Santiago Silva
Personal information
Full name Santiago Martín Silva Olivera
Date of birth (1980-12-09) 9 December 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 El Palo Fútbol Club
Number 9
Youth career
Central Español
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Central Español 3 (1)
1999–2000 River Plate (Montevideo) 28 (15)
2001 Defensor Sporting 14 (8)
2002 Corinthians 5 (0)
2002 Nacional 7 (0)
2003 River Plate (Montevideo) 10 (0)
2003–2004 Energie Cottbus 32 (9)
2004–2005 Beira-Mar 30 (8)
2005 Newell's Old Boys 14 (4)
2006 Central Español 13 (3)
2006–2007 Gimnasia La Plata 35 (14)
2007–2011 Vélez Sarsfield 76 (34)
2009 → Banfield (loan) 35 (22)
2011 Fiorentina 12 (1)
2012–2013 Boca Juniors 56 (20)
2013–2015 Lanús 54 (13)
2015 Arsenal de Sarandi 20 (7)
2016 Banfield 26 (11)
2017–2018 Universidad Católica 22 (3)
2018 Talleres 13 (4)
2018–2019 Gimnasia La Plata 21 (5)
2019–2020 Argentinos Juniors 21 (4)
2022–2023 Aldosivi 39 (3)
2023 El Palo Fútbol Club 14 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 march 2024

Santiago Martín Silva Olivera (born 9 December 1980) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for El Palo Fútbol Club. His nickname is El Tanque (The Tank).[1]

Career

Silva started his career in Uruguay playing for Central Español, River Plate Montevideo and Defensor Sporting.[2] He then had his first spell outside the country playing with Brazilian side SC Corinthians. However, after half a year he returned to Uruguay to play for Nacional[3] (where he won the 2002 Uruguayan Primera División), and a second period with River Plate.

Subsequently, Silva had two European spells with German Energie Cottbus and Portuguese S.C. Beira-Mar. In 2005, he had his first spell in Argentina playing half a season for Newell's Old Boys. After half a year back in Uruguay with his first team, Central Español, Silva returned to Argentina to play for Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata in 2006. Three years after his period at Gimnasia, the Uruguayan forward admitted to the press that the team lost on purpose a match against Boca Juniors, who were challenging the 2006 Apertura with Gimnasia's rivals Estudiantes de La Plata, after pressure from their own team's hooligans.[4]

Silva joined Vélez Sarsfield in 2007,[5] and was loaned to Banfield in 2009. He played 2 Short tournaments with Banfield scoring 22 goals in 35 games with the team. During the 2009 Apertura he scored 14 goals in 18 games,[6] including two in the victory on the derby against Lanús.[7] Silva helped Banfield obtain their first Argentine Primera División title of their history and finished as the tournament's top scorer in the process. During his time in Banfield, he played along fellow Uruguayan player Sebastián Fernández as his striking partner.

In January 2010, he returned from his loan to Vélez Sársfield.[8] He made a strong striking partnership with Juan Manuel Martínez during the 2010 Apertura (in which Vélez was runner-up). Silva started the 19 games and scored 11 goals,[9] while Martínez scored a further 10 in 19. The Uruguayan forward also finished the tournament as league top scorer, along Tigre's Denis Stracqualursi.[10]

The following semester, Silva won his second Argentine league title (first with Vélez) playing 13 games and scoring 7 goals during the 2011 Clausura.[11] However, he was not the team's top goalscorer, due to David Ramírez finishing the tournament one goal ahead. He also helped his team reach the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, playing 9 games and scoring 4 times.

Silva started the 2011–12 season with Vélez, playing two games and scoring once. However, on August 23, Fiorentina paid his contract's buyout clause of €1.73 million.[12] Silva decided to join the Italian club citing personal reasons (he wanted a second chance in European football), despite there not being an economical difference between the contract offered by Fiorentina and the renewal offered by Vélez.[13]

Later on in 2012, he played for the Argentine team Boca Juniors. He made his first goal against Estudiantes (LP) and in the Copa Libertadores 2012 he scored a goal against Unión Española scoring his first goal in the tournament with Boca Juniors. After Boca qualified to the Quarter Finals they played against Brazilian team Fluminense were Silva in the second game leading by the 90 minute, scored the 1-1 which made Boca Juniors qualify to the Semi Finals. He later scored against Universidad de Chile which qualified Boca Juniors to the Finals, where they lost 2-0 against Corinthians which became champions in Copa Libertadores 2012.

In 2015, Silva signed for Arsenal de Sarandí after a spell at Lanús, in which he played a key part in winning the Copa Sudamericana.

On 1 January 2016, Silva returned to Banfield.[14]

Honours

Club

Nacional
Banfield
Vélez Sársfield
Boca Juniors
Lanús

Individual

References

  1. ^ "El "Tanque" Silva le dio el triunfo a Boca". Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  2. ^ Francisco Connio (2001-01-13). "Santiago Silva jugará en Defensor Sporting". La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  3. ^ "Santiago Silva, Fernando Machado y Limberg Gutiérrez son los refuerzos". La República (in Spanish). 2002-07-10. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  4. ^ "Santiago Silva admitió haberse dejado ganar por amenazas de hinchas de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 2009-11-25. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  5. ^ "Silva ya está en Vélez". La Razón (in Spanish). 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  6. ^ "Profile". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  7. ^ "Los goles de Silva aúpan al Banfield al segundo puesto". Marca (in Spanish). 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  8. ^ "Santiago Silva se entrena con Vélez". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 2010-01-12. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  9. ^ "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  10. ^ Diego Morini (2010-12-17). "En Vélez cuando se habla de gol, se habla de Silva". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  11. ^ "Closing '11 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
  12. ^ "Vélez, el nuevo millonario". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  13. ^ "Fiorentina paga la cláusula y se lleva los goles de Silva". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  14. ^ "Santiago Silva, nuevo refuerzo de Banfield" [Santiago Silva, further strengthening of Banfield] (in Spanish). Club Atlético Banfield. January 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.

External links

Club Atlético Aldosivi – current squad
2010 South American Team of the Year
Argentine Primera División top scorers
Categories