In terms of goalscorers, Argentina have had an embarrassment of riches down the years.
The likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta, Luis Artime and Daniel Passarella (to name just five) have all found the net for La Albiceleste on a regular basis during their respective international careers.
However, only two of those (Batistuta and Messi) have scored more goals in a light blue and white striped shirt than Hernan Crespo, who was born in the suburbs of Buenos Aires 39 years ago today.
Having risen through the ranks of his hometown club River Plate, Crespo made his senior debut in the 1993-94 campaign. His goals over the next couple of years alerted Italian side Parma, whom he would help to win both the 1999 Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup, scoring in the two finals in the process.
His 80 goals over a four-year period in a Parma jersey were enough to convince Lazio to part with a fee of £35m - then a world record amount - to take the striker to the Stadio Olimpico. The switch failed to work out, though, and in 2002 he moved to Inter Milan.
Crespo would spend just 12 months at the San Siro, before he arrived in England with Chelsea, who paid out almost £17m. Just as with Lazio, though, the move didn't pan out as expected and he spent time on loan with both AC Milan and Inter. A short second permanent stint with Inter followed, then his career wound down with Genoa and then finally Parma, where he retired in 2012.
In terms of international football, Crespo made his bow in a friendly encounter against Bulgaria in 1995. Yet, it wasn't until a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador two years later that he opened up his goalscoring account for his country.
A veteran of three World Cups, Crespo went on to score 35 goals from his 64 outings, leaving him third in Argentina's all-time list of goalscorers.
Liam Apicella
