(born
June 7 ,
1971 in
Empalme Villa Constitución ,
Argentina ) is football player. He is a naturalized
Ecuadorian Striker and after retiring in Ecuador he is only able to play amateur football, he has chosen to play for Argentinian fifth-level club
Atlético Empalme since May, 2007.
Graziani has been a top goalscorer for practically every team for which he has played. He made his professional debut in 1993 with
Newell's Old Boys of Argentina, where he was teammates with
Diego Maradona until he transferred later that year to
Sport Boys of the
Peruvian First Division .
Graziani transferred to the Ecuadorian First Division to play for
Aucas in 1995, and moved a year later to join
Emelec . During his two years with the club, 1996 and 1997, he led the league in scoring while helping Emelec earn league titles. His standout play earned him a transfer to
Morelia of the
Mexican First Division . Again he was one of the top goalscorers for his club and the league.
In 1999, Ariel was acquired by
Major League Soccer for a transfer fee of slightly less than $2 million, which at the time was the highest transfer fee ever paid by the league. Graziani was allocated to
New England Revolution but played in only three games for the Revolution before he was traded to the
Dallas Burn for
Colombian international
Leonel Álvarez .
Ariel was the leading goalscorer for the Burn in 2000 with 15 goals and 2001 with 11 goals until he was traded to the
San Jose Earthquakes for
El Salvadorian international
Ronald Cerritos . In 2002 with the Earthquakes, Graziani, while the team's leading goalscorer with 15 goals, failed to connect adequately with strike partner
Landon Donovan . MLS loaned out the final year of his contract. A bidding war between Emelec and
Barcelona SC ensued where, in the end, Barcelona offered MLS more money.
In 2003, Graziani, was the top scorer in Ecuador with Barcelona SC. He also scored what was voted the top goal in that year's
Copa Libertadores against the eventual winners
Boca Juniors . In 2004, he signed with Lanús in Argentina but only managed 4 goals in 17 games and eventually left the same year to return to
Barcelona SC and scored 8 goals from 18 games. In 2005, Graziani signed for
LDU Quito . He played there until December, 2006, when he officially retired. Nevertheless, in May, 2007, he signed with
Atlético Empalme , where he started his career. Empalme in 2007 plays for
Santa Fe Province in zone 9 of the ''
Torneo Del Interior C '', a complex regional fifth-level tournament.
Graziani has played in 33 games for the
Ecuadorian National Team during his career, scoring 15 goals for his adopted country.
