Carlos Valderrama

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Carlos Valderrama
Valderrama2010.JPG
Valderrama in 2010
Personal information
Full name Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio
Date of birth (1961-09-02) September 2, 1961 (age 51)
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).

Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkarlos alˈberto βaldeˈrama paˈlasjo];[1] 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.[2][3][4][5]

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.[6][7] 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.

Contents

Career[edit]

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.[8]

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[edit]

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.[9]

Retirement as player[edit]

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.[10]

Playing Style[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Club[edit]

Montpellier HSC
Atletico Junior
Tampa Bay Mutiny

Individual[edit]

Other recognition[edit]

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[edit]

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

References[edit]

External links[edit]