South American Footballers Who Have Played in the Premier League(part1)

Reading reports in the papers recently about the likes of Neymar, Nilmar & Sergio Aguero expressing a desire to play their footy in the English Premier League got me thinking about the amount of South American's who are currently playing, or have historically in the past played in England.

Players from nine South American countries have played in the EPL with the majority coming from Argentina & Brazil. Although there have been a few failures, lots of the players have adapted well to the Premier League's style of play. Amongst the successes are Juninho, Carloz Tevez & Gilberto, the main failures being Veron, Forlan & Roque Junior.

Manchester United top of the list of English Premier League clubs who have signed the most South American players with ten players but Liverpool are a close second with 9. Manchester United currently has three South Americans in their squad while Liverpool has three players.

Uruguay

Luis Suarez - Liverpool. A prolific goal scorer for Ajax, Suarez joined Liverpool in 2011 for �£22.8 million & was an instant hit with the fans due to a succession of fantastic performances. Great things are expected for the 2011-12 season under Kenny Dalglish's new regime

Diego Forlan - Man Utd - Signed by Man Utd in 2001 Forlan spent too much unsuccessful years at Elderly Trafford before moving to Villareal & then Atletico Madrid where they established himself as of Europe's leading marksmen.

Paraguay

Roque Santa Cruz - Man City, Blackburn - Signed by Blackburn from Bayern Munich in 2007 they has an indifferent spell in England & has struggled with injuries. Now with Man City they are looking to re-establish himself in the first team.

Peru

Nolberto Solano - Aston Villa, Newcastle - The small Peruvian has spent most of his playing career in England & has been adored by fans wherever they have played. They are currently playing for League side Hartlepool.

Claudio Pizzaro - Peru Chelsea - three seasons at Chelsea were widely regarded as unsuccessful & they finally left after the club bought Nicolas Anelka & they were surplus to requirements.

Ecuador

Agustin Delgado - Southampton - Played 11 times for Southampton in years after being dogged by injuries. Never settled & refused to learn the language were they sold to a club in his native Ecuador.

Ullises de la Cruz - Aston Villa - De La Cruz spent 7 years in England & was arguably more successful at Aston Villa than his other clubs Reading & Birmingham. Now back in Ecuador.

Christian Benitez - Birmingham - The Ecuadorian signed on loan for Birmingham in 2009 but failed to make an impact & subsequently wasn't offered a contract with the club.

Antonio Valencia - Wigan, Man Utd - The Ecuadorian has played in the Premier League for years & has been a sizable success. After a sizable money move to Man Utd they gained a place in the Premier League Team of the Season in his debut year.

Mexico

Javier Hernandez - Man Utd - "Chicarito" was an instant hit when they signed for United in the summertime of 2010 & ended up scoring0 goals in his debut season.

Giovanni Dos Santos - Tottenham - Never reached his full potential in the work of his year spell in England. Now at Benfica

Chile

Mark Gonzalez - Liverpool - Signed by Liverpool in 2006, Gonzalez had a great start to his career in the United Kingdom but prevented him from playing more games & they was sold after season

Colombia

Hugo Rodellaga - Wigan - A proven goal scorer wherever they has played, Rodallega is still at Wigan & is now the club's top Premier League scorer.

Juan Pablo Angel - Aston Villa - A record signing for Villa in 2001, Angel spent 6 years at the club &, after an indifferent start established himself as a fan's favorite.

Faustino Asprilla - Newcastle - A legend on Tyneside, Asprilla only spent years with the club but scored some crucial goals & most famously a hat-trick against Barcelona.