Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈpeðɾo saˈβjola feɾˈnandes]; born 11 December 1981), better known as El Conejo (The Rabbit), is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. Saviola was renowned for his speed, agility, and goal-scoring ability, which made him a standout player throughout his football career. Since retiring, he has been involved in various roles within the world of football, including advisory work and developing young talent as a coach at Barcelona U19.
He was trained in River Plate's academy and made his debut for the club in 1998. He spent much of his career in Spain, representing both Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as having spells with Málaga and Sevilla. He played 196 games and scored 70 goals over the course of eight seasons in La Liga. He also had spells with Monaco, Benfica, Olympiacos, and Verona. He finished his playing career at River Plate in 2016. Saviola won league titles in Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Greece, as well as the UEFA Cup with Sevilla. He was the youngest player on Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers in 2004.
An Argentine international for seven years, he made his debut in 2000, representing his country at the 2006 World Cup, as well as the 2004 Copa América, where Argentina reached the final. He also won a gold medal with Argentina at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Born in Buenos Aires, Saviola made his debut for River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club.
He helped River to the 1999 Apertura and 2000 Clausura championships, and earned the 1999 South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect, and was even regarded as a potential heir to Diego Maradona, in particular after he broke the latter's 1978 record by becoming the youngest player to win the Golden Boot award.
In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for Barcelona in a £15 million transfer. He obtained Spanish citizenship shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each team; under coach Carles Rexach, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing joint-fourth top scorer in La Liga.
Saviola's second year at the Camp Nou did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season. Radomir Antić became the new coach after Louis van Gaal was fired, and he went on to net eleven goals in the latter half of the campaign; Frank Rijkaard was subsequently appointed as new manager for 2003–04, and the player scored 14 times in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club as was longtime attacking partner Patrick Kluivert.
Saviola was sent on loan in the summer of 2004, moving to Monaco in Ligue 1. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans, he was again loaned out the following year, this time to Sevilla who were seeking to replace Real Madrid-bound Júlio Baptista; with the Andalusians he won his first title in Europe, conquering the UEFA Cup — he also scored nine times in the league, good enough for fifth.
Saviola returned to Barcelona for 2006–07, playing in 18 league games, six as a starter, and netting five goals. He benefited greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably to Samuel Eto'o, and added five in as many matches in that season's Copa del Rey, notably a hat-trick against Alavés (3–2 win at home, 5–2 aggregate).
On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal. Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Real, being mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league and the UEFA Champions League.
The arrival of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar limited Saviola's opportunities even more, and he finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.
On 26 June 2009, Benfica and Real Madrid agreed on a €5 million deal that would see Saviola play in Portugal for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. On 16 July, he scored two goals to send his team into the Guadiana Trophy finals after defeating Athletic Bilbao.
Saviola netted twice on 22 October 2009, guiding his side to a 5–0 victory over Everton for the UEFA Europa League (he would also score in their 2–0 win in Liverpool in the second match), adding another brace four days later in a 6–1 routing of C.D. Nacional for the Primeira Liga.
On 6 December 2009, Saviola scored through a chip shot against Académica de Coimbra in a 4–0 home win. On 20 December, he netted the game's only goal as Benfica defeated rivals Porto at home; during the victorious campaign, he formed a deadly attacking partnership with Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo, with the pair combining for more than 50 goals overall.
On 3 January 2010, shortly before receiving the SJPF Player of the Month award, Saviola scored another winning goal against Nacional, now for the Taça da Liga, again being the game's only scorer in an away defeat of Rio Ave, netting in the 48th minute. He scored his 19th goal overall in a 3–1 home triumph against Paços de Ferreira on 7 March, and the Lisbon club was eventually crowned league champions
In the last hours of the 2012–13 summer transfer window, Saviola agreed on a move to Málaga. He played 45 minutes in his first appearance, a 1–0 win at Real Zaragoza on 1 September.
On 15 September 2012, Saviola scored once and provided one assist in a 3−1 home win against Levante. He continued with his streak the following game, Málaga's first-ever in the Champions League group stage, netting in a 3–0 home win over Zenit Saint Petersburg.
On 25 July 2013, Saviola signed a two-year contract with Greek champions Olympiacos. He scored his first goal in the Super League on 25 August, coming on at half-time and helping his team come from behind to win 2–1 at home to Atromitos On 10 December, he netted a brace – and also missed a penalty – in a 3–1 success over Anderlecht also at the Karaiskakis Stadium in the group stage's last round, which helped the Piraeus team finish second and qualify at the expense of former side Benfica.