Mauro Zárate

Who is Mauro Zárate?

Mauro Matías Zárate is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Vélez Sarsfield.

Zárate started his career with Vélez Sarsfield in his native country, playing three years for the team and winning the Primera División title in the 2005 Clausura tournament. He later signed for Qatari side Al-Sadd in 2008, where he played only six months before transferring on loan to Birmingham City in England. However, after Birmingham's relegation, Zárate was loaned out again, this time to Lazio in Italy. With Lazio, the forward won the Coppa Italia during his first season. At the end of his debut season, his move to Lazio was made permanent for a fee of around €20 million, with a €60 million buy-out clause.

In international football, Zárate scored the winning goal as the Argentina under-20 team won the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final.