Argentina´s Coloccini signs for Newcastle

Argentina defender Fabricio Coloccini has signed for English Premiership club Newcastle on a five-year contract, media reports said Friday.

The transfer fee paid by Spanish first division club Deportivo La Coruna for the 26-year-old was not revealed however.

Coloccini has experience at big clubs, having first started out at Argentine club Boca Juniors 10 years ago before joining Italian giants AC Milan in 1999.

However he made just one appearance for the San Siro side and spent the rest of his five years with the Italians on loan at San Lorenzo, Alaves, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal before moving on to Deportivo in 2004.

Coloccini was part of the Argentina Under-20 side that won the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship as well as the 2004 Olympic gold medal-winning team alongside Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

He also appeared in the 2006 World Cup and was part of the side that went down to two late Michael Owen goals in the 3-2 friendly defeat by England in November 2005.