On 21 September 2017, in the second leg of a Copa Libertadores quarter-final, River Plate beat Jorge Wilstermann 8-0 at the Monumental and Ignacio Scocco scored five goals. Ignacio Martín Scocco, born on 29 May 1985 in Hughes, in the south of Santa Fe province, was an Argentine striker whose career began at Newell’s Old Boys and kept returning there, with four spells at the Rosario club and stints in Mexico, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and England.
Hughes and the Newell’s academy
He started out at Hughes FC, his hometown club. At 14 he moved to Rosario to join the Newell’s youth system, where he finished his development. On 4 April 2004, under coach Américo Gallego, he made his Argentine top-flight debut against San Lorenzo. That same year he was part of the squad that won the 2004 Apertura, his first title. He also played for Argentina’s under-20 side, making his debut against Colombia on 27 July 2004.
Mexico, Greece and the Emirates
In 2006 he moved to Pumas UNAM. In Mexico he had a short loan spell at Toluca in 2007 before returning to Pumas, for whom he scored a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Querétaro on 17 March 2007. In July 2008 he joined AEK Athens, where he was named the best player of the Greek Super League in 2009-10 and won the 2010-11 Greek Cup. In 2011 he moved to Al Ain, winning the 2011-12 UAE league title and the 2012 Super Cup.
Back in Rosario and the national team
He returned to Newell’s in mid-2012, joining the side coached by Gerardo Martino. He was top scorer of the 2012 Inicial with 13 goals and did it again in the 2013 Final with 11, a tournament Newell’s won. The same year the team reached the Copa Libertadores semi-finals. His form earned him a senior call-up: on 21 November 2012, at La Bombonera, he made his Argentina debut in the Superclásico de las Américas against Brazil and scored both goals in a 2-1 win. It was his only appearance for the senior national team.
Internacional and Sunderland
In July 2013 he joined Internacional in Porto Alegre. On 15 August 2013 he scored twice against Botafogo in a 3-3 Brasileirão draw. On 30 January 2014 he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with English side Sunderland. He played little in England and was an unused substitute in the League Cup final on 2 March 2014, which Sunderland lost 3-1 to Manchester City. In July 2014 he went back to Newell’s, staying until mid-2017; on 18 March 2017 he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Vélez Sarsfield.
River Plate
On 29 June 2017 he joined River Plate, then managed by Marcelo Gallardo. He made his debut on 4 July 2017 in Asunción, starting in a 2-0 win over Guaraní in the Copa Libertadores, and two months later came the five-goal night against Wilstermann. With River he won the 2016-17 Copa Argentina, the 2017 Supercopa Argentina, the 2018-19 Copa Argentina and the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana. In the 2018 Copa Libertadores he helped the club reach the final, although injuries kept him out of both legs against Boca Juniors; earlier, on 23 September 2018, he had come off the bench at La Bombonera to score the second goal in a 2-0 league win over Boca.
The final spell at Newell’s
In July 2020 he left River and returned to Newell’s for a fourth time, playing there until 2021. In all he won two Argentine league titles with the Rosario club, a Copa Libertadores with River and trophies in Greece and the United Arab Emirates. He announced his retirement from professional football in December 2021.
