Ariel Graziani

Ariel José Graziani Lentini (born 7 June 1971) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Argentina, he played for the Ecuador national team. After retiring in Ecuador, he played amateur football, and he chose to play for Argentine fifth-level club Atlético Empalme.

Club career Graziani has been a top goalscorer for practically every team for which he has played. He made his professional debut in 1993 with Newell's Old Boys of Argentina, where he was a teammate with Diego Maradona until he transferred later that year to Sport Boys of the Peruvian First Division. which at the time was the highest transfer fee ever paid by the league.

New England Revolution

On 26 July 1999, Graziani was allocated to New England Revolution. In New England, he would once again be playing with his former teammate Joe-Max Moore, with whom he had played at Emelec in 1997. The Revolution were able to add Graziani under their $1.7m salary budget due to the trade of midfielder Edwin Gorter to the Miami Fusion and the retirement of midfielder Richard Goulooze.

Revolution head coach Walter Zenga praised Graziani as a "great player", stating Graziani has "excelled as a goalscorer everywhere he has played. His addition gives us one of the most dangerous attacks in MLS.”

Graziani was immediately inserted into the lineup upon his arrival, making his Revolution debut (and first start) on July 31, 1999, a 4–1 loss to the Tampa Bay Mutiny. He made his home debut in a 2–1 loss to the San Jose Clash on August 12.

Dallas Burn

Graziani immediately made an impact on the Burn, scoring his first goal in the 4th minute of his first appearance on August 18, in a 3–0 victory over the 1st-place Colorado Rapids. He would make eight total appearances (all starts) for the Burn in 1999, contributing four total goals and one assist, helping Dave Dir's side qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Graziani continued his prolific play for the Burn in the following seasons, finishing as the Burn's leading scorer in both 2000 and 2001, with 15 goals and 11 goals respectively. and scoring a 26th-minute goal for the West as a starter in the 2001 MLS All-Star Game.

San Jose Earthquakes

In the offseason, due to salary cap constraints, the Burn traded Graziani to the San Jose Earthquakes for Salvadoran international, and Quakes all-time leading goalscorer, Ronald Cerritos and a second-round pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft on February 8, 2002. For the third consecutive year, Graziani received MLS All-Star honors, and represented MLS against the United States men's national soccer team in the 2002 MLS All-Star Game. while the team's leading goalscorer, Graziani failed to connect adequately with strike partner Landon Donovan. MLS loaned out the final year of his contract. A bidding war between Emelec and Barcelona SC ensued, where, in the end, Barcelona offered MLS more money.

Later career

In 2003, Graziani was the top scorer in Ecuador with Barcelona SC. He also scored what was voted the top goal in that year's Copa Libertadores against the eventual winners Boca Juniors. In 2004, he signed with Lanús in Argentina but only managed 4 goals in 17 games and eventually left the same year to return to Barcelona SC and scored 8 goals from 18 games. In 2005, Graziani signed for LDU Quito. He played there until December, 2006, when he officially retired. Nevertheless, in May 2007, he signed with Atlético Empalme, where he started his career. Empalme in 2007 played for Santa Fe Province in zone 9 of the Torneo del Interior C, a complex regional fifth-level tournament.

Nowadays, Graziani holds a political position in his country of birth, Argentina. He is the vice-mayor of a small town called Empalme Villa Constitución where he is trying to help the poorest people in his town.

International career Graziani was naturalized as an Ecuadorian citizen and represented the Ecuador national team on 34 occasions between 1997 and 2000.

Career statistics International

Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Graziani goal.

Honours

Club Club Sport Emelec Serie A de Ecuador: 1996 LDU Quito Serie A de Ecuador: 2005

Nation Ecuador Canada Cup: 1999

Individual

MLS All-Star: 2000, 2001, 2002

Achievements Graziani has played in 33 games for the Ecuador national team during his career, scoring 15 goals for his adopted country. He became top scorer at the 1999 Canada Cup, scoring three goals in three matches.