Leandro Daniel Somoza is an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 football midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 who plays for Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

 in the Argentine Primera División.

Club career

Somoza began his professional career playing for Vélez Sársfield

Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield

Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield is a sports club based in the Liniers neighborhood of western Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vélez is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División, the top level of the Argentine league system...

 in the Argentine Primera in 2001. He played for the club for five years, and was a key player in the 2005 Clausura tournament winning team.

In 2006, Somoza was transferred to La Liga

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

s club Villareal CF on a five year contract. At Villarreal he joined fellow countrymen Juan Román Riquelme

Juan Román Riquelme

Juan Román Riquelme is an Argentine footballer who plays for Boca Juniors. A longtime Argentine international, Riquelme is best known for his spells with Boca Juniors and Villarreal...

, Gonzalo Rodríguez

Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez

Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez, sometimes just Gonzalo , is an Argentine footballer who plays for Villarreal CF in La Liga, as a central defender.-Club career:...

, Rodolfo Arruabarrena

Rodolfo Arruabarrena

Rodolfo Martín Arruabarrena is a former Argentine football left back. His last club was Universidad Católica in the Primera División de Chile...

, Fabricio Fuentes

Fabricio Fuentes

Fabricio Fabio Fuentes is an Argentine footballer who plays for Club Atlético All Boys as a central defender.-Club career:...

 and Mariano Barbosa

Mariano Barbosa

Mariano Damián Barbosa is an Argentine footballer who plays for UD Las Palmas in Spain, as a goalkeeper.-Club career:Barbosa started his career with Club Atlético Banfield in 2002...

. However, he spent only one season in Villarreal, being loaned in August 2007 to Real Betis

Real Betis

Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....

. The Argentine midfielder was presented to the media on 14 August and made his first appearance in a friendly against Real Zaragoza

Real Zaragoza

Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...

 two days later. His first competitive debut came in the season against Recreativo Huelva, on 26 August.

After his second season in Spain, Somoza returned to Argentina for the 2008–09 season to play again for Vélez Sársfield. During the 2009 Clausura, he was part of the squad that won the Argentine league championship, but did not participate in any of the games due to an injury he had suffered at the end of the previous tournament.

Somoza scored for the first time after his injury on a 1–1 draw with Lanús

Club Atlético Lanús

Club Atlético Lanús is a sports club from Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Founded on 3 January 1915, the club's main sports are football and basketball. In both sports, Lanús plays in Argentina's top divisions: Primera División and Liga Nacional de Básquet...

, on the 9th fixture of the 2009 Apertura.

On January 14, 2011, Somoza signed on to play with Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

.

International career

Somoza debuted for Argentina

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 by then new manager Alfio Basile

Alfio Basile

Alfio Basile , known as Coco, is an Argentine football coach and former player.-Playing career:Basile started his playing career at the Bella Vista club in his home city. From 1964 to 1970 he played for Racing Club, and then for Huracán, where he was a mainstay of the 1973 Metropolitano champions...

 in the friendly international against Brazil

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 at the Emirates Stadium

Emirates Stadium

Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 during 2006.
Two years later, while playing for Vélez, he was called again by Basile for the match against Chile

Chile national football team

The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...

. He remained on the bench, however.

Club

Vélez Sársfield

Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield

Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield is a sports club based in the Liniers neighborhood of western Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vélez is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División, the top level of the Argentine league system...

• Primera División: 2

2005 Clausura, 2009 Clausura

External links

• Profile at Vélez Sarsfield's official website
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI
• Career statistics at Guardian
• Somoza, Leandro Daniel at Historia de Boca.com