Carlos Valderrama

For the baseball player, see Carlos Valderrama (baseball).

Carlos Valderrama

Valderrama in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio
Date of birth	(1961-09-02) September 2, 1961
Place of birth	Santa Marta, Colombia
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1981–1984	Unión Magdalena	94	(5)
1984	Millonarios	33	(0)
1985–1988	Deportivo Cali	131	(22)
1988–1991	Montpellier	77	(4)
1991–1992	Real Valladolid	17	(1)
1992–1993	Independiente Medellín	10	(1)
1993–1995	Atlético Junior	82	(5)
1996–1997	Tampa Bay Mutiny	43	(7)
1998	Miami Fusion	22	(3)
1999–2001	Tampa Bay Mutiny	71	(5)
2001–2002	Colorado Rapids	39	(1)
National team
1985–1998	Colombia	111	(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Valderrama and the second or maternal family name is Palacio.

Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkarlos alˈberto βaldeˈrama paˈlasjo]; born September 2, 1961 in Santa Marta, Colombia), also known as El Pibe ("The Kid") is a former Colombian football player. His mesmerizing mass of blond afro hair, coupled with his equally flamboyant and mesmeric technique on the ball, made him one of Colombia's most recognizable footballers, and arguably, one of the most recognizable footballers around the globe historically.

Valderrama was well known during his time in the MLS. Perhaps one of the most noticeable foreign players to ever grace the MLS, he played a huge role in the uprising of the league itself during the 1990s. Most noticeably by becoming a pioneer that inspired a wave of Colombian (as well as general foreign) footballers to play their talents in the league causing a huge influence of increasing both the popularity and strength of the league itself. To this day, he is an icon as one of the most decorated playmakers to ever play in the MLS.

Valderrama was a member of the Colombia national football team in the 1990s. Between 1985 and 1998 he represented Colombia in 111 full internationals and scored 11 times, making him the most capped player in the country's history. Valderrama was known for the accuracy of his passing, his tactical brain which allowed him to have a strong presence without the necessity of running as much as it would be expected, his exquisite technique on the ball, and his ability to provide assists that were very immaculate. Valderrama played a huge role during the golden era of Colombian football during the 1990s. In 2004, Valderrama was included in the FIFA 100, a list of "greatest living footballers" chosen by Pelé to celebrate the 100th anniversary of FIFA.

Career

Valderrama began his career at Unión Magdalena of the Colombian First Division in 1981. He also played for Millonarios and Deportivo Cali before joining Montpellier of the French First Division in 1988. He then went on to play for Independiente Medellín and then Atlético Junior, for whom he won the Colombian championship in 1993 and 1995. In 1996, he went to the US to play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–97, 2000–01), Miami Fusion (1998–99), and Colorado Rapids (2001–02). While a member of the Mutiny, the team would sell Carlos Valderrama wigs at Tampa Stadium. In Major League Soccer, Valderrama scored relatively few goals (16) for a midfielder, but is the league's second all-time leader in assists (114) after Steve Ralston (121), a former teammate. In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI. He was also named one of the top players of the 20th century by Pelé in 1999.

As a player, Valderrama was known for his excellent field vision and elegance on the ball.^{[citation needed]} He captained Colombia's national football team to victory in the 1994 Fifa World Cup CONMEBOL qualifiers. He always wore the number 10 jersey, and was a free kick specialist.

MLS career

In the years 2000 "Carlos Valderrama recorded the only 20+ assist season in MLS history. He ended the season with 26, considered to be an unbreakable record.

Retirement as player

In February 2004, Valderrama ended his 22-year career in a tribute match at the Metropolitan stadium of Barranquilla, with some of the most important football players of South America, such as Diego Maradona, Enzo Francescoli and José Luis Chilavert.

Valderrama has since become assistant manager of Atlético Junior. On November 1, 2007, Valderrama accused a referee of corruption by waving cash in the face of Oscar Julian Ruiz when the official awarded a penalty to América de Cali. Junior lost the match 4–1, which ended the club's hopes of playoff qualification.

Playing Style

Valderrama was an elegant player on the ball, in the most unconventional way possible. Always was a slow player, but was blessed with electric, lightweight, feet, which compensated for the lack of pace. A two-footed player, with no obvious inclination towards the right or left foot. Standing at 1.75 mts (5'9) he was of average height, but for a 1.75 mts player he was somewhat wide, which from certain camera angles made him look even shorter. The noticeable and characteristic width to his physical build, was perhaps a crucial factor, that could perhaps explain why Valderrama had such an unique ability. It's difficult to explain in words without necessarily drifting into a subjective persuasive argument, but Valderrama's ability of consistently holding the ball even when two to three opponents tried to take the ball away from him, was indeed described as "mesmeric" many times, particularly by English commentators who were not used to watching such an unusual player. As deterministic as it might sound, maybe a crucial factor as to why Valderrama could consistently hold the ball when it seemed impossible to do so, was due to the extraordinary width of his physique, which allowed him extra room of movement, when moving the ball from one foot to the other.

Personal life

Valderrama is married and has three children.^{[citation needed]} Valderrama was the only Colombian to feature in FIFA's 125 Top Living Football Players list in March 2004. He is currently a coach for a football soccer academy in Clearwater, Florida.

Honours

Club

Montpellier HSC

• French Cup: 1990

Atletico Junior

• Colombian Championship: 1993, 1995

Tampa Bay Mutiny

• MLS Supporters' Shield: 1996

Individual

• South American Footballer of the Year: 1987, 1993
• MLS All-Star of the Year: 1996
• Major League Soccer MVP: 1996
• FIFA 100

Other recognition

A statue of Valderrama outside Estadio Eduardo Santos in Santa Marta.

Valderrama appeared on the cover of International Superstar Soccer 98, a video game developed by Konami for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation version, International Superstar Soccer Pro 98. In the Nintendo 64 version, he is referred to by his nickname, El Pibe. A 22-foot bronze statue of Valderrama, created by Colombian artist Amilkar Ariza, was erected outside Estadio Eduardo Santos in Valderrama's birthplace of Santa Marta in 2006.

Statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colombia			League		Cup		Total
1981	Unión Magdalena
1982
1983
1984	Millonarios
1985	Deportivo Cali
1986
1987
France			League		Coupe de France		Total
1988–89	Montpellier	Division 1	24	1
1989–90			18	1
1990–91			35	2
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Total
1990–91	Real Valladolid	La Liga	17	1
Colombia			League		Cup		Total
1992	Independiente Medellín
1993	Atlético Junior		35	4
1994			18	1
1995			29	0
USA			League		Open Cup		Total
1996	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Major League Soccer	23	4
1997			20	3
1998	Miami Fusion	Major League Soccer	18	2
1999			4	1
1999	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Major League Soccer	27	3
2000			32	1
2001			12	1
2001	Colorado Rapids	Major League Soccer	12	0
2002			27	1
2003			0	0
Total	Colombia
	France		77	4
	Spain		17	1
	USA		175	16
Career total

External links

• Carlos Valderrama at National-Football-Teams.com
• International statistics at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
• Profile at Columbia.com (Spanish)
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