Leonardo Nicolás Pisculichi (born 18 January 1984) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He won the Copa Sudamericana in 2014 and Copa Libertadores in 2015 with River Plate.

Club career

Pisculichi started his career with Argentinos Juniors, making his first division debut on 20 February 2002, against Talleres de Córdoba. He was transferred to Spain's RCD Mallorca on 4 January 2006. On 30 November 2006, he was transferred to Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar, for €3.9 million, with the move being made effective in January of the following year. In July 2012, Pisculichi transferred to the Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng Taishan. In 2014, he joined the Argentine powerhouse River Plate. While at River Plate, he won the 2014 Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional. He left River in December 2016 and signed for Brazilian side Esporte Clube Vitória in January 2017.

Return to Argentina

Having left Vitória in May 2017, Pisculichi returned to the newly promoted Argentinos Juniors in August 2017. He was the first signee of the campaign.

Burgos CF

In June 2019, Pisculichi joined Spanish Segunda División B club Burgos CF.

International career

Pisculichi played in the 2003 South American Youth Championship in Uruguay, representing the Argentina youth football team. He started the game against Uruguay and scored in the 82nd minute. He also came on as a substitute in a match against Brazil. He was set to be naturalized to play for the Qatar national team by 2009. However, he had previously represented the Argentina under-20 team, rendering him ineligible to play for the Qatar team without special permission from FIFA. The same scenario occurred in 2012. The Al-Arabi administration wanted to naturalize him to have an extra foreign player in their squad to participate in the AFC Champions League. He did not gain Qatari citizenship, and the local media criticized the club's management.

Personal life

Pisculichi is of Croatian descent. His family Hispanicized their surname Piškulić (originally from the town of Novi Vinodolski) to its current spelling.

Career statistics

Club

Honors