Diego Contento

Diego Contento

Personal information
Full name	Diego Armando Valentin Contento
Date of birth	1 May 1990 (1990-05-01) (age 21)
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Left back
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	26
Youth career
1995–2008	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008–2010	Bayern Munich II	36	(2)
2010–	Bayern Munich	27	(0)
National team‡
2007	Germany U-17	2	(0)
2010–	Germany U-20	3	(0)
Honours Bayern Munich Winner Bundesliga 2010 Winner DFB-Pokal 2010 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 2010 Winner DFL-Supercup 2010
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:31, 6 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:23, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Diego Armando Contento (born 1 May 1990 in Munich) is a German footballer playing for Bayern Munich.^[1]

Personal

Contento's family are from Naples, in Italy, and he was named after former SSC Napoli star Diego Maradona.^[2] His older brothers Vincenzo and Domenico were previously in Bayern's youth team.

Career

Contento played for Bayern's first-team in pre-season friendlies in 2009, appearing against the Austrian Bundesliga Champion Red Bull Salzburg as a second-half substitute for Edson Braafheid, and was named on the substitutes' bench for a Bundesliga match against FSV Mainz in August 2009. He was called up to Bayern Munich's squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League,^[3] where he was assigned the number 26. In January 2010, it was announced that Contento would train with the first-team for the rest of the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mates David Alaba and Mehmet Ekici.^[4]

Contento signed his first professional contract with FC Bayern Munich on 13 January 2010.^[1] The trio were named on the first-team substitutes' bench for the first time on 10 February 2010, for a DFB-Pokal game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, and Contento came on in the 59th minute, replacing Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.^[5] Contento made his UEFA Champions League debut a week later, coming on as a half time substitute for Daniel Van Buyten in a game against Fiorentina, and the following weekend he made his league debut in the Bavarian Derby against 1. FC Nuremberg, starting in place of the injured Van Buyten.^[6]

He was in the starting XI for the next two games against Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln, but was injured in the latter, and replaced by fellow youth team graduate David Alaba. On 21 April 2010 he was named in the starting line-up for Bayern's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Olympique Lyonnais. On 27 May 2010, Contento signed a contract extension keeping him at the Allianz Arena until 2013.^[7]

Contento began the 2010–11 season as a starter for Bayern. After five games, he suffered an injury and was sidelined for three weeks. He was unable to reclaim his starting spot until the very end of the season. He was first choice to Andries Jonker, the caretaker manager of Bayern Munich until the end of the 2010–11 league season. On 1 July 2011, Jupp Heynckes was named head coach of Bayern Munich and Contento remained first choice.

International career

Contento represented Germany at under-17 and under-20 level. He recently expressed his desire to represent Italy rather than Germany^[8] at senior level. Contento was called up to the Germany under-21 in September 2010, though he could not make his debut due to an irritation on a toe.^[9]

Honours

Club

• Bayern Munich
  • Bundesliga Champion: 2009–10
  • DFB-Pokal: 2009–10
  • DFB-Supercup: 2010

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Youth product Contento inks professional deal". FC Bayern. 13 January 2010. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/news/2010/21966.php. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
2. ^ "'My parents supported Napoli'". Bayern Munich. 24 February 2010. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/news/2010/22461.php. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
3. ^ "FC Bayern München". UEFA. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/club=50037/competition=1/index.html. Retrieved 7 September 2009. 
4. ^ "Alaba, Ekici and Contento give it their best shot". FC Bayern Munich. 9 January 2009. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/news/2010/21929.php. Retrieved 10 January 2009. 
5. ^ "Bayern München – SpVgg Greuther Fürth" (in German). Kicker sportmagazin. 10 February 2010. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/dfbpokal/spielrunde/dfb-pokal/2009-10/4/993584/spielbericht_bayern-muenchen-14_spvgg-greuther-fuerth-82.html. Retrieved 10 February 2010. 
6. ^ "Lacklustre Bayern held but regain top spot". Bayern Munich. 20 February 2010. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/matchreport/2010/22411.php. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
7. ^ "Contento extends Bayern stay". Sky Sports. 27 May 2010. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11890_6175099,00.html. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
8. ^ ""Mein Ziel ist es, für Italien zu spielen"" (in German). spox.com. 6 August 2010. http://www.spox.com/de/sport/fussball/bundesliga/1008/Artikel/diego-contento-fc-bayern-muenchen-paolo-maldini-fabio-coentrao-italien-cesare-prandelli-dfb-team.html. Retrieved 22 September 2010. 
9. ^ "Contento sagt Adrion ab - Funk nachnominiert" (in German). kicker.de. 27 August 2010. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/nationalelf/startseite/541641/artikel_Contento-sagt-Adrion-ab---Funk-nachnominiert.html. Retrieved 22 September 2010. 

External links

• Diego Contento at transfermarkt.de (German)
• Diego Contento at fussballdaten.de (German)

Persondata
Name	Contento, Diego
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	1 May 1990
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Date of death
Place of death