Early years and Deportivo Born in
Montevideo, Pandiani started his career with hometown club
Progreso, moving on to
Basáñez and
Peñarol, the latter also in the country's capital. In December 1999 he agreed terms to join
Deportivo La Coruña as a replacement for his compatriot
Sergio Martínez, and the move was officially completed the following January when he signed a five-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, still remaining with Peñarol until the end of the season. Pandiani made his debut for the Spaniards on 27 August 2000, coming
from the bench for
Diego Tristán in a
2–0 win over
Espanyol at
Estadio Riazor in the
Supercopa de España return match. Despite never being an undisputed starter for the
Galician team he was one of their most important attacking elements, often scoring as a substitute, netting 13 goals during the
2003–04 season. Pandiani, who had a successful loan stint at
Mallorca while still at Depor, moved to
Birmingham City in the
Premier League, also on loan, in January 2005, after a series of run-ins with coach
Javier Irureta. He scored a goal on his debut against
Southampton in a 2–1 home win, and went on to score three more in
the season, prompting manager
Steve Bruce to sign him on a permanent contract for a reported fee of
£3 million. During his time at Deportivo, Pandiani bought a big red truck which he drove to training, a type of vehicle that he is a fan of, which he kept while at Deportivo, Espanyol and Osasuna. He personalised it with his nickname "El Rifle", a Uruguayan flag, and the emblems of his club and Uruguayan club
Peñarol.
Espanyol Having failed to continue to display his previous form, Pandiani returned to Spain on 13 January 2006, after completing a move to Espanyol for £1 million. including a first-half
hat-trick against eventual champions
Real Madrid in the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, but was top scorer in the
2006–07 UEFA Cup with eleven as his club reached
the final, which they lost
on penalties to
Sevilla.
Osasuna For
2007–08, Pandiani joined
Osasuna. Scarcely used in his first year, he was instrumental for the
Navarrese in
the following campaign, especially after the arrival in mid-October of coach
José Antonio Camacho, finishing as the club's top scorer. Osasuna's first goal of the
2010–11 season only came in the fourth matchday, and the 34-year-old Pandiani scored it through a header as the team came from behind to win it 3–1 against
Real Sociedad, at home. On 30 January 2011, during
half-time of a 1–0 home win against Real Madrid, he was involved in a "verbal spat" with
Cristiano Ronaldo, suggesting afterwards that "As a footballer he is a phenomenon but to do the things he does, maybe he has a screw loose."
Later career The 35-year-old Pandiani returned to Espanyol for
2011–12, signing a one-year contract and acting mainly as backup to youth graduate
Álvaro Vázquez. On 22 September he came from the bench to score the game's only goal at home against
Getafe, in stoppage time. On 27 October he repeated the feat, albeit not so late in the game, with a powerful header at home to
Real Betis. In late August 2012, Pandiani signed a one-year contract with
Segunda División club
Villarreal, where his 18-year-old son
Nico was a
C-team player. On his debut, at home to
Guadalajara on 2 September, he entered the game as a second-half substitute and scored the winning goal, and did the same the following week in another narrow win, at
Ponferradina. In late January 2013, Pandiani and Nico left Villarreal and joined
Atlético Baleares of the
Segunda División B. They both started in Nico's second senior match, and Pandiani scored in the 2–1 defeat away to
Sant Andreu on 12 May. In October 2013, the pair returned to Uruguay and signed for
Primera División club
Miramar Misiones. Pandiani scored three times in the six remaining matches of the
2013–14 Apertura, as his team finished next to bottom, and played regularly during the Clausura but scored only twice as they repeated their previous finish, which contributed to relegation. Pandiani returned to the Barcelona area where he spent the 2014–15 season coaching junior teams at
Masnou, where two of his sons played. He said that although he had always wanted to coach, he still thought of himself as a player and was open to offers; in June 2015, he signed for
Lausanne-Sport of the
Swiss Challenge League, with the remit of supervising and teaching the tricks of the trade to the 15-year-old striker
Andi Zeqiri, who had already made his first-team debut. The club won promotion to the
Super League as champions in his
only season; his one goal was an equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with
Aarau on 4 April, taking
Walter Samuel's record as oldest person to score in either of the
top two divisions of Swiss football, though the Argentine played for
Basel in the top flight. Pandiani announced his retirement on 16 June 2016 after a 23-year professional career, at the age of 40. After he retired, his truck was auctioned in Barcelona with 518,000 miles on the clock. ==International career==