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Fernando Gago

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Fernando Gago
File:Fernando-gago.jpg
Personal information
Full name Fernando Rubén Gago
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive Midfielder
Central Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 8
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 January 2009

Fernando Rubén Gago "El Pintita" (born April 10, 1986 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football midfielder, who plays for La Liga club Real Madrid.

Club career

Boca Juniors

Gago, who came from the youth divisions of Boca Juniors, made his professional debut with Boca in the 1–0 victory over Quilmes, on December 5, 2004. Despite his youth, he quickly became an essential part of the Boca Juniors' midfield. His solid performance attracted Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid[1], and FC Barcelona[2].

Real Madrid

File:Pipa y gago.jpg
Gago (right) warming up for Real Madrid with teammate Gonzalo Higuain

On Wednesday, November 15, 2006, Real Madrid President Ramón Calderón confirmed the signings of Gago as well as compatriot Gonzalo Higuaín of River Plate, and puts through a policy of signing younger players to gradually replace the older stars in the squad. However, news later put reports of Higuaín's departure to Real Madrid to rest as River Plate rejected a €10 million bid for the striker stating they would prefer him remain until at least June 2007. During the 2006 South American transfer saga, Gago's name was also linked with AC Milan. However, Ariedo Braida, Milan's top transfer guru was quoted as saying, "They (Gago and Higuaín) only want to go to Real Madrid". The transfer was finally agreed on December 19, 2006 for €20.4 million. Since the move, he has been very impressive in defensive midfield position[3] which led to comparisons to former Argentina "number 5" Fernando Redondo from Jorge Valdano and many other pundits.

Gago made his debut for Real Madrid in the 2–0 La Liga defeat against Deportivo La Coruna on January 7, 2007.[4] This promised to be an exciting start for the extremely talented midfielder, however due to the poor performance of the entire Real Madrid outfit, Gago's apparent talent was not withstanding, and, after being at fault for the opening goal by breaking from the rest of the defensive wall at a free-kick, he was substituted for Ronaldo[5]. However, a week later, against Real Zaragoza at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Gago's performance lifted along with that of his team mates. His defensive game picked up considerably as he fought hard in midfield, while also demonstrating vision by delivering several through balls to the attackers. Real Madrid defeated Real Zaragoza 1–0[6], with a goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy, created by fellow new signing Gonzalo Higuaín.

On May 20, 2007, with the score tied at 2–2 against Recreativo, Real Madrid looked set to return the lead back to rivals Barcelona until Fernando Gago gave a last minute assist to Roberto Carlos who scored at the end of the match and the squad left Huelva with just three "finals" left to play. Real managed to beat Recreativo 3–2 at the Nuevo Colombino and went on to win the league that year as well.

In his second season at the club, Gago displayed his true ability with a series of top class performances in the centre of Madrid's La Liga winning midfield. He managed to claim a first team spot in place of Mahamadou Diarra and was a key figure in the club's second successive league title.

In the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Gago only played 2 games due to an injury he picked up during the Champions League match against FC BATE. He managed to recover in time and was named in the starting eleven for October 27 La Liga clash against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid won 3–2 and Gago was praised for his match-winning performance in the midfield with Wesley Sneijder. Also in this season, Gago scored his first goal for Real Madrid, with a header from a free kick delivered by Guti against Sevilla to tie the game 3–3, however they went on to lose the game 3–4 with a goal from Renato in the 37th minute of the second half. Against Villarreal, he started in central midfield along with new signing Lassana Diarra. They put in a solid performance together, and since then they have been regular starters together in central midfield.

Club career statistics

Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Boca Juniors 2004-05 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2005-06 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 0 0
2006-07 37 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 1 0
Total 70 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 70 1 0
Real Madrid 2006-07 13 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 17 0 1
2007–08 31 0 3 4 0 1 6 0 0 41 0 4
2008-09 24 1 4 6 0 0 1 0 0 29 1 4
Spain 68 1 8 12 0 1 9 0 0 87 1 9
Career Total 138 1 8 12 0 1 9 0 0 157 2 9

Personal life

Gago, Sergio Agüero and Lionel Messi had all been teammates as children back in Argentina[7]. Together, the three of them won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. Presently all three of them, now in their twenties, are enjoying success at Spanish clubs (Agüero at Atlético Madrid and Messi at FC Barcelona).

Fernando Gago is also a literature and art enthusiast. The first thing he did after landing in Spain was visit the Prado Museum.[8]. He earned the nickname El Pintita ("pintar" in Spanish means "to paint") ever since Ramón Maddoni scolded him for playing with his hair.[9] Also, his Boca Juniors teammates would call him so because his youth squad coach would scold him "stop painting and run!"[10] He is called "Pintita" because in Argentina is common to refer to someone who looks good with the expression "Pinta", since Gago was a young kid at that time they called him "Pintita".

Gago is currently dating Argentine actress Micaela Vazquez.

National team

Gago was part of the under-20 squad which won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and was one of many touted "future stars" in the competition. Though he wasn't named in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he received a call-up a year later and played in the 2007 Copa America. Since then, he has been a regular squad member.

Most recently he was called up for the friendly against France on February 11, 2009 which Argentina won 2-0.

Titles

Boca Juniors

Real Madrid

2006-2007 and 2007-2008

  • Supercopa de España: 2008

International

References

  1. ^ "Gago gaga for Madrid move". Sky Sports. 2006-10-04.
  2. ^ "Barca take check on Boca pair". Sky Sports. 2006-10-04.
  3. ^ "Es Real". Olé sports newspaper. 2006-12-20.
  4. ^ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved January 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Deportivo La Coruna 2 0 Real Madrid, Match Report". Sky Sports. 2007-01-07.
  6. ^ "Real Madrid 1 0 Real Zaragoza, Match Report". Sky Sports. 2007-01-14.
  7. ^ Real Madrid C.F. Web Oficial - Real Madrid C.F. Official Web Site
  8. ^ Real Madrid C.F. Web Oficial - Real Madrid C.F. Official Web Site
  9. ^ http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1193041476158/1193041477708/jugador/Jugador/Gago.htm
  10. ^ http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202733625949/noticia/Noticia/Fernando_Gago_2008-04-21_16:53:48.htm

External links

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