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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

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 indus ...

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 t ...

, then had a short spell in Argentina, and played two years in France with

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

. 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 metropo ...

in Portugal, where he spent four seasons and won ten major titles, including three

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal ...

championships and the 2011 Europa League. Guarín represented Colombia at the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

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 ri ...

Club career

Early years and Saint-Étienne

Guarín was born in

Puerto Boyacá Puerto Boyacá is a Colombian river-port town and municipality by the Magdalena River in the Boyacá Department, where is also considered a Special Trade Zone due to its port status. Its main industries are oil exploration and processing. In the 19 ...

. In 2005, already a regular for

Envigado F.C. Envigado Fútbol Club () is a Colombian professional football team based in Envigado, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio Polideportivo Sur. The club is renowned for the quality of its yout ...

and the Colombian under-20 national team, he joined

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

of the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). T ...

, 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 city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

-based club attempted to sign him on a permanent basis, but he instead chose to go on loan to

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...

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 sy ...

, and gradually fought his way into the starting lineup as the season closed. He first appeared in the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

on 14 October 2006 against

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, ...

, 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 football in France, French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, Football in France, the highest level of France's football league syst ...

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

Porto

On 10 July 2008, Guarín agreed a four-year contract with

club

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Por ...

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 seas ...

title, defeating

G.D. Chaves Grupo Desportivo de Chaves, commonly known as Chaves (), is a Portuguese football club from Chaves currently playing in the Primeira Liga. They were founded in 1949 and currently play at Estádio Municipal de Chaves. Their home kit is red-and-bl ...

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 trophies ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, 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 i ...

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 o ...

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 ...

-bound

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional Association football, football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna F.C. 1909, Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at FC Barcelona, ...

. 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'', wh ...

(5–0 on aggregate) to help Inter make it through to the

last 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 ...

. 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 ...

, he was supposed to move to

Juventus F.C. Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

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 ...

, 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. 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 Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (; born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Icardi began his footballing career at the y ...

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 f ...

. 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 Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. The club plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B in 2010–11. Atalanta was founded in 1907 by Li ...

, 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 association football, 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 Fl ...

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 football in ...

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 The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

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 football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

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

. 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

. Guarín was selected by José Pekerman 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 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 ...

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 association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity ...

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 team ...

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 *

: 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 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 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 The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

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 ti ...

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 ser ...

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