Happy birthday, Hernan Crespo! | OneFootball

Technique, composure and an unparalleled eye for goal: Hernán Crespo, the former Argentinian striker who played for the Nerazzurri in 2002/03 and then from 2006 to 2009, turns 49 today. A spectacular player capable of scoring extraordinary goals, Crespo was one of the best attackers in the Italian top flight in the 1990s and 2000s. Let's look back at his Inter career through five fun facts.

NICKNAME

Born in Florida, Buenos Aires, on 5 July 1975, Hernán Crespo was nicknamed Valdanito throughout his career due to his technical and physical resemblance to another former Argentinian striker, namely Jorge Valdano. He was a player who was very good in the air and possessed real quality, exactly like Hernán.

TWICE A NERAZZURRO

Crespo had two different spells at Inter. He first arrived at the Club in 2002 and spent a season with the Nerazzurri (during which he scored 16 goals in 30 appearances) before moving to Chelsea.

He returned to Inter in the summer of 2006 and remained for a further three campaigns. By the time he left Milano in 2009, he'd bagged 46 goals in 117 appearances. Across his four seasons in Nerazzurri colours, he won three Scudetto titles and the Supercoppa Italiana twice.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GOALS

Hernán Crespo is one of Inter's highest-ever goalscorers in the modern Champions League era: the Argentinian bagged eleven goals for the Nerazzurri in Europe's elite competition. Nine of these arrived during the 2002/03 campaign, when he was a truly inspirational figure for Inter during their European journey. Only three Nerazzurri players have done better than him: Adriano (14 goals + 4 in the preliminary stages), Julio Cruz (13) and Lautaro Martinez (12).

A SPECIAL BOND

"When you wear the Inter shirt, you have to understand that there are responsibilities. The fans ask you to respect these colours. And in such a stadium, you give absolutely everything. For them and for yourself." With these words from the past, Hernán Crespo described his relationship with Inter and the Nerazzurri fans. And it was a relationship that was cemented by all his goals. The Argentinian remembers all of those he scored for Inter, but there are two which stand out in particular. They both arrived at the end of his Nerazzurri career during the 2008/09 campaign: his header to secure a 3-3 draw against Roma at San Siro, and his finish to open the scoring in a 2-2 draw against Chievo Verona. The latter proved crucial on the way to the Scudetto, which Inter clinched a week later.

CRESPO AND LA ALBICELESTE

Crespo also represented Argentina for twelve years: he bagged 35 goals in 64 matches for his country, making him La Albiceleste's fourth highest goalscorer of all time. Only Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta and Sergio Aguero have done better than Hernán, who played at three World Cups and one Copa America. He also won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he topped the scoring charts despite his country's defeat to Nigeria in the final.