Name: Matías Nicolás Caruzzo
Nickname: "Mati", "Caru"
ERA: 2007-2010



Country: Argentina
Club: Argentinos Juniors / Boca Juniors
Shirt Number: 2, 6
Position: ★CB, SWP
Side: RF/BS
Age: 25-28 (15/08/1984)

Height: 182 cm
Weight: 78 kg

Attack: 60
Defence: 79
Balance: 82
Stamina: 81
Speed: 77
Acceleration: 78
Response: 79
Agility: 74
Dribble Accuracy: 70
Dribble Speed: 73
Short Pass Accuracy: 76
Short Pass Speed: 75
Long Pass Accuracy: 73
Long Pass Speed: 72
Shot Accuracy: 65
Shot Power: 81
Shot Technique: 68
Free Kick Accuracy: 69
Swerve: 73
Heading: 83
Jump: 82
Technique: 75
Aggression: 65
Mentality: 81
GK Skills: 50
Team work: 79

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES: 1-Touch Pass - Sliding - D-Line Control

CARDS:
S05 - 1-Touch Play
S08 - Slide Tackle
S10 - DF Leader

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence-Minded

INFO:
Matías Caruzzo is an Argentinian former footballer who played as a center-back or libero. Born in the city of Buenos Aires (15/08/1984), Caruzzo started his career in the year 2006 at Argentinos Juniors. He gained a starting place in the first team, through good performances, and was considered one of the club's best players. He wore the captain's armband of the La Paternal team, due to his character and personality he was one of the leaders of the team, along with the Argentine-nationalized Paraguayan Néstor Ortigoza. On May 9, 2010, he became the hero of Argentinos Jrs. when in the 93rd minute of the match against Independiente he was able to score a wonder goal to put the game 4-3 and give the team the Clausura 2010. In July 2010, he was transferred to Boca Juniors for the sum of $2,500,000 for 85% of the pass, at the express request of Claudio Borghi, then coach of the riverside club. In his first tournament in Boca, he showed high performances in the new defense set up by the Xeneizes, becoming the most regular player in the team's defense. Just a couple of months later his level dropped and he began to be questioned frequently. On December 26, 2013, he left Boca Juniors to join Universidad de Chile, claiming that he had six months left on his contract and did not see a future as a starter in Boca. His debut in the Chilean team was on January 26, 2014, in a 5-0 win against Ñublense, playing all 90 minutes.
On July 6, 2014, his return to the club that saw him grow as a footballer was made official. Argentinos Jrs. had just lost the category, making the player return and try to promote the "red bug" again along with several fellow champions in 2010 like Juan Sabia, Germán Basualdo, Facundo Coria, and even legends like Juan Román Riquelme. On December 7, after a 1-1 draw with Douglas Haig, Argentinos Juniors returned to the First Division after winning the 2nd Division title. On January 15, 2015, he joined the squad of the current Copa Libertadores champion, San Lorenzo de Almagro. His official debut with the azulgrana shirt was recorded on February 6 for the first leg of the 2015 Recopa Sudamericana where it would be a 1-0 defeat against River Plate. On February 10, 2016, he would be crowned champion of the Supercopa Argentina with a resounding 4-0 victory against his former club, Boca Juniors, being one of the fundamental pieces in the defense. After 3 years with San Lorenzo, he emigrated to Rosario Central in January 2018, although it was difficult for him to move with his three children. Being a reference in the central defense, he won the 2018 Argentine Cup, kicking the last penalty of the five-shot shootout. Finally, Caruzzo would retire at the age of 37 in 2021, playing for the club he loves, Argentinos Juniors.

He was called up by the national team when it was led by Diego Maradona, he made his debut on May 20, 2009 against Panama, which would be a 3-1 victory. On September 30, 2009 he would play his second friendly against the Ghana team. Already in 2010, on January 26, he would face a Costa Rican Youth team where Argentina would win 3-2. On February 10 he would play another friendly, this time against the Jamaican team, it would be a 2-1 victory. . On May 5 he would face the Haiti national team in a 4-0 win, which would be his fifth match with the Albiceleste team. At the beginning of October 2016, his name was heavily rumored to join the national team due to the large number of defenders booked from the regulars in the team. Both Nicolás Otamendi and Emmanuel Mas, one due to an accumulation of yellow cards and the other due to injury respectively, could not play the match following the 1-0 victory against Chile. Therefore, coach Edgardo Bauza called up Caruzzo to take over in the match on March 28, 2017, against Bolivia in La Paz. At 30 minutes into the first half, Ramiro Funes Mori left injured, and Caruzzo was subbed in after seven years without wearing the albiceleste. The match would end 2-0 in favor of Argentina, with Caruzzo performing well and playing the remaining 60 minutes.