January 2016, San Lorenzo signed the then-32-year-old Belluschi on a free transfer.
Career statistics
+Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsNewell's Old Boys2002–03Argentine Primera División100————1002003–04Argentine Primera División121————1212004–05Argentine Primera División338——20—3582005–06Argentine Primera División3511——90—4411Total9020——110—10120River Plate2006–07Argentine Primera División366——120—4862007–08Argentine Primera División127——00—127Total4813——120—6013Olympiacos Piraeus2007–08Super League Greece11130—20—1612008–09Super League Greece25561—82—398Total36691—102—559Porto2009–10Primeira Liga273513140104052010–11Primeira Liga2624020131104632011–12Primeira Liga16120205020271Total69611171221401139Genoa (loan)2011–12Serie A14100———141Bursaspor2012–13Süper Lig30531—00—3362013–14Süper Lig27391—10—3742014–15Süper Lig32391—10—424Total8911213—20—11214Cruz Azul2015–16Liga MX8000———80San Lorenzo2016Argentine Primera División14241—11111 3052016–17Argentine Primera División 26 6 2 0 —10 2 — 3882017–18Argentine Primera División 15 2 2 0 —0 0 — 1722018–19Argentine Primera División130000030—1602019–20Argentine Primera División910000——91Total 77 11 8 1 0024 3 1 1 11016Lanús2019–20Argentine Primera División40001060—1102020–21Argentine Primera División60000000—60Total100001060—170Newell's Old Boys2021Argentine Primera División100000020—120Estudiantes RC2022Primera Nacional222————2222023Primera Nacional24110———251Total46310———473Career totals 497 71 50 6 8189 6 5 1 64985
International career Belluschi has won six caps for Argentina, all in friendlies. In November 2017, after six years away from the national team, Belluschi was named in coach Jorge Sampaoli's squad for friendlies against Russia and Nigeria in the former.
Personal life Belluschi is married to Florencia, whom he met in his home city of Los Quirquinchos. They began dating when he was 17 years old and have been together since. He is best friends with fellow professional footballer Ignacio Scocco, and both served as best men at each other's wedding.
Belluschi also holds an Italian passport due to his Italian ancestry from the province of Pavia, where his paternal great-grandfather emigrated to Argentina from.
Honours Newell's Old Boys Argentine Primera División: Torneo Apertura 2004
Olympiacos Super League Greece: 2007–08, 2008–09 Greek Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09
Porto Primeira Liga: 2010–11, 2011–12 Taça de Portugal: 2009–10, 2010–11 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011 UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
San Lorenzo Supercopa Argentina: 2015 Argentina South American Youth Championship: 2003 Individual Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 2016
References
External links
Player Profile on the River Plate Website at Fútbol XXI