Joaquin Correa played for Lazio from 2018 to 2021.
Joaquin Correa was born in Juan Bautista Alberdi, Argentina, on August 13, 1994. He is nicknamed 'El Tucu'(connected with his province of origin, Tucumán).
Correa spent his youth career at River Plate, Renato Cesarini and Estudiantes. It was for Estudiantes of Mar de Plata that he made his professional debut on May 19, 2012, against Banfield (replacing future Italian rival Duván Zapata). His first goal came on May 10 against San Lorenzo (of future Roman neighbour Pope Francis). He made 53 appearances for Los Pincharratas (The Rat stabbers) scoring 3 goals (one against Boca Juniors).
In December 2014 Correa signed for Sampdoria in Serie A, Italy for 8.8 million dollars. He made his debut for the Genoese on February 15, 2015. In a year and a half Correa played 31 league games and scored 3 goals.
In July 2016 Correa left Italy and joined Sevilla in Spain for 13 million Euros. In his two seasons in Andalusia he played 47 league games with 5 goals, 12 in Copa del Rey with 8 goals, 13 in Europa League with 8 goals plus a Supercopa de Espana.
In August 2018 Correa came back to Italy and signed for Lazio for 16 million Euros plus add ons. In his first season in Rome he played 34 league games and scored 5 goals. His first league goal came on September 26 against Udinese. He would also score a dramatic 94th minute equalizer against Milan.
His contribution in Serie A was good, but it was in Coppa Italia that he had his best moments. Firstly he scored the winner away to Milan in the semi-final and then he scored a brilliant solo goal against Atalanta in the final, to seal Lazio's triumph in some tense final minutes of the game.
In his first season with the Biacocelesti he would lift a trophy and score 9 goals (including 2 in Europa League) in 44 appearances.
His second year in Rome was also a trophy winning one. On December 22, in Riyadh, Lazio defeated Juventus 3-1 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. Correa played 30 Serie A games and scored 9 goals plus 1 game in Coppa Italia, 3 in Europa League (1 goal) and the Supercoppa Final in Saudi Arabia. The year would see the “campionato” interrupted for many months due to the Covid-19 crisis and Lazio then qualify for Champions League.
Correa's third year at Lazio would be his last. No cups were won, but they did take part in the Champions League group phase after 13 years of absence. He played 28 league games with 8 goals and made 2 appearances in Coppa Italia. It was in Champions League where Correa shone brightest. Lazio got through the group phase also thanks to a memorable 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. They were then knocked out by a clearly superior Bayern Munich side but Correa scored both in Rome and in Munich, his final tally was 3 goals in 8 games.
With the departure of manager Simone Inzaghi and the arrival of Maurizio Sarri, Correa decided to follow Inzaghi to Inter. In August 2021 he was loaned to the Nerazzurri for 5 million Euros, with a successive sign on fee of 25 million Euros.
Correa scored a brace on his Inter debut in a 3-1 away victory at Verona. In his first year at Inter they did not win the scudetto as most had predicted but did win the Supercoppa Italiana (against Juventus) and the Coppa Italia (again Juventus after extra time). He played 26 league games with 6 goals, 4 games in Coppa Italia and 5 in Champions League.
This year he is still at Inter but with the arrival of Romeu Lukaku and with the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko already in the squad Correa faced stiff competition for playing time. Luckily for El Tucu Inter had plenty of games to play, being in 3 competitions.
At International level Correa made his senior debut on 9 June 2017 in a '”friendly” against Brazil. His first goal for Argentina came against Singapore on 13 June of the same year. In 2021 he was part of the La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue) squad that won the Copa Amerca making 3 appearances. So far he has 17 caps and 3 goals for Argentina.
Correa is usually played as a supporting striker, for Immobile at Lazio. He is however a player of movement and possesses good athleticism so can often be seen in other areas of the forward line. He has excellent ball control which combined with his dribbling ability and pace make him a threatening prospect for defenders. He is also agile and has some of that gliding quality Kakà once had. He is not however a clinical finisher often scoring spectacular goals but missing the sitters.
At Lazio Correa was a mixed success. He scored some great and decisive goals and helped Lazio lift two trophies and no-one disputed his talent. He nevertheless seemed to lack the killer instinct and would often drift in and out of matches. There was the sense he had to toughen up and be more consistent to become a top player. He showed Lazio fans flashes of his undisputed huge talent but left with impression he could have done more.
What he did do of course includes a Cup Final goal which will never be forgotten.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2018-19 | 44 (9) | 34 (5) | 4 (2) | - | 6 (2) | - |
2019-20 | 35 (10) | 30 (9) | 1 | - | 3 (1) | 1 |
2020-21 | 38 (11) | 28 (8) | 2 | 8 (3) | - | - |
Total | 117 (30) | 92 (22) | 7 (2) | 8 (3) | 9 (3) | 1 |
Sources