Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez (born 30 June 1986) is a Colombian former professional

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 versatile player, he was comfortable as a central,

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

right midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He started his career with

Envigado Envigado () is a town southeast of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta to the south, El Retiro and Caldas ...

, then had a short spell in Argentina, and played two years in France with Saint-Étienne. He made a name for himself with

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in Portugal, where he spent four seasons and won ten major titles, including three Primeira Liga championships and the 2011 Europa League. Guarín represented Colombia at the 2011 Copa América and the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

Club career

Early years and Saint-Étienne

Guarín was born in Puerto Boyacá. In 2005, already a regular for Envigado F.C. and the Colombian under-20 national team, he joined Boca Juniors of the Argentine Primera División, where he spent the first six months in the youth team. Upon completion of his loan the

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

-based club attempted to sign him on a permanent basis, but he instead chose to go on loan to AS Saint-Étienne in August 2006. Guarín made his debut for the French side scoring twice in a friendly against

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

, and gradually fought his way into the starting lineup as the season closed. He first appeared in the Ligue 1 on 14 October 2006 against Olympique Lyonnais, and scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, the highest level of France's football league system, and plays its home matches at the ...

. In April 2007, the deal was made permanent for four years.

Porto

On 10 July 2008, Guarín agreed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club FC Porto for an undisclosed fee. Portuguese under-21 international

Paulo Machado Paulo Ricardo Ribeiro de Jesus Machado (born 31 March 1986) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Formed at Porto, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 103 matches and eight goals over five seasons, ...

went the opposite direction, on loan. During his spell he was used mainly as a substitute, but managed to appear regularly; arguably, his most important goal came on 16 May 2010 as the team renewed their

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

title, defeating

G.D. Chaves Grupo Desportivo de Chaves, commonly known as Chaves (), is a Portuguese association football, football football team, club from Chaves, Portugal, Chaves currently playing in the Primeira Liga. They were founded in 1949 and currently play at Está ...

2–1. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, even after the departure of

Raul Meireles Raul José Trindade Meireles (; born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a midfielder. After starting out at Boavista, he signed with Porto in 2004, going on to appear in 198 official games and win ten major trophie ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Guarín initially struggled to make Porto's starting XI. He was, however, a very important midfield element for the eventual national champions, playing in more than 40 official games and scoring ten goals, including five in the Europa League campaign, which also ended in conquest.

Inter Milan

Guarín joined

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

on 31 January 2012 for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

1.5 million, on loan, with the player replacing

Paris Saint-Germain FC Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

-bound

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two and ...

. The Italians also had an option to make the move permanent for €13.5 million in June. On 17 May 2012, a permanent deal was arranged, but for €11 million. Guarín scored his first official goal for the ''Nerazzurri'' on 30 August, in a 2–2 home draw against

FC Vaslui CS Sporting Juniorul Vaslui (), commonly known as Sporting Vaslui, Juniorul Vaslui or simply as Vaslui, is a Romanian professional football club based in Vaslui, Vaslui County, founded in 2002 and re-founded in 2014. The club is currently pla ...

in the Europa League (4–2 on aggregate). In the group stage of the same competition, he provided all three assists in a 3–1 defeat of Neftchi Baku PFC. Again in the Europa League, on 21 February 2013, Guarín scored twice in a 3–0 away win over

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', whe ...

(5–0 on aggregate) to help Inter make it through to the last 16. In the January 2014

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, he was supposed to move to

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnell ...

in exchange for

Mirko Vučinić Mirko Vučinić (, ; born 1 October 1983) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward. Having caught the attention of Pantaleo Corvino, the sporting director of the Italian club Lecce, he transferred there in the s ...

, but the deal ultimately fell through after the clubs could not reach an agreement. He declared he would not return if he was not allowed to leave, but eventually he reconsidered; it was later reported that he simply wanted to clarify his future with the club, stating that he never asked to leave and that he was confused as to why the situation was created. On 25 March 2014, Guarín agreed to extend his contract until 2017. On 14 September, as a second-half replacement, he scored in a 7–0 home win against

U.S. Sassuolo Calcio Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, commonly referred to as Sassuolo (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Sassuolo, Emilia-Romagna. Their colours are black and green, hence the nickname ''Neroverdi'' (literally "black and gre ...

. At the start of the 2014–15 season, he began being used by manager

Walter Mazzarri Walter Mazzarri (; born 1 October 1961) is an Italian former footballer and head coach, most recently in charge of Serie A club Cagliari. After a 14-year playing career with Italian clubs including Reggiana and Empoli, Mazzarri coached several ...

as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. On 7 December 2014, in his 100th appearance for Inter, Guarín assisted Mauro Icardi in the 44th minute of an eventual 1–2 home defeat to

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...

. On 16 February of the following year, he scored twice after winning a first-minute

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 4–1 victory at Atalanta BC, helping his team to secure the first away win in the league since December 2014.

Later career

On 26 January 2016, Guarín joined

Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C. Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in E ...

in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

for a reported €11 million fee plus bonuses. On 26 September 2019, the 33-year-old

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

moved to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with

CR Vasco da Gama Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (), commonly referred as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a professional sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally a rowing club, Vasco is mostly known for its football team, who it currently compet ...

. Guarín agreed to a one-year deal at

Millonarios F.C. Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Campín stadium. Millonarios wa ...

on 31 December 2020, again on a free transfer.

International career

Brazil and Colombia match at the FIFA World Cup 2014-07-04 (9) (cropped)

On 24 May 2006, Guarín made his international debut for Colombia, in a pre-

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

friendly against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

. He represented the nation at the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...

and the 2011 Copa América. Guarín was selected by

José Pekerman José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

for his

squad. He played his first game in the tournament on 24 June after the national team had already won its first two group matches, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 4–1 win against Japan which was also his 49th

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

; he earned his 50th four days later, coming on as a late substitute to help oust

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

2–0 in the round of 16. On 10 May 2015, whilst at the service of Inter, Guarín suffered a muscular injury to his right leg, being ruled out of the Copa América.

Style of play

A versatile player, Guarín is a strong, fast and creative

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, who can also play in the centre, in a holding role or on the right flank. He is capable of shooting from long-range with both feet, and of acting as a playmaker in midfield. In 2013, Guarín's Inter manager

Andrea Stramaccioni Andrea Stramaccioni (; born 9 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Qatari club Al Gharafa. A football coach with experiences as a youth coach of Roma and Inter Milan, he was put in charge of first tea ...

described him as "...an extraordinary player who combines physicality with technique in an incredible way. He is also an important element in the locker room."

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

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

Honours

Porto * Primeira Liga: 2008–09,

, 2011–12 *

: 2008–09, 2009–10,

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

: 2009, 2010, 2011 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

* Taça da Liga runner-up: 2009–10 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

runner-up: 2011 Shanghai Shenhua *

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh tit ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guarin, Fredy 1986 births Living people Colombian people of African descent Sportspeople from Boyacá Department Colombian footballers Association football midfielders Categoría Primera A players Atlético Huila footballers Envigado F.C. players Millonarios F.C. players Argentine Primera División players Boca Juniors footballers Ligue 1 players AS Saint-Étienne players Primeira Liga players FC Porto players Serie A players Inter Milan players Chinese Super League players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players CR Vasco da Gama players UEFA Europa League winning players Colombia youth international footballers Colombia under-20 international footballers Colombia international footballers 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Colombian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Brazil Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Colombian expatriate sportspeople in France Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Colombian expatriate sportspeople in China Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil