Carlos Valderrama

Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as "El Pibe" ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and commentator for Fútbol de Primera. An attacking midfielder, Valderrama is considered by many to be one of the greatest South American players in history and was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

A creative playmaker, he is regarded as one of the best Colombian footballers of all time, and by some, as Colombia's greatest player ever. His distinctive hairstyle, as well as his precise passing and technical skills made him one of South America's most recognisable footballers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He won the South American Footballer of the Year award in 1987 and 1993, He is the fifth highest assister in the history of national teams and the twelfth overall, including clubs, and in 1999, he was also named one of the top 100 players of the 20th century by World Soccer.

Valderrama was a member of the Colombia national team from 1985 until 1998, representing his country in 111 full internationals and scoring 11 times. This makes him the fourth-most capped player in the national team’s history, behind James Rodriguez, David Ospina and Juan Cuadrado. He played a major role during the golden era of Colombian football in the 1990s, representing his national side in three FIFA World Cups and five Copa América tournaments.

After spending most of his career playing club football in South America and Europe, towards the end of his career Valderrama played in Major League Soccer, joining the league in its first season. One of the most recognisable players in the league at the time of its inception, he helped popularise the league during the second half of the 1990s. He remained an icon, and is one of the most decorated MLS players; in 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

Club career Colombia and Europe Born on 2 September 1961 in Santa Marta, Colombia, Valderrama began his career at Unión Magdalena of the Colombian First Division in 1981. He also later played for Millonarios in 1984. He joined Deportivo Cali in 1985, where he played most of his Colombian football. In 1988, he moved to the French First Division side Montpellier. He struggled to adapt to the less technical and the faster, more physical, and tactical brand of football being played in Europe, losing his place in the squad. However, his passing ability later saw him become the club's main creative force, and he played a decisive role as his side won the Coupe de France in 1990. In 1991, he remained in Europe and joined Spanish side Real Valladolid for a season. He then returned to Colombia in 1992 and went on to play for Independiente Medellín, and subsequently Atlético Junior in 1993, with whom he won the Colombian championship in 1993 and 1995.

MLS career

Valderrama began his Major League Soccer career with the US side Tampa Bay Mutiny in the league's inaugural 1996 season. The team won the first ever Supporters' Shield, awarded for having the league's best regular season record, while Valderrama was the league's first Most Valuable Player, finishing the season with 4 goals and 17 assists. He remained with the club for the 1997 season, and also spent a spell on loan back at Deportivo Cali in Colombia, before moving to another MLS side, Miami Fusion, in 1998, where he also remained for two seasons. He returned to Tampa Bay in 2000, spending two more seasons with the club; while a member of the Mutiny, the team would sell Carlos Valderrama wigs at Tampa Stadium.

In 2001, Valderrama joined the Colorado Rapids, and remained with the team until 2002, when he retired. He played his last career match in a 1–1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards on 20 September 2002, with Valderrama assisting Mark Chung's goal, and in doing so at the age of 41 years and 18 days, he became the oldest player in the league's history at the time, a record that has since been surpassed by four other players, including three goalkeepers. His American soccer league career spanned a total of eight years, during which he made 175 appearances. In the MLS, Valderrama scored relatively few goals (16) for a midfielder, but is the league's fourth all-time leader in assists (114) after Brad Davis (123), Steve Ralston (135) – a former teammate, and Landon Donovan (145). In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

International career Valderrama was a member of the Colombia national football team from 1985 until 1998; he made 111 international appearances, scoring 11 goals, making him the third-most capped outfield player in the country's history. He represented and captained his national side in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 FIFA World Cups, and also took part in the 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995 Copa América tournaments.

Valderrama made his international debut on 27 October 1985, in a 3–0 defeat to Paraguay in a 1986 World Cup qualifying match, at the age of 24. In his first major international tournament, he helped Colombia to a third-place finish at the 1987 Copa América in Argentina, as his team's captain, where he was named the tournament's best player; during the tournament, he scored the opening goal in Colombia's 2–0 over Bolivia on 1 July, their first match of the group stage.

On 5 September 1993, Valderrama contributed to Colombia's historic 5–0 victory over South American rivals Argentina at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, which allowed them to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Although much was expected of Valderrama at the World Cup, an injury during a pre-tournament warm-up game put his place in the squad in jeopardy; although he was able to regain match fitness in time for the tournament, Colombia disappointed and suffered a first-round elimination following defeats to Romania and the hosts USA. However, it is widely believed that internal problems and threats by drug cartel groups at the time contributed to the team's underwhelming results in the competition, in particular following the murder of Andrés Escobar after Colombia's 2–1 defeat to the host nation in the second group match; during the match, the Colombian defender had netted an own goal to open the scoring, which ultimately proved to be decisive, despite a 2–0 win over Switzerland in the final first round fixture.

Four years later, Valderrama led his nation to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France, scoring three goals during the qualifying stages. His impact in the final tournament at the advancing age of 37, however, was less decisive, and, despite defeating Tunisia, Colombia once again suffered a first round exit, following a 2–0 defeat against England, which was Valderrama's final international appearance. his tactical intelligence, positioning, reading of the game, efficient movement, and versatile range of passing enabled him to find space for himself to distribute and receive the ball, which allowed him both to set the tempo of his team in midfield with short, first time exchanges, or create chances with long lobbed passes or through balls.

Valderrama's most instantly recognisable physical features were his big afro-blonde hairstyle, jewelry, and moustache,

Former French defender Laurent Blanc, who played with Valderrama in Montpellier, described him thusly: "In the fast and furious European game he wasn't always at his ease. He was a natural exponent of 'toque', keeping the ball moving. But he was so gifted that we could give him the ball when we didn't know what else to do with it knowing he wouldn't lose it ... and often he would do things that most of us only dream about."

In 2006, 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.

Valderrama was the only Colombian to be featured by Pelé in FIFA's 125 Top Living Football Players list in March 2004. In the Nintendo 64 version of the game, he is referred to by his nickname, El Pibe.

Valderrama is one of the featured professional Soccer players in Backyard Soccer MLS Edition.

Valderrama has also appeared in EA Sports' FIFA football video game series; he was named one of the Ultimate Team Legend cards in FIFA 15.

Besides his link to videogames, Valderrama has been present in sports media through his work with Fútbol de Primera, Andrés Cantor's radio station. He works as a color commentator during broadcasts of different matches, mostly participating during the FIFA World Cup, alongside play-by-play commentators like Sammy Sadovnik or Cantor himself.

Coaching career Since retiring from professional football, Valderrama has become assistant manager of Atlético Junior. On 1 November 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. He later also served as a coach for a football academy called Clearwater Galactics in Clearwater, Florida.

In July 2013, Valderrama was named in charge of Colombia's indigenous peoples' squad, and included his former international teammate Faustino Asprilla in his coaching team. The team finished as runners-up at the 2015 Copa Americana de Pueblos Indígenas in Chile; Valderrama recommended young Wayuu player Luis Díaz to Atlético Junior, and Díaz later became a full international.

Personal life Valderrama married Claribeth Galván, a woman from La Guajira, with whom he had three sons. From his second marriage, with Elvira Redondo, he has twin daughters. He is also the father of Carlos Alberto, an illegitimate child whom he acknowledged in a lawsuit, who was playing in Santa Fe's under-20 squad in 2011.

Career statistics Club

International Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valderrama goal.

Honours

Montpellier Coupe de France: 1990

Atletico Junior Colombian Championship: 1993, 1995

Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS Supporters' Shield: 1996

Individual

Copa América MVP: 1987 MLS Best XI: 1996, 1997, 2000 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Major League Soccer MVP: 1996 Colombian Player of the Century: 1999 Copa América Historical Dream Team: 2011 Golden Foot: 2013, as football legend