Mario Yepes

Mario Yepes

Yepes while playing for Milan in 2010.
Personal information
Full name	Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz
Date of birth	13 January 1976 (1976-01-13)
Place of birth	Cali, Colombia
Height	6 ft 1 1⁄4 in (1.86 m)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Milan
Number	76
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1997	Cortuluá	59	(4)
1997–1999	Deportivo Cali	61	(7)
1999–2002	River Plate	76	(6)
2002–2004	Nantes	73	(2)
2004–2008	Paris Saint-Germain	115	(8)
2008–2010	Chievo	63	(1)
2010–	Milan	19	(1)
National team‡
1999–	Colombia	84	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2011

Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz (born 13 January 1976) is a Colombian professional footballer, who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. He has also been the captain of the Colombian national team since 2008.

Club career

When Mario Yepes started his playing career in 1994 with Cortuluá, he was playing as a forward before Cortulua's coach converted him to a libero (sweeper). His career really took off after he signed for his home town club Deportivo Cali in 1998. He won two Colombian championships with Deportivo Cali.

In 1999, he joined River Plate in Argentina, where he became a star and won two Argentine Primera championships. In spite of the fact that several Italian and English clubs wanted to recruit him, he signed for FC Nantes Atlantique in January 2002 where his nickname was “El Rey.” He became one the best central defenders of the French first division and joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2004, where his nickname was "Super Mario" as a reference to his defensive abilities and fitness levels. In 2008 he joined Chievo Verona of Italy. He signed a new contract in summer 2009.

In March 2010, Chievo team-mate, Sergio Pellissier, confirmed that Yepes would join Milan in the summer, when his contract ran out.

On 1 July 2010, Milan delegate administrator Adriano Galliani declared that Yepes is a big player to replace Giuseppe Favalli who became a free agent on the same day.

Yepes got to Milan in the 2010-2011 season but was quickly deployed as a substitute due to the starting centre-back being Thiago Silva. Yepes played few games in the Italian Serie A, but participated in the UEFA Champions League. Yepes was close to scoring with Milan in the UEFA Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspur, in which he had two clear chances of scoring with a header, but was denied twice by Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes.

Mario Yepes scored his first goal for AC Milan on the 23 October 2011, where he finished off a remarkable Milan comeback against U.S. Lecce, scoring the 4th and winning goal for Milan in the 83rd minute to drive Milan to a 4-3 victory, with Kevin-Prince Boateng scoring a hat-trick to level the scores after a 3-0 losing position.

International career

Yepes has played over 80 games for the Colombian national team since his debut in 1999. He was part of the Colombia squad that won the Copa América in 2001. He was also in the squads for three other editions of the tournament in 1999, 2007 and 2011.

Honours

Club

• Deportivo Cali
  • Colombian Professional Football: 1998, 1999
  • Copa Libertadores de América: Second Place: 1999
  • Copa Merconorte: Second Place 1999
• River Plate
  • Apertura: 1999
  • Clausura: 2000
• Paris Saint-Germain
  • Coupe de France: 2006
  • Coupe de la Ligue: 2008
• Milan
  • Serie A: 2011
  • Supercoppa Italiana: 2011

International

• Copa America: 2001
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Fourth Place 2003

External links

• Profile at official club website
• Profile at Assocalciatori.it (Italian)
• yepes-mario {{{last}}} French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Mario Yepes at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mario Yepes – FIFA competition record
• ESPN Profile
• U.S. Lecce vs. A.C. Milan, match report at Goal.com