Pablo Daniel "Dani" Osvaldo (Italian pronunciation: ; born 12 January 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born and raised in Argentina, Osvaldo represented the Italy national team internationally.
Osvaldo began his career at Huracán in 2005 and the following year moved to Italy in a co-ownership deal between Serie B clubs Atalanta and Lecce, later playing in the top flight for Fiorentina and Bologna. After a loan to RCD Espanyol, he joined the Spanish club on a permanent basis before earning a return to Italy to Roma for an initial fee of €15 million in 2011. He spent two seasons at the club and was then signed by Southampton, where he spent most of his time out on loan, at Juventus, Internazionale and Boca Juniors, before joining Porto. He returned to Boca in January 2016, but was later sacked by the club in May.
Osvaldo qualified to represent Italy through his ancestry, having played initially for the nation's Under-21 team before making his senior debut in 2011.
At times, Osvaldo has been disciplined for having participated in various ferocious incidents with opponents, teammates and managers.
Osvaldo qualified for Italian citizenship through a great-grandfather who was born in Filottrano, Marche and emigrated to Argentina in the 19th century. Osvaldo had previously played for the Italy U21 national team in the team's victorious 2008 Toulon Tournament campaign, putting on a Man of the Match performance and scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Chile in the final.
On 5 October 2011, due to the injuries that caused the withdrawal of regular strikers Mario Balotelli and Giampaolo Pazzini, Osvaldo received his first call-up to play for the Italy senior national team for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Serbia and Northern Ireland. Speaking of criticism by Lega Nord politicians for his decision to play for Italy, Osvaldo said "The criticism from politicians is ridiculous. I have an Italian wife, Italian children and an Italian family and I also play in Serie A. Moreover, I have already sung the national anthem for the Under-21 team. I would have no problem facing Argentina in the future because it would mean I would be a part of the Italian national team." On 11 October 2011, he made his debut in the 3–0 victory over Northern Ireland.
National team manager Cesare Prandelli dropped him from the squad after reports surfaced of Osvaldo shouting at his Roma coach, Aurelio Andreazzoli, during Roma's 1–0 defeat to Lazio in the 2013 Coppa Italia final. Osvaldo skipped the awards ceremony and then attacked Andreazzoli on Twitter.
He was recalled by Prandelli for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta. He netted his first two international goals for the Azzurri away against Bulgaria within the space of four minutes to put Italy in front after being a goal down early on. He added two more goals in the qualification campaign, almost exactly a year apart, away against Armenia, and Denmark. In the home qualifier against Denmark, on 16 October 2012 at the San Siro, Osvaldo was given a straight red card early in the second half for an elbow on Nicolai Stokholm.
Osvaldo was not selected by Prandelli for the squad that contested the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, nor for the following year's World Cup.
Osvaldo met the Argentine actress Jimena Barón by phone, under the suggestion of actress Eugenia Tobal. He was playing in Italy at the time, and returned to Argentina to meet her under the pretense of a legal problem. She left the cast of Sos mi hombre and moved to Italy with him, and he left his wife Elena Braccini and his two daughters. He had a son with Jimena, and both of them returned to Argentina when he signed for Boca Juniors. He broke up with Barón in 2015, under controversial circumstances.
Osvaldo has expressed his interest in music, with 'Wild Horses' by the Rolling Stones being his favourite song. Osvaldo also has interest in playing the guitar.
Serie A Hat-Trick 2013-04-28 |
2005-2006 |
2006-2007 |
2007-2009 |
2009-2010 |
2010-2011 |
2011-2013 |
2013-2015 |
2015-2016 |
2016 |
2020 |