Panathinaikos FC announces the acquisition of Cristian Ledesma. The Argentinean midfielder has signed a contract with our team until summer 2018. We welcome him into the “Shamrock’s” family.
Christian Daniel Ledesma -as this is his full name – was born on September 24, 1982 in Morón, Buenos Aires. At the age of 14 he joined Boca Juniors’ academies and in 2001 he moved to Italy, on behalf of Lecce.
He played initially for the second team, debuting with the team of Salento on March 10, 2002, as an extension to Serie A, in an away match against Atalanta, where they lost 2-1. He scored his first goal in the “main” division of Italian football on November 9, 2003, in an away draw with Perugia (2-2). He was the captain of Lecce from 2003-04. He left in summer 2006, having played in 126 matches totally and having scored four goals.
The next stop in Ledesma’s career was FC Lazio. His first match wearing the “Laziali” shirt was on August 16, against Rede, for the Cup, where they won 4-0. Ledesma has experienced great moments in that team, starting with the “eternal derby”, in December of that same year, where he scored from a distance of 25 meters!
Being one of “Laziali” leading characters in winning the Italian Cup in 2008-09, this 33 year old ace signed a new five-year contract with them on August 23, 2010. During this period he succeeded to receive the captain’s armband, to play in European competitions and to celebrate one more Italian Cup, winning AS Roma in 2013’s final by 1-0.
On July 1st, 2015 the management of Lazio decided not to renew his contract. However, Lazio FC honored Ledesma for his 318 appearances and the 14 goals he scored during the nine years he played for the team.
On August 28, this Argentinean player -holder of an Italian passport as well- moved to Santos FC, in Brazil. He made his debut there on October 18, in a home game against Goias, won by 3-1. Having played in very few matches, he decided to leave Brazil and the team on January 6, 2016.
Ledesma acquired the Italian citizenship in 2008 -when he got married to his Italian… sweetheart- having the opportunity to play for the National team of Italy, in addition to the Argentinean one. He played for “Squadra Azzurra” once, in November 14, 2010, in a friendly match against Romania.
