Cristian Llama

Cristian Llama

Personal information
Full name	Cristian Ezequiel Llama
Date of birth	June 26, 1986 (1986-06-26) (age 25)
Place of birth	Lomas de Zamora, Argentina
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Calcio Catania
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2007	Arsenal de Sarandí	57	(6)
2007–	Catania	55	(3)
2008	→ Newell's Old Boys (loan)	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Cristian Ezequiel Llama (born June 26, 1986 in Lomas de Zamora) is an Argentine football midfielder currently playing for Calcio Catania in the Italian Serie A.

Club Career

Arsenal de Sarandí

Llama began his professional career in his home country of Argentina in 2004, with Arsenal de Sarandí. In his first season with the club, Llama made 16 appearances and scored 2 goals. In his second season with the Argentine club, Llama would go on to make an additional 19 appearances, however the player really thrived in his third season, where he made 23 league starts and managed 4 goals. His impressive displays caught the eyes of numerous European clubs, most notably from Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.

Calcio Catania

In June 2007, the young Argentine completed his European transfer, joining Italian Serie A side, Calcio Catania. The player found playing time hard to come by in his first season at the club, due to the presences of wingers Juan Manuel Vargas, Jorge Andres Martinez, Mariano Izco, and Giacomo Tedesco. After 4 months in Sicily, the player made just 1 appearances, and hence was loaned out to Newell's Old Boys, for the second portion of the 2007–2008 season, in time for the Argentine Clausura. The loan move was not successful however, and Llama was limited to just 3 appearances, due to injury. After six months in Argentina he was brought back to Calcio Catania under new coach Walter Zenga. In his first full season at Catania, Llama was often regularly featured in Zenga's plans, and made over 20 appearances in all competitions. He was also a regular during the 2009–10 season, under coaches Gianluca Atzori and, later, Siniša Mihajlović, on the left wing, until a major leg injury struck in March 2010. Prior to the injury, Llama had made 23 league starts scoring 2 goals, and was the "in-form" player following Mihajlovic's appointment as head coach on December 8, 2009. His return was not complete until December 2010, and since then the player has gradually re-inserted himself back into the club's starting XI, and helping the club to a third consecutive season ending with a record points tally in Serie A.

External links

• (Spanish) Argentine Primera statistics
• Cristian Llama at Football Lineups

Persondata
Name	Llama, Cristian
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1986-06-26
Place of birth	Lomas de Zamora, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death