Claudio Paul Caniggia is a former Argentine football striker, a mainstay in the Argentine national team throughout the early 1990s.

On the club level, El Pájaro (The Bird) Caniggia played for River Plate (1985-88), Hellas Verona (1988-89), Atalanta (1989-92 and 1999-2000), AS Roma (1992-93), Benfica (1994-95), Boca Juniors (1995-98), Dundee (2000-01) and Rangers (2001-03).

For Argentina, Caniggia was capped 50 times, scoring 16 goals most of which came in the early 1990s. A refusal to cut his long hair despite the rules and a resulting prolonged absence from the national team followed. He made a brief comeback to the Marcelo Bielsa-coached squad for the 2002 World Cup, but did not play a minute. Nevertheless he did receive a red card for swearing at the referee from the bench in Argentina’s last match against Sweden.

Caniggia is great friends with Argentine superstar Diego Maradona; the duo celebrated a goal with a kiss on the lips. To what Claudio’s wife, model Mariana Nannis, said: “At times I believe Diego is in love with my husband. It must be the long hair and big muscles.”

Contrary to popular belief, largely due to loose interpretation, Caniggia was not a striker, but rather a playmaker forward. Caniggia is famous for being fouled three consecutive times in one instance (counterattack) by three different Cameroonian players, all of which would nowadays receive a red card. Caniggia is also known for have scored what is often considered one of the nicest goals in history. This he did in a friendly match against Norway, following one of his legendary counterattacks coupled with some phenomenal dribbling and a spectacular, almost unbelievable, finish.

Full Name: Claudio Paul Caniggia

Nationality: Argentinean

Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Date of Birth: 09/01/1967

Height: 172 cm

National Team: Argentina- A

Current Club: Retired

Position: Forward, Striker

Int’l Goals: 16 (as of 27 May 2002)

Int’l Caps: 50 (as of 27 May 2002)