Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (; born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine retired
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
.
A
defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute offensively and
creatively, he turned professional playing for
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of th ...
and played one full decade in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
, for
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...
and
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, then finished his career (curtailed by several injury problems) in Italy, with
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...
. With Real Madrid, he won two
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
championships and as many
Champions League trophies, adding the
2003 Champions League with Milan.
Redondo was a member of the
Argentina national team in the 1990s, representing the nation in the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
, and also winning the
1992 King Fahd Cup
The 1992 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد), named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in Oc ...
and the
1993 Copa América.
Club career
Early years / Tenerife
Born in
Adrogué,
Buenos Aires Province, Redondo played his first game in the
Primera División
Primera may refer to
* Nissan Primera, a car
* Primera Air, a former airline
* Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues
* Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas
* Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...
at only 16 for
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of th ...
, and remained five years with the team before moving abroad to Spain.
Redondo made his debut in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
with
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...
, under the management of countryman
Jorge Solari. During this period,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
twice lost the league title to arch-rivals
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...
on the final day of the season, in matches against Tenerife who were managed by
Jorge Valdano and, when the coach was appointed at Real Madrid in the summer of 1994, the player also made the move for a fee of
US$5 million.
Real Madrid
The key years of Redondo's career were spent at Real Madrid, where he won two league championships and the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. During the second victorious campaign in the latter competition, his performances won him the competition's
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
award, with new coach
Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to h ...
utilising him in a midfield combination with
Steve McManaman. In the quarter-finals against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...
, he was the author of a spectacular play in which he
dribbled past
Henning Berg
Henning Stille Berg (; born 1 September 1969) is a Norwegian football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Cypriot First Division club Pafos FC.
His career lasted from 1988 to 2004, most notably in the Premier League where ...
by backheeling the ball around him, recovering it and assisting
Raúl for his side's third goal (3–2 win, 3–2 on aggregate); after the game, opposing manager
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all ti ...
said "What does this player have in his boots? A magnet?”.
For his performances, he was subsequently voted the Champions League and
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year footballer of the year.
During his time in Madrid, Redondo earned the nickname ''El Principe'' ("The Prince").
In April 2013 he was named by daily newspaper
Marca Marca may refer to:
Places
* Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania
* Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania
* an alternative name for Merca, Somalia
* Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru
* Marçà, a vil ...
as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in
Real Madrid's history", and four years later was selected by its readers to the club's all-time XI; during one full decade, he amassed Spanish top division totals of 268 games and 12 goals.
Milan
In 2000, Redondo transferred to
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
club
A.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. In response, a section of Real Madrid supporters gathered outside the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid since its c ...
protesting the transfer. 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 next 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.
Redondo did manage to contribute (albeit in a peripheral role) to Milan's successes in the
2002–03 and
2003–04 seasons, making a combined 16 league appearances and adding five in the
2002–03 Champions League and six in
the same edition of the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
, including the
two-legged final. In late 2004, at the age of 35, he retired from professional football following another knee injury.
[
]
International career
Redondo earned 29 caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, the bulk of his appearances coming from 1992 to 1994 while Alfio Basile Alfio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Alfio Basile, Argentina football coach
* Alfio Bonanno, Australian tenor
* Alfio Caltabiano, Italian actor
* Alfio Contini, Italian cinematographer
* Alfio Fazio, Italia ...
was the manager. His first appearance was on 18 June 1992, in a 2–0 friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
win over Australia.
Redondo turned down a call-up to the national team just before the 1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
, when it was coached by Carlos Salvador Bilardo
Carlos Salvador Bilardo Digiano (born 16 March 1938) is an Argentine former physician, football player, and manager.
Bilardo achieved worldwide renown as a player with Estudiantes de La Plata in the 1960s, and as the manager of the Argentina ...
. 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.[ 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."]
In the 1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
, Redondo started in all of Argentina's matches, but was unable to prevent the country from falling 2–3 to Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
in the round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. Following the tournament in the United States he refused to play under Daniel Passarella
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...
who had banned long hair, earrings and homosexuals in his squad, leading to disputes with several players. The former refused the latter's demand to cut his hair, and was left out of the national team as even Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
and president Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. ...
went on to take sides in the situation.
Passarella excluded Redondo from his 1998 World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
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." 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."[
In 1999, when Argentina was managed by Marcelo Bielsa, Redondo was recalled to the national side for two exhibition matches with ]Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Although he was chosen ''Player of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
'' in the 2–0 victory in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
he refused any subsequent call-ups, preferring to focus on club football; in 2015, he was included in an all-time team by the Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...
.
Style of play
An elegant deep-lying playmaker who played in front of the defence, 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. 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.
Although he was regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Redondo's career was also largely marked by injuries, in particular during the final years of his career.[
]
Personal life
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. He married the cousin of fellow footballer Santiago Solari
Santiago Hernán Solari Poggio (born 7 October 1976) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a left midfielder.
He spent the better part of his 16-year professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga total ...
, and his sons Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
People with the given name Federico
Artists
* Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ.
* Federico Aguilar Alc ...
and Fernando Jr. were also involved in the sport.
An avid reader, Redondo counted Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...
and Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...
as his two favourite authors.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Club
Real Madrid
*La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
: 1994–95, 1996–97
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 1997–98, 1999–2000
* Intercontinental Cup: 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
Milan[
*]Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
: 2003–04
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
: 2002–03
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2002–03
International
Argentina[
*]Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
: 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
*FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL ...
: 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...
* South American Under-17 Football Championship: 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
Individual
*FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL ...
: Golden Ball 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...
* FIFA XI: 1996
*Tenerife Player of The Year: 1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
, 1993–94[
*Real Madrid Player of The Year: 1996–97, 1999–2000][
* ESM Team of the Year: 1997–98][
* Trofeo EFE: Player of The Decade 1990–99
* UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1999–2000][
*]Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...
: All-Time XI
References
External links
*
*
*
SuperFutbol biography
Futbol Factory biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redondo, Fernando
1969 births
Living people
People from Adrogué
People from Buenos Aires Province
Argentine footballers
Association football midfielders
Argentine Primera División players
Argentinos Juniors footballers
La Liga players
CD Tenerife players
Real Madrid CF players
Serie A players
A.C. Milan players
UEFA Champions League winning players
UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners
Argentina youth international footballers
Argentina international footballers
1992 King Fahd Cup players
1993 Copa América players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players
Copa América-winning players
Argentine expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province