Claudio Caniggia

Lore & Background

Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team between 1987 and 2002. He appeared in three World Cups. At the 1990 World Cup, Caniggia scored two goals as Argentina reached the final but was suspended for the defeat against West Germany. Caniggia also scored two goals at the 1994 World Cup. He also represented Argentina at the 1991 Copa América and 1992 Confederations Cup, both of which Argentina won. At club level, Caniggia played for River Plate (1985–88), Hellas Verona (1988–89), Atalanta (1989–92 and 1999–2000), Roma (1992–93), S.L. Benfica (1994–95), Boca Juniors (1995–98), Dundee (2000–01) and Rangers (2001–03). He has become a club legend and cult-hero at many of the clubs he has played at, for instance when scoring against Dunfermline in 2003 to help Rangers win the title.

Reader's Guide

Caniggia started his career with River Plate, accumulating 53 appearances and 8 goals before moving to Hellas Verona in 1988. He then moved to Atalanta in 1989, scoring 26 goals in 85 league games over three years, and helped the club reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1990–91. He moved to Roma in 1992, but after a doping test following a match against Napoli in March 1993, he was handed a 13-month ban for taking cocaine. After his ban expired, he joined Benfica on a year-long loan.

Argentine media mogul Eduardo Eurnekian acquired his rights from Roma and loaned him to Boca Juniors. He later re-joined Atalanta in Serie B, helping the club achieve promotion to Serie A, then signed for Dundee, where he was shortlisted for SPFA Player of the Year in 2001, before transferring to Rangers. In June 2012, he came out of retirement to play for Wembley in the FA Cup, scoring in a preliminary round win against Langford on 12 August 2012.

Did You Know?

• Caniggia scored two goals at the 1990 World Cup, including the winner against Brazil in the second round, and a header that ended Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga's record 517-minute streak without conceding.
• He was suspended for the 1990 World Cup final after receiving a yellow card for deliberate handball in the semi-final against Italy.
• Caniggia was good friends with Diego Maradona; while at Boca Juniors, they celebrated a goal in the Superclásico with a kiss on the lips.
• He was sent off from the bench for cursing at the referee during Argentina's last match of the 2002 World Cup against Sweden.
• Caniggia scored two goals in the 1994 World Cup, both in the first-round match against Nigeria.