 Redondo in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1969-06-06)6 June 1969 (age 56) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Adrogué, Argentina[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Talleres RE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1985 | Argentinos Juniors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1990 | Argentinos Juniors | 65 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1994 | Tenerife | 103 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2000 | Real Madrid | 165 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | AC Milan | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 349 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | Argentina | 29 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (Spanish pronunciation:[feɾˈnandoreˈðondo]; born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder. He most notably played forReal Madrid andAC Milan. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time.[2][3][4]
Adefensive midfielder with the ability to contribute offensively andcreatively, he turned professional playing forArgentinos Juniors and played one full decade inLa Liga, forCD Tenerife andReal Madrid, then finished his career (curtailed by several injury problems) in Italy, withAC Milan.[5][6] With Real Madrid, he won twoLa Liga championships and as manyChampions League trophies, adding the2003 Champions League with Milan.
Redondo was a member of theArgentina national team in the 1990s, representing the nation in the1994 World Cup, and also winning the1992 FIFA Confederations Cup and the1993 Copa América.
Born inAdrogué,Buenos Aires Province, Redondo played his first game in thePrimera División at only 16 forArgentinos Juniors, and remained five years with the team before moving abroad to Spain.
Redondo made his debut inLa Liga withCD Tenerife, under the management of countrymanJorge Solari. During this period,Real Madrid twice lost the league title to arch-rivalsFC Barcelona on the final day of the season, in matches against Tenerife who were managed byJorge Valdano[7] and, when the coach was appointed at Real Madrid in the summer of 1994, the player also made the move for a fee ofUS$5 million.[8]
The key years of Redondo's career were spent at Real Madrid, where he won two league championships and theUEFA Champions League in1998 and2000. During the second victorious campaign in the latter competition, his performances won him the competition'sMost Valuable Player award, with new coachVicente del Bosque utilising him in a midfield combination withSteve McManaman. In the quarter-finals againstManchester United atOld Trafford, he was the author of a spectacular play in which hedribbled pastHenning Berg by backheeling the ball around him, recovering it and assistingRaúl for his side's third goal (3–2 win, 3–2 on aggregate); after the game, opposing managerAlex Ferguson said "What does this player have in his boots? A magnet?”.[9] For his performances, he was subsequently voted the Champions League andUEFA Club Footballer of the Year.[10]
During his time in Madrid, Redondo earned the nicknameEl Principe ("The Prince").[11] In April 2013 he was named by daily newspaperMarca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven inReal Madrid's history",[12] and four years later was selected by its readers to the club's all-time XI;[13] during one full decade, he amassed Spanish top division totals of 268 games and 12 goals.
In 2000, Redondo transferred toSerie A clubA.C. Milan in a controversial£11m move: he stated that he was not involved in transfer discussions and expressed his desire to stay at Madrid.[14] In response, a section of Real Madrid supporters gathered outside theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium protesting the transfer.[15] However, he suffered a serious knee injury in one of his first training sessions for his new team, and was unable to play for the next2+1⁄2 years; he suspended his £2.74m-a-year salary, and even tried to give back the house and car which the Milan board had given him.[16]
Redondo did manage to contribute (albeit in a peripheral role) to Milan's successes in the2002–03 and2003–04 seasons, making a combined 16 league appearances and adding five in the2002–03 Champions League and six inthe same edition of theCoppa Italia, including thetwo-legged final.[17] In late 2004, at the age of 35, he retired from professional football following another knee injury.[11]
Redondo earned 29caps forArgentina, the bulk of his appearances coming from 1992 to 1994 whileAlfio Basile was the manager. His first appearance was on 18 June 1992, in a 2–0friendly win overAustralia.
Redondo turned down a call-up to the national team just before the1990 FIFA World Cup, when it was coached byCarlos Salvador Bilardo. The player excused himself on account of not wanting to interrupt his law studies, but it was also reported that he objected to Bilardo's defensive strategy.[9][11] Redondo later explained: "I was picked for Argentina's World Cup squad in 1990 but I knew I wasn't going to be in the starting line-up, I would just be another squad member, so I preferred to stay home."[18]
In the1994 World Cup, Redondo started in all of Argentina's matches, but was unable to prevent the country from falling 2–3 toRomania in theround of 16. Following the tournament in the United States he refused to play underDaniel Passarella who had banned long hair, earrings and homosexuals in his squad, leading to disputes with several players.[19] The former refused the latter's demand to cut his hair, and was left out of the national team as evenDiego Maradona and presidentCarlos Menem went on to take sides in the situation.[20]
Passarella excluded Redondo from his1998 World Cup squad, stating: "Twice he was asked to play for the national team and twice he refused and gave a different reason each time. Then he announced publicly he did not want to play for the national team and I do not pick any player who does not want to play for Argentina."[21] The player later explained: "I was in great form. But he had particular ideas about discipline and wanted me to have my hair cut. I didn't see what that had to do with playing football so I said no again."[18]
In 1999, when Argentina was managed byMarcelo Bielsa, Redondo was recalled to the national side for two exhibition matches withBrazil. Although he was chosenPlayer of the match in the 2–0 victory inBuenos Aires he refused any subsequent call-ups, preferring to focus on club football; in 2015, he was included in an all-time team by theArgentine Football Association.[22]
An elegantdeep-lying playmaker who played in front of the defence,[23] Redondo's main attributes were his creative passing, vision, technique and close control with his left foot, his ability to control the tempo of his team's play in midfield making him a key member of the Real Madrid side of the 90s.[24][25][26] Despite not having a great deal of pace, he possessed good acceleration and was an efficient and aggressive tackler, who contributed defensively just as much as he did offensively.[27][28][29][30] As such, his role has also been likened to that of ametodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.[31][32][33]Fabio Capello described Redondo as "tactically perfect".[34]
Although he was regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation,[35][36][37] Redondo's career was also largely marked by injuries, in particular during the final years of his career.[27][26]
Redondo was born into an industrialist family and enjoyed a wealthy upbringing, later studying law at university in the early years of his playing career.[33] He married the cousin of fellow footballerSantiago Solari,[38] and his sonsFederico andFernando Jr. were also involved in the sport.[39][40]
An avid reader, Redondo countedJorge Luis Borges andGabriel García Márquez as his two favourite authors.[41]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Argentinos Juniors | 1985–86 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 1986–87 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1987–88 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 1988–89 | Argentine Primera División | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Total | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 1 | ||
| Tenerife | 1990–91 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 1991–92 | La Liga | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| 1992–93 | La Liga | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | |
| 1993–94 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Total | 103 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 8 | ||
| Real Madrid | 1994–95 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 |
| 1995–96 | La Liga | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1996–97 | La Liga | 33 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 1997–98 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | La Liga | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15[c] | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
| Total | 165 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 225 | 5 | ||
| A.C. Milan | 2000–01 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 349 | 13 | 28 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 430 | 14 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1992 | 4 | 0 |
| 1993 | 13 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 1 | |
Real Madrid[43]
Milan[43]
Argentina U17[43]
Argentina[43]
Individual
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Golden Ball | |
|---|---|
| Golden Glove | |
| Top goalscorer | |
†: Golden Boot award winner (when goals scored are tied) | |
