Growing up, Martín Palermo always struck me as the epitome of cool. Bleached hair, surfer’s swagger, and a knack for scoring goals that made entire stadiums erupt. But it wasn’t just the goals - it was everything around them: the three missed penalties in a single match (the ultimate anti-hat-trick?), the broken leg during a celebration, the black eye under stadium lights.
He wasn’t just a footballer. He was a character. In a world increasingly obsessed with precision, Palermo was glorious chaos. And I loved every bit of it.
So let’s step into the wild, unforgettable world of Martín “El Loco” Palermo.
La Plata Beginnings
Palermo’s journey began at Estudiantes de La Plata, his boyhood club.
Born on 7 November 1973 in La Plata, Argentina, Palermo grew up just minutes away from the stadium where he would later launch his career. Raised in a working-class family, he was a quiet, football-obsessed kid - the kind who’d rather kick a ball off a wall for hours than talk.
He made his debut in 1992, aged 18, and scored his first professional goal the following year. He experienced relegation in 1994 but played a key role in promotion the very next season, alongside a young Juan Sebastián Verón.
He nearly left on loan to San Martín de Tucumán, but fate intervened. The coach resigned, and Palermo stayed. Under Daniel Córdoba, he became the team’s main striker. In 1995-96, he netted 16 goals in 27 matches, including a brace at La Bombonera that stunned Boca Juniors. He left Estudiantes with 90 appearances and 34 goals.
The seeds of a legend had been planted.
Maradona’s Boca
Palermo once asked for Maradona’s shirt before a match. He got it - after scoring two goals that day. Their bond was sealed.
In mid-1997, Boca Juniors signed Palermo and the Barros Schelotto twins - on the insistence of Maradona himself.
On 25 October 1997, in his first Superclásico, Palermo headed home the winner at El Monumental. It was also Maradona’s last professional game. A symbolic handover.
Carlos Bianchi’s arrival in 1998 sparked a golden era. Palermo became top scorer of the 1998 Apertura with 20 goals in 19 games, as Boca claimed their first title in six years. His connection with Guillermo Schelotto was telepathic.
Fall and Resurrection
Selected for the 1999 Copa América, Palermo scored three goals in four matches. But on 4 July, in a group stage game against Colombia, he missed three penalties - an infamy that earned him a Guinness World Record. Argentina lost 3-0, and although they still qualified for the quarter-finals, the incident left a permanent mark on Palermo’s international reputation.
“No one came to take the third one,” he recalled. “So I did it again.”
The fallout was brutal. The media ridiculed him. The coaching staff lost confidence. Though Argentina would go on to lose to Brazil in the quarters, Palermo never played for the national team again under Marcelo Bielsa. His international career, barely started, was effectively frozen. For a decade, he would watch the Albiceleste from a distance - as Batistuta, Crespo, Tevez and others took centre stage.
Later that year, just after his 100th top-flight goal, he tore his ACL. Months of rehab followed. He returned during the 2000 Copa Libertadores quarter-final against River Plate. Not fully fit, he came off the bench and scored. That goal, dubbed el gol de las muletas, became part of Boca folklore.
Then, on 28 November 2000, Boca faced Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup. Palermo scored twice in the opening minutes, leading Boca to a 2-1 win. He was named Man of the Match. Europe was now paying attention.
The European Detour
Palermo joined Villarreal in January 2001 for €7.6 million, a record for the club at the time. The Yellow Submarine were beginning to dream bigger, assembling an ambitious project with players like Barros Schelotto, Guillermo Amor, and, later, Riquelme. Palermo was brought in as the marquee striker - a proven goalscorer with continental charisma.
He made a decent start in La Liga, scoring goals and adapting to the pace of Spanish football. But the dream turned into a nightmare in surreal fashion. After scoring in a league match against Levante, Palermo ran to celebrate with the travelling fans. The crowd surged forward, a protective barrier gave way, and a wall collapsed. In the chaos, several fans were injured - and so was Palermo: double fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left leg. He hadn’t been tackled. He hadn’t fallen. He’d simply celebrated.
He was out for six months, and the injury changed everything. Though he returned before the season ended, his explosiveness had dulled, and so had the momentum around him. He struggled to regain form at Villarreal, scoring just 6 goals in 17 appearances. The Spanish press, eager for quick returns, began to write him off. His next two seasons at the club weren’t very prolific: 7 and 8 goals. In total, he scored 21 goals in 81 games for Villarreal.
In 2003 the club signed Sonny Anderson and Palermo moved to Real Betis. But injuries and tactical misfits continued to haunt him. He played 11 matches, scored 2 goals, and quietly moved again, this time to Deportivo Alavés in the Segunda División. There, he managed 3 goals in 14 appearances, but the sparkle was gone. The Palermo that lit up Bombonera never truly arrived in Europe. Whether it was the injury, the wrong system, or simply the wrong stage, his European chapter ended not with disgrace - it just came to an uneventful end.
He would later reflect on those years with calm detachment, saying:
“It wasn’t my moment. Europe wasn’t for me. My place was always Boca.”
Return to Boca - Titles, Tragedy, Transcendence
In 2004, aged 30, Martín Palermo returned to Boca Juniors - the club where he belonged. His comeback was as dramatic as his career: he was sent off in his very first match back. But as always, the chaos didn’t stop him. The goals came quickly. The crowd welcomed their hero like a long-lost son. El Titán was home.
Under Alfio Basile, Boca entered another golden period. Palermo became the leader of a squad that collected silverware with consistency: two Copa Sudamericanas, three Recopas Sudamericanas, and more Primera División titles. His presence in the box remained fearsome, his aerial power undiminished, and his hunger intact.
But off the pitch, life dealt him a devastating blow. In 2006, Palermo and his partner lost their newborn son, Stefano, just two days after his birth. Instead of retreating, he did what only someone like Palermo would do - he stepped back onto the field just days later. He scored twice, lifted his eyes to the sky, and kissed a tattoo bearing his son’s name. It was one of the most moving moments of his career - a gesture of pain, love, and resilience, played out under the floodlights of La Bombonera.
In 2007, he helped Boca win another Copa Libertadores, scoring in the 3-0 final first leg against Grêmio - yet another reminder of his big-game instincts. By now, his status as a Boca legend was sealed.
But Palermo wasn’t done writing headlines. In 2009, he set his second Guinness World Record, scoring with a header from 38.9 metres - the longest headed goal ever recorded. That same year, he also became the top scorer in the history of the Superclásico, overtaking legends with his 19th goal against River Plate.
It was a time of titles, of personal loss, and of sporting immortality - and through it all, Martín Palermo remained the same: fearless, emotional, impossible to ignore.
Saint Palermo
Palermo’s relationship with the Argentina national team was anything but straightforward. Despite his domestic dominance, he spent the prime of his career in international exile.
But in 2009, everything changed. Diego Maradona, now Argentina’s head coach, was under pressure. The team was struggling to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Maradona - never one to follow convention - turned to his old friend. Palermo’s scoring form at Boca was undeniable, and his personality matched the emotional rollercoaster of the campaign. It was a decision rooted in loyalty, belief, and shared madness.
On 10 October 2009, Argentina faced Peru in Buenos Aires. Rain poured down. The score was 1-1 in stoppage time. A draw would leave Argentina’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread. And then, the ball fell to Palermo.
He scored.
Maradona belly-flopped onto the soaked touchline in delirium. Palermo ran, arms wide open, face alight. “Saint Palermo,” the newspapers cried the next day. “It’s either destiny or God,” he said. He was 36 - and Argentina were going to the World Cup.
At South Africa 2010, Maradona included him in the squad - a decision that surprised many. Palermo wasn’t expected to play, but once again, he found his moment. In the group-stage match against Greece, he came off the bench and scored with typical instinct. He became Argentina’s oldest goalscorer at a World Cup, and the scenes were emotional: family in the stands, teammates swarming him, Maradona waiting with a gift - his diamond earring.
It was more than a goal. It was closure. Redemption. A full circle moment for a player who had lived through humiliation, heartbreak, and resurrection - and never stopped believing.
Argentina reached the quarter-finals, playing bold, passionate football under Maradona. But the dream ended with a 4-0 defeat to Germany, exposing tactical flaws and defensive frailties. It was the end of the road - for Diego, for that team, and for Martín Palermo in the sky blue and white.
Farewell
Palermo retired in June 2011. His final Superclásico? A 2-0 win over River Plate. His final goal? Number 227 in Argentina’s top flight. At his Bombonera farewell, Boca gifted him one of the goalposts.
He scored 237 goals for Boca - a club record.
Post-retirement, Palermo turned to management. He brings grit, charisma, and his eternal belief in impossible goals.
Diego’s Shadow
Palermo and Maradona shared more than pitch time. They shared grief, triumph, and loyalty. Diego called him in 2020, warm as ever.
When Maradona died in 2021, Palermo was crushed. “He always survived,” he said. “But not this time.” He mourned how Diego was left alone, mistreated in his final years. “He didn’t live the life he deserved. For me, he was God.”
The Last Romantic Number 9
El Loco. El Titán. El Optimista del Gol.
A striker who believed in goals the way poets believe in verses. 187 centimeters tall, left-footed, and lethal with his head, he scored from angles that defied logic.
Carlos Bianchi said:
“Even when everything is against him, he believes he’ll score. The box is his home.”
He ended with 249 career goals in 592 matches, 15 caps and 9 goals for Argentina. A Boca legend, a national icon.
No media-trained smiles. No brand deals. Just mud, passion, and impossible goals.
Today, a player like Martín Palermo might not exist. But that’s exactly why he mattered.
Because football needs characters.
It needs madness.
It needs more Palermos.
