League) and 16 were friendly games. He scored two goals in the domestic league, one in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League against Saint-Étienne and the other was scored during the test games. International career Samuel was part of Argentina U20 which emerged victorious in the 1997 edition of FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the tournament in the opening Group E match versus Hungary which was won 3–0, and went on to play in the remaining two matches as Argentina topped their group. Samuel has played 56 matches for Argentina between 1999 and 2010, scoring five goals. He played for his country in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as in the 1999 Copa América, and in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which Argentina won a runners-up medal. Style of play Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, Samuel was a large, quick, powerful, and aggressive centreback, who excelled in the air, both defensively, and as a goal threat on set pieces. His defensive skills, which included an excellent positional sense, an ability to read the game, as well as tough, tight marking, and hard tackling, made him extremely effective at anticipating opponents. His strong, consistent, and uncompromising style of play earned him the nickname Il Muro ("The Wall"). Despite his ability as a defender, his career was also marked by several injuries that affected his fitness. After football In August 2019, Samuel enrolled in the UEFA Pro Licence courses at Coverciano. He is the assistant coach for Argentina and has held the position since 2019. He was recently part of the Argentina managerial team who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Career statistics Club . International Source:Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Samuel goal.'' Honours Boca Juniors Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura Copa Libertadores: 2000 Roma Serie A: 2000–01 Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Internazionale Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Coppa Italia: 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11 Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 UEFA Champions League: 2009–10 FC Basel Swiss Super League: 2014–15, 2015–16 Argentina U20 FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1997 Argentina FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2005 Individual South American Team of the Year: 1999 ESM Team of the Year: 2001–02, 2003–04 Serie A Defender of the Year: 2010 FIFA FIFPro World XI Nominee 2005, 2009, 2010 References External links Profile