FERNANDO REDONDO

'Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri' (born July 6, 1969 in Adrogué, Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine professional football player. He was a defensive midfielder of outstanding skill and culture. He was a member of the Argentina national football team and played for the clubs Argentinos Juniors (1985-90), CD Tenerife (1990-94), Real Madrid (1994-2000), and AC Milan (2000-2003).

Contents

Club career

International career

Legacy

Honours

External links

Club career

Redondo made his debut in Spanish football playing for CD Tenerife under the management of former Real Madrid player Jorge Valdano. Twice during this period Real Madrid lost the La Liga title to arch-rivals FC Barcelona on the final day of the season in matches against Tenerife. When Valdano was subsequently appointed manager of Real Madrid, Redondo made the move along with him.
The key years of his career were spent at Real Madrid where he was twice a champion of La Liga (1995 and 1997) and twice a European Champion (1997-1998 and 1999-2000), amongst other titles won during this period. It was during the 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League that he turned in his finest performances. His contribution to a 3-2 quarterfinals victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford will live long in the memory of Madrid and United fans alike. He was the best player of the game, and was the author of a spectacular play (''the backheel of Old Trafford''), in which Redondo backheeled the ball through the legs of defender Henning Berg before recovering it and assisting Raúl for Real Madrid's third goal. The performance is also of note because of the way another great midfielder of the 1990s, Roy Keane, was completely overshadowed by Redondo's display. After winning the final against Valencia CF, he was named the 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player. In 2000, Redondo transferred to Italian club AC Milan in a highly controversial move, which led to riots in Madrid. However, his stay at Milan was marred by injuries. Redondo was consistently injured, most notably knee problems, during his first two seasons there and refused to accept the wages paid to him by the AC Milan board, showing great ethics and principles rarely seen in professional sports today.

International career

Redondo played for Argentina 29 times, the bulk of his appearances coming during the years 1992-1994, while Alfio Basile coached the Argentina side. Redondo was rumored to have refused a call-up to the national team just before the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when it was coached by Carlos Salvador Bilardo. Redondo allegedly excused himself on account of not wanting to interrupt his university studies, but some say that he refused to play for Bilardo because he did not agree with his ultra-defensive strategy. Redondo was regarded as Argentina's best performer in their disappointing World Cup campaign in 1994, while Basile as coach.
Argentina's subsequent coach, Daniel Passarella excluded him from the squad. Newspapers reported that Redondo was excluded because he refused to cut his long hair. Passarella stated that he was excluded because Redondo insisted on only playing in central midfield, refusing to do it on the left side of the field. Subsequently, in 1999, when Argentina was coached by Marcelo Bielsa, Redondo was called up to the national side for two friendlies against arch-rivals Brazil. Although Redondo was the man-of-the match in the 2-0 victory over the Brazilians in Buenos Aires, marking Brazilian star Rivaldo out of the game, Redondo refused any subsequent call-ups from Bielsa, preferring to focus his energies on Real Madrid.
His scant appearances due to the disagreements or refusals to play for Bilardo, Passarella, and Bielsa in World Cup finals (especially in the 1998 FIFA World Cup) are a probable explanation of his little recognition when compared with other, arguably lesser, defensive midfielders of his era.
In 2003, at the age of 34, Redondo retired from professional football following yet another knee injury.
Despite his achievements, such as winning the European Cup with Real Madrid, Redondo did not even reach 30 caps for his country - which is ironic since his style of play was so distinctively Argentine. Redondo was perhaps the last of the classic number fives of Argentine football. It is not a shirt that belongs to a centre-back but to the central midfielder, who sits in front of his defence using sound postioning and sharp tackling to break up the opposing attacks, then sets his own side's moves in motion with short, crisp passes. Nestor Rossi, Antonio Rattin, Sergio Batista - Redondo was a worthy heir to the tradition and many argue he was simply the best. He had physical presence, a wonderful left foot and the intelligence to dictate the rhythm of the game.
Redondo was a good friend of Diego Maradona who acted as a mentor to the young Redondo early in his career.

Legacy

Though relatively short compared to the tenures of other great footballers to have played for Real Madrid, his years at the club are fondly recalled by Madrid supporters worldwide. Leading by both skill and personality, Redondo could control the pace of a game and his combativeness combined with his exquisite technique allowed him to effectively function as both the destructive and creative fulcrum of the side. Redondo, arguably, is the key influence to several Argentine holding midfielders such as Javier Mascherano or Fernando Gago.

Honours

★ South American U-17 Championship 1985

★ Confederations Cup 1992

★ Copa América 1993

★ Spanish Leagues 1995, 1997

★ Intercontinental Cup 1998

★ UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2003)

★ Coppa Italia 2003

★ Champions League Most Valuable Player, 2000

External links

★ Biography by Superfutbol.com.ar

★ Player statistics by L'Equipe