Martín Palermo (; born 7 November 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Platense. Palermo played for Boca Juniors and the Argentina national team. A prolific goalscorer, he is Boca Juniors' all-time top scorer with 236 goals, and is placed 7th among all-time Primera División top scorers with 227 goals in 408 matches. Palermo also played in Argentina for Estudiantes de La Plata and in Spain for Villarreal, Real Betis, and Alavés. During his playing career, he was nicknamed Loco (, ) and Titán (, ). In a 2008 poll, Boca Juniors fans chose him as the greatest idol in the club's history In 2012, Carlos Salvador Bilardo recommended him to direct Estudiantes de La Plata "He can direct it, he is a man from the club. Whenever I recommended someone for Estudiantes, with Sabella and Simeone they came out champions" Club career Born in La Plata, Palermo began his career at Estudiantes de La Plata and later transferred to Boca Juniors. His good goal average and performances in international matches led European teams Lazio, Real Betis, and Milan to be interested in signing him up. But on 13 November 1999, in a game against Colón, he had a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee; before leaving and without knowing the seriousness of the injury, he scored his 100th goal in the Argentine First Division. He took six months to recover from the injury. On 24 May 2000, he returned, playing the last fifteen minutes of the quarterfinal match of the Copa Libertadores against River Plate and scoring a goal, leaving the score at 3–0 to Boca Juniors (the first match had ended 1–2). With Boca, he scored many goals, particularly against arch-rivals River Plate. He played in the Intercontinental Cup in 2000, scoring the two goals in Boca's 2–1 victory over Real Madrid, winning the man of the match award and catching the attention of football clubs in Spain. Spell in Spain Palermo signed with the up-and-coming team Villarreal of the Spanish La Liga on 19 January 2001 in a €7,600,000 transfer. In his second season with the team on 29 November, after scoring a goal, Palermo stood on a small concrete wall, which collapsed under the weight of Villarreal's fans and broke both the tibia and fibula of his left