Germán Denis
Denis with Napoli in 2009
Personal information
Full name Germán Gustavo Denis
Date of birth (1981-09-10) 10 September 1981
Place of birth Remedios de Escalada, Argentina
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1999 Talleres RE 33 (25)
2000 Quilmes 4 (2)
2000–2001 Los Andes 28 (18)
2002–2003 Cesena 29 (3)
2003–2005 Arsenal de Sarandí 54 (13)
2005–2006 Colón 36 (11)
2006–2008 Independiente 70 (37)
2008–2010 Napoli 63 (13)
2010–2012 Udinese 25 (4)
2011–2012 → Atalanta (loan) 33 (16)
2012–2016 Atalanta 120 (40)
2016–2017 Independiente 26 (5)
2017–2018 Lanús 24 (5)
2018–2019 Universitario 32 (16)
2019–2022 Reggina 62 (17)
2022–2023 Real Calepina 25 (5)
2023 La Fiorita 2 (0)
International career
2007 Argentina 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 May 2022

Germán Gustavo Denis (born 10 September 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Career

Denis began his career in 1997 playing for his local team Talleres de Remedios de Escalada in Primera B Metropolitana, the regionalised third division of Argentine football.

In 2000, he moved to Primera newcomers Club Atlético Los Andes, in Lomas de Zamora, but the club was relegated at the end of his first season. He continued playing for them in Primera B Nacional until he was signed by Italian Serie B side Cesena.

In 2003, Denis made his return to Argentina and the Primera Division with Jorge Burruchaga's Arsenal de Sarandí. He played for them for two seasons before moving on to Colón. In summer 2006, he rejoined former manager Jorge Burruchaga at Independiente.

After scoring 15 goals in the first 13 games of the Apertura 2007 tournament, Denis was called up to join the Argentina national team for the first two matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, against Chile and Venezuela. He made his debut with a brief substitute appearance against Venezuela on 16 October 2007.

Napoli

In June 2008 Denis signed for Italian Serie A club Napoli for a fee about €7.5285 million.[1][2]

In his first appearance for the club, he scored a hat-trick as Napoli ran out winners in a friendly against Austrian side Jennersdorf. Napoli beat Jennersdorf 10–0. Denis scored his first official goal for Napoli against Vllaznia in the UEFA Cup, on 14 August 2008. He also scored once more in the UEFA Cup against Benfica. On 29 October, Denis scored the first hat-trick of his career in Serie A during Napoli's 3–0 victory over Reggina. However, new manager Donadoni preferred the Zalayeta-Lavezzi striking partnership, reducing Denis's playing time.

Udinese

Denis moved to Udinese for the 2010–11 Serie A season. He played the second leg against Arsenal in 2011–12 UEFA Champions League play-off round.

Atalanta

Upon achieving promotion from Serie B, Atalanta B.C. signed Denis on a season-long loan for the 2011–12 season.[3] Denis scored 12 goals in 16 matches between the start of the season and the winter break. He then scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory against Roma on 26 February 2012, bringing his goal tally up to 15 for the season.[4] Denis ended the season as the club's top scorer with 16 goals.

In November 2011, Atalanta director Pierpaolo Marino confirmed that Denis would join the club on a permanent deal after the end of the player's loan contract.[5] On 19 June, the deal was finalized and Denis signed a three-year contract with the club for an undisclosed fee.[6]

On 27 April 2015, Denis was banned for five matches after he burst into the opposition dressing room the day before and punched Empoli defender Lorenzo Tonelli.[7]

On 30 January 2016, Denis scored on his final appearance for Atalanta, a 1–1 draw against Sassuolo, before returning to play for Independiente in Argentina. He is the joint-highest non-Italian goalscorer in the club's history in Serie A, alongside Duván Zapata, with 56 goals.[8][9]

Later years: Reggina and Italian Serie D

Denis signed a two-year contract with Serie C club Reggina on 22 August 2019, making a return to Italy after three years.[10] He was part of the squad that won promotion to Serie B, and played in the Italian second division with the Calabrians as well, before leaving Reggina by the end of the 2021–22 season.

Retirement, La Fiorita and Retirement

On 7 May 2023, Denis announced his retirement from football. However, on 24 June 2023, Denis confirmed that he came out of retirement and joined Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio club La Fiorita. After a few matches, Denis announced his retirement again from football.

Style of play

A powerful striker, who is capable of playing anywhere along the front-line, and of using his physique to hold up the ball for teammates, Denis is known for his goalscoring, as well as ability in the air.[11] During his time in Argentina, he was given the nickname el tanque, which means the tank in Spanish, due to his physical strength.[12] He is also an accurate penalty taker.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played on 21 February 2018[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Colón 2005–06 Argentine Primera División 361100003611
Independiente 2006–07 Argentine Primera División 341000003410
2007–08 362700003627
Total 703700007037
Napoli 2008–09 Serie A 348004[lower-alpha 1]23810
2009–10 2952000315
Total 631320426915
Udinese 2010–11 Serie A 2542100275
2011–12 00001[lower-alpha 2]010
Total 2542110285
Atalanta 2011–12 Serie A 331600003316
2012–13 361520003815
2013–14 371310003813
2014–15 3281000338
2015–16 1541000164
Total 15356500015856
Independiente2016Argentine Primera División 153201[lower-alpha 3]0183
2016–17 112001[lower-alpha 4]0122
Total 2652020305
Lanús2016–17Argentine Primera División 63005[lower-alpha 5]1114
2017–18 112203[lower-alpha 5]0162
Total 1752081266
Career total 390131131153418135

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "German Denis in azzurro, contratto quinquennale".
  2. ↑ S.S.C. Napoli S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2008 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
  3. ↑ Movimenti di mercato in uscita (Market movements); Udinese Calcio, 25 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012. (in Italian)
  4. ↑ ATALANTA VS. ROMA 4 – 1; Global Sports Media. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Atalanta's Pierpaolo Marino confirms German Denis will join on a permanent deal; Goal.com, 6 November 2011. Retrieved on 13 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Atalanta now own Denis". Football Italia. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Five game ban for Denis". Football Italia. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Addio con gol (e lacrime) per Denis, l'Atalanta ferma il Sassuolo" (in Italian). La Stampa. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Serie A, la stagione 2020/21 in numeri". News – Sportmediaset (in Italian). Mediaset. 24 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "EL TANQUE ES OFICIAL!" (Press release) (in Italian). Reggina. 22 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Marco Azzi (22 July 2008). "La vita 'segreta' di Denis il tedesco nato in Argentina" [The 'secret' life of Denis the German born in Argentina] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Tutti i nomignoli dei sudamericani" [All the nicknames of the South-Americans] (in Italian). Sport Mediaset. 7 September 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Porfidia, Alberto -sindrome-rigori-continuera-a-tirarli-ilicic/298880/ (25 December 2018). "Atalanta e la sindrome rigori: continuerà a tirarli Ilicic?" [Atalanta and the penalty syndrome: will Ilicic continue to take them?]. Bergamo News (in Italian). Retrieved 11 March 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Germán Denis at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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