Argentina's New Caudillo

Her

nan Crespo, Argentina's 26-year-old goal-scoring phenom, has all the physical traits you could want in a center forward. Tall and powerfully built, he can shoot with either foot, is lethal in the air and can blow by defenders with his speed. He also has an uncanny gift for positioning himself in anticipation of the ball. And, baby, can he score.

Spearheading his club Lazio's attack against the fearsome defenses of Italy's Serie A, Crespo led the league with 26 goals in the 2000-01 season. This year, though nagged by injury, Crespo has maintained his torrid pace, notching 13 goals in 21 club games. In Argentina's qualifying campaign for the Cup final, he scored nine times in 18 matches. Indeed, in his first 326 professional games, he tallied an astonishing 183 goals.

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Crespo grew up in Florida, a middle-class suburb of Buenos Aires and traditional recruiting ground for Argentina's powerhouse club River Plate. He joined River's junior league at the age of nine and its first division squad at just 17, scoring 13 goals in his debut year. Italian giant Juventus took notice of the teenage wonder but Crespo rejected their offer, preferring to remain in Argentina until his game improved. In 1996, after helping River Plate capture the Copa Libertadores—Argentina's club tournament of champions—Crespo finally felt ready to make the jump. So he signed with Italian club Parma. Four years and 62 goals later, Lazio paid an astounding $55 million to buy Crespo's transfer and bring him to Rome.

Crespo made it into Argentina's 1998 World Cup squad, but took a backseat to legendary center-forward Gabriel Batistuta. This time, Crespo has beaten out Batistuta—much to the dismay of "Batigol's" adorers. Gonzalo Bonadeo, one of Argentina's foremost sports analysts, isn't surprised. "Crespo is a goal-scorer," observes Bonadeo, "but it is really remarkable how much he helps his teammates score as well."

One lingering worry, though, is Crespo's fitness. In March, he injured an ankle in a Lazio team practice and couldn't play for four weeks. He returned to action with his ankle still bothering him, and—surprise, surprise—still managed to score. Even a hobbling Crespo is a defender's nightmare.