Alejandro Damián Domínguez (born 10 June 1981), also known as Chori, is a former Argentine footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker.
Career
Early career
After playing for second league club Quilmes, Domínguez, nicknamed 'Chorí' since he was a teenager, was signed by Argentine giants River Plate, crowning himself later on as three times Clausura champion with The Millionaires.
Rubin Kazan
Scouted by several European clubs, he ended up signing for Russian side Rubin Kazan, in 2004. During 2006 pre-season Rubin tried to sell him, but they were not satisfied with the amount offered for him and decided to keep him.
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Domínguez was signed by FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for €7 million before the start of 2007 Russian season, breaking the record transfer fee inside the Russian Premier League, however the record was exceeded in 2008, when Danny moved from FC Dynamo Moscow to Zenit Saint Petersburg for a fee well above 30 million euros. One of Domínguez's most notable performances was in the 4–0 UEFA Cup victory over Bayern Munich which sent Zenit to the final of the competition for the first time in the history of the club. Domínguez played exceptionally well and provided 2 assists. Zenit's fans will never forget how Dominguez won them their first championship title in 2007. The Gazprom-sponsored side needed a win at now-defunct Saturn in order to finish top and had to defend a last-minute corner when leading 1–0. As the Zenit Saint Petersburg defence froze, Baffour Gyan's header seemed to be making its way into the net, only for Chori—one of the shortest players on the pitch at 5-foot-7 – to miraculously jump on the line and head it onto the crossbar.
Back to Rubin Kazan
On 13 March 2009, Rubin Kazan signed 'Chori' back from Zenit, where he had some problems with the coach Dick Advocaat.
In the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, Domínguez played well for Rubin, providing the team with goals against Inter Milan and FC Dynamo Kiev. He also made an assist to Gökdeniz Karadeniz who scored a stunning match-winning goal against FC Barcelona during the group stage. Rubin Kazan failed to advance to the first knockout round due to a 2–0 loss against Internazionale.
He was named the best footballer in Russia of 2009 by the Russian Football Union, Sport Express newspaper and Russian weekly magazine Futbol.
Valencia
On 11 December 2009, it was announced that Domínguez would join Valencia. He signed a three-and-a-half year long contract on 14 December 2009. Dominguez was behind Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz in the selection.
At the middle of the 2010–11 season, Sky Sport Italia and Tuttosport claimed that Juventus had reached an agreement for a loan with the option to make it a permanent move in the summer. There were doubts as to whether the deal would go through as voices suggested the striker lacked an EU passport, meaning Juventus would not be able to sign him. However, it was revealed he had an Italian passport, making him eligible to join Juve as he would not affect their non-EU quotas.
River Plate
In the middle of 2011, the player contacted his employers at Valencia to negotiate a loan to former club River Plate, which had been relegated for the first time in its history to the second division of Argentina. His gesture was highly appreciated by the fans, and Domínguez featured as one of the team's stars in both attacking midfielder and forward roles for the club, scoring 5 goals, providing numerous assists and functioning as vice-captain.
Rayo Vallecano
In late June 2012, after he had achieved a return to the first division with River Plate, Domínguez was told he would not continue to play for River, as the club decided not to negotiate his transfer from Valencia. He left alongside top scorer and former captain Fernando Cavenaghi, both stating irreconcilable differences with club president, Daniel Passarella. He didn't stay in Valencia and was contracted at the beginning of August 2012 by Spanish Primera división club Rayo Vallecano, on a one-year deal. After signing the contract, he confessed the project they presented him was attractive, but he also chose the club because of the red stripe on the white home shirt, which reminded him of his home team River Plate's kit.
Olympiacos
The 32-year-old Argentine was widely expected to remain in Spain following his 12-month spell at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas, but instead opted to join former Getafe and Sevilla boss Michel at the Karaiskakis Stadium.