Hernán Crespo · Biography

The first trophy of Hernán Jorge Crespo's career was the 1993 Apertura, won with River Plate shortly after he came up through the club's youth ranks. Born on 5 July 1975 in Florida, in Buenos Aires province, he scored goals in Argentina, Italy and England before moving into management. He has coached Mexican side Atlas since July 2026.

Youth and River Plate

Crespo developed in River Plate's academy and broke into the first team in 1993. Over three years he scored 36 goals in 82 official matches. He finished as top scorer of the 1993-94 championship and added a second Apertura in 1994. His spell at the club ended with the 1996 Copa Libertadores, in which he scored twice in the final. That summer he played at the Atlanta Olympics with Argentina.

Parma and Lazio

In 1996 he joined Parma. Across four seasons he scored 80 goals in 151 matches, and in 1999 he won the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup, being named man of the match in the final. In 2000 Lazio signed him for what was then a world-record transfer fee. In Rome he won the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana and was Serie A top scorer in 2000-01 with 26 goals. He left the club in 2002 with 48 goals in 73 matches.

Inter, Chelsea and Milan

In 2002 he moved to Inter, scoring seven league goals in a single season. Chelsea signed him in 2003, though his time in London was split in two. He spent 2004-05 on loan at AC Milan, winning the 2004 Supercoppa Italiana and scoring twice against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, which Liverpool won on penalties. Back in England he won the 2005 Community Shield and the 2005-06 Premier League. Across his two spells at Chelsea he scored 25 goals in 73 matches.

Return to Italy and retirement

In 2006 he returned to Inter, first on loan and from 2008 on a permanent deal. He won three consecutive Serie A titles, in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, plus the 2006 and 2008 Supercoppa Italiana, and scored 45 goals in 116 matches. In July 2009 he joined Genoa as a free agent and stayed for six months. On 29 January 2010 he went back to Parma, where he scored 14 goals in 45 matches before retiring in 2012. Over his two spells with the club he totalled 94 goals in 196 matches.

Argentina national team

He made his Argentina debut on 14 February 1995 against Bulgaria. That year he won gold at the Pan American Games, and in 1996 he took an Olympic silver medal in Atlanta, finishing as the tournament's joint top scorer with Bebeto on six goals. He played at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, with eight appearances and four goals in total; in 2006 Argentina went out in the quarter-finals against Germany. His last tournament was the 2007 Copa América, where Argentina finished runners-up and he scored three goals. He ended his international career with 64 caps and 35 goals.

Coaching career

He started coaching in Parma's youth system in 2014. In July 2015 he took over Modena in Serie B and was dismissed in March 2016. In Argentina he coached Banfield in 2019 and Defensa y Justicia from January 2020, winning the 2020 Copa Sudamericana with a 3-0 victory over Lanús in a final played in January 2021. In February 2021 he joined São Paulo, winning that year's Campeonato Paulista before being sacked in October. Between 2022 and 2023 he led Al-Duhail to the 2022-23 Qatar Stars League title. In November 2023 he took charge of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates and won the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, beating Yokohama F. Marinos 6-3 on aggregate. He returned to São Paulo in June 2025 and was dismissed in March 2026. On 16 July 2026 Atlas announced him as Diego Cocca's replacement.