Juan Sebastián Verón

Juan Sebastián Verón
Verón with Estudiantes de La Plata in 2017
President of Estudiantes de La Plata
In office
4 October 2014  2020
Preceded byEnrique Lombardi
Succeeded byMartín Gorostegui
President of Estudiantes de La Plata
In office
6 April 2024  Incumbent
Preceded byMartín Gorostegui
Personal details
Born
Juan Sebastián Verón

(1975-03-09) 9 March 1975
La Plata, Argentina
OccupationFootballer

Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1993–1994 Estudiantes LP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Estudiantes LP 60 (7)
1996 Boca Juniors 17 (4)
1996–1998 Sampdoria 61 (7)
1998–1999 Parma 26 (1)
1999–2001 Lazio 53 (11)
2001–2003 Manchester United 51 (7)
2003–2007 Chelsea 7 (1)
2004–2006Inter Milan (loan) 49 (3)
2006–2007Estudiantes (loan) 30 (2)
2007–2012 Estudiantes 107 (18)
2012 Brandsen 28 (7)
2013–2014 Estudiantes LP 21 (0)
2017 Estudiantes LP 0 (0)
Total 510 (72)
International career
1996–2010 Argentina 72 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Juan Sebastián Verón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan seβasˈtjam beˈɾon]; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. In 2004, Verón was included in the FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers, selected by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. Verón has both Argentine and Italian citizenship. His nickname is "La Brujita" [la βɾuˈxita] (The Little Witch), a nod to his father Juan Ramón who was known as "La Bruja" (The Witch) and was also a championship winning player with Estudiantes.

A midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, continued in Argentina's Boca Juniors, and included stints in several clubs in the Italian Serie A (where he won the Scudetto with Lazio and with Inter Milan, and a UEFA Cup with Parma), and England's Manchester United and Chelsea. In 2006, he returned to Estudiantes, where he remained until his retirement in 2014, aside from a brief spell with Brandsen. He announced his short return to first team football would occur in the 2017 Copa Libertadores.

At international level, Verón obtained 72 caps for Argentina between 1996 and 2010, scoring nine goals. He represented his nation at three FIFA World Cups, and 2007 Copa América.