Estefanía Banini

Estefanía Romina Banini Ruiz (born 21 June 1990) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward on loan for Spanish club Levante UD. She also plays for the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and the Argentina women's national team.

Banini has previously spent four seasons with Colo-Colo of the Chilean women's football championship, two seasons with the Spirit, and a season with Valencia. Banini is a member of the Argentine women's national team. She is often referred to as the female equivalent of male football star Lionel Messi and the Marta of Argentina.

Colo-Colo

Banini played for Colo-Colo in Chile from 2011 to 2014. In December 2014, she captained the team to win its ninth consecutive national title after scoring twice and defeating Santiago Morning 3–1.

Washington Spirit (2015–2016)

In January 2015, it was announced that Banini had signed with the Washington Spirit for the third season of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Of her signing, Spirit head coach Mark Parsons said, "Estefania is an exceptional talent and I do not think there is a player like her in the league. She is going to give the team a very different dynamic and provide us with real quality in the final third." She played and started in the first four games of the 2015 season before sustaining an injury which sidelined her for the rest of the year. Banini came back strong midway through the 2016 season, scoring five goals in a seven-game period before sustaining another injury. The Argentine was awarded the Spirit 2016 Golden Boot award, NWSL Goal of the Week for Week 13, NWSL Player of the Week for Week 13, and NWSL Player of the Month for July.

Valencia (2016–2017)

In October 2016 Banini transferred to Spain's Primera División club Valencia CF Femenino.

Washington Spirit (2017–present)

Banini re-signed with the Washington Spirit on 19 June 2017. she appeared in 9 games in 2017, and scored 1 goal. In 2018 Banini only appeared in 12 games for the Spirit as she missed time due to the 2018 Copa América and missed the last seven games of the season due to a knee injury.

On 4 December 2018 Banini re-signed with the Spirit for the 2019 NWSL season.

Loan to Levante

On 17 October 2018 Banini joined Levante in the Spanish Primera División.

Banini has played for the Argentina women's national football team since 2010. In September 2014, she scored a penalty kick in a match against Brazil helping Argentina win 2–0 during the Copa América Femenina tournament. Banini scored three goals at the 2018 Copa América Femenina.

International goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 November 2010	Estadio La Cocha, Latacunga, Ecuador	Bolivia	3–0	3–0	2010 South American Women's Football Championship
2	10 March 2014	Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida, Santiago, Chile			4–0	2014 South American Games
3	16 March 2014		Chile	1–0	2–1
4	20 September 2014	Estadio Jorge Andrade, Azogues, Ecuador	Brazil	2–0	2–0	2014 Copa América Femenina
5	28 September 2014	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	1–0	2–3
6	5 April 2018	Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile	Brazil	1–1	1–3	2018 Copa América Femenina
7	9 April 2018		Ecuador	1–0	6–3
8	13 April 2018		Venezuela	2–0	2–0

Individual

• Player of the Year: 2013, 2014

Team

• Torneo de Clausura Femenino champion: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
• Copa Libertadores: 2012