Diego Fernando Klimowicz (born 6 July 1974) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward.
He started and finished his 18-year professional career with Instituto, but competed mostly in Spain and Germany, notably amassing Bundesliga totals of 213 games and 71 goals in the latter country.
Club career Born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Klimowicz started his career at Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba in the Primera B Nacional. He was sold to Rayo Vallecano of La Liga in 1996, scoring 11 goals in his first season but being relegated to Segunda División; the latter club was later banned from buying or selling foreign players, for failing to pay the accorded sum of 240 million pesetas.
Klimowicz returned to the Spanish top division in December 1997, when he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Real Valladolid. After netting just seven times across all competitions during his spell at the Estadio José Zorrilla, however, he returned to his country in 1999 and joined Club Atlético Lanús.
Klimowicz was transferred to VfL Wolfsburg in December 2001, going on to remain in Germany – and its Bundesliga – for the better part of the following decade. He netted a career-best 15 goals in the 2003–04 campaign, helping his team finish in tenth place.
In May 2007, Klimowicz moved to fellow league side Borussia Dortmund on a two-year deal. On 25 August, his brace was crucial to the hosts' 3–0 home defeat of Energie Cottbus. He added four goals in their runner-up run in the DFB-Pokal, being booked as a second-half substitute in the decisive match, lost 2–1 to Bayern Munich after extra time.
In the 2008–09 winter transfer window, Klimowicz signed with VfL Bochum. On 2 March 2010, the 35-year-old announced his retirement from professional football due to a hip injury;
Klimowicz decided to come back from retirement on 24 December 2010, and re-joined his first team Instituto on a one-year contract.
International career In 2001, there were talks of Klimowicz playing either for the Poland or the Ukraine national teams, but at the end nothing became materialised.
Personal life Klimowicz's younger brother, Javier, was also a footballer, as well as his other sibling Nicolás; a goalkeeper, Javier won caps for Ecuador. Klimowicz's grandfather was born in Poland before World War II, in a territory that later became part of Ukraine. His son Mateo currently plays for Atlético San Luis in Liga MX.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsInstituto1993–94Primera B Nacional—1994–95—1995–96—TotalRayo Vallecano1996–97La Liga3411870042181997–98Segunda División1212000142Total4612107005619Valladolid1997–98La Liga20321002241998–992114200253Total4146300477Lanús1999–00Argentine Primera División3316—33162000–013017—30172001–02148—148Total7741007741VfL Wolfsburg2001–02Bundesliga1710100018102002–0325722002792003–043315218543212004–0527710002872005–062612116133142006–0721634002410Total1495711414617467Borussia Dortmund2007–08Bundesliga286640034102008–091001100111Total38675004511VfL Bochum2008–09Bundesliga11400001142009–101542100175Total2682100289Instituto2010–11Primera B Nacional101—101Career total3871293620146437155
Honours Borussia Dortmund DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2007–08
References
External links