Valderrama in 2010 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio | ||
| Date of birth | September 2, 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Marta, Colombia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1981–1984 | Unión Magdalena | ? | (?) |
| 1984 | Millonarios | ? | (?) |
| 1985–1988 | Deportivo Cali | ? | (?) |
| 1988–1991 | Montpellier | 77 | (4) |
| 1991–1992 | Real Valladolid | 17 | (1) |
| 1992–1993 | Independiente Medellín | ? | (?) |
| 1993–1995 | Atlético Junior | 82 | (5) |
| 1996–1997 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 43 | (7) |
| 1998 | Miami Fusion | 22 | (3) |
| 1999–2001 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 71 | (5) |
| 2001–2002 | Colorado Rapids | 39 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1985–1998 | Colombia | 111 | (11) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkarlos alˈβeɾto baldeˈrama paˈlasjo]; born September 2, 1961 in Santa Marta, Colombia), also known as El Pibe ("The Kid") is a former Colombian football player. His mass of blond, permed hair made him one of Colombia's most recognisable footballers. Valderrama was a member of the Colombia national football team in the 1990s. Between 1985 and 1998 he represented Colombia in 111 full internationals and scored 11 times, making him the most capped player in the country's history. Valderrama was known for his accurateness in the forms of passes and assists.[1][2]. In 2004, Valderrama was included in the FIFA 100, a list of "greatest living footballers" chosen by Pelé to celebrate the 100th anniversary of FIFA.
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Valderrama began his career at Unión Magdalena of the Colombian First Division in 1981. He also played for Millonarios and Deportivo Cali before joining Montpellier of the French First Division in 1988. He then went on to play for Independiente Medellín and then Atlético Junior, for whom he won the Colombian championship in 1993 and 1995. In 1996, he went to the US to play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–97, 2000–01), Miami Fusion (1998–99), and Colorado Rapids (2001–02). While a member of the Mutiny, the team would sell Carlos Valderrama wigs at Tampa Stadium. In Major League Soccer, Valderrama scored relatively few goals (16) for a midfielder, but is the league's second all-time leader in assists (114) after Steve Ralston (121), a former teammate. In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI. He was also named one of the top players of the 20th century by Pelé in 1999.[3]
As a player, Valderrama was known for his excellent field vision and elegance on the ball. He captained Colombia's national football team to victory in the 1994 Fifa World Cup CONMEBOL qualifiers. He always wore the number 10 jersey, and was a free kick specialist.
In February 2004, Valderrama ended his 22-year career in a tribute match at the Metropolitan stadium of Barranquilla, with some of the most important football players of South America, such as Diego Maradona, Enzo Francescoli and José Luis Chilavert.
Valderrama has since become assistant manager of Atlético Junior. On November 1, 2007, Valderrama accused a referee of corruption by waving cash in the face of Oscar Julian Ruiz when the official awarded a penalty to América de Cali. Junior lost the match 4-1, which ended the club's hopes of playoff qualification.[4]
As a midfielder, Valderrama played important contributing roles that led towards the goals of both the club he played for and the Colombian national team. He was well known for his accurateness with the passes he made. Most passes contributed towards a goal thus earning him a 'legend status' in Colombia for his assists.
A famous example was during the group stages of the 1990 FIFA World Cup against the German national football team where Pierre Littbarski scored a goal in the 89th minute seemly knocking Colombia out of the group stages by points. However, Valderrama responded within the final 4 minutes of extra time making a crucial pass to Freddy Rincon whom made the goal tying the game and saving Colombia from being eliminated creating one of the most dramatic ties in World Cup history. [5][6]
Valderrama is married and has three children. Valderrama was the only Colombian to feature in FIFA's 125 Top Living Football Players list in March 2004. He is currently a coach for a soccer academy in Clearwater, Florida.
Valderrama appeared on the cover of Nintendo 64 and Konami game International Superstar Soccer '98, as well as in the PlayStation conversion. In the N64 game, the player based on him is the only one whose name is not similar to the real-life counterpart; instead, he is called by his nickname, "El Pibe." He was also in the computer game "Backyard Soccer 2001".
In 2006 a 22-foot tall bronze statue of Valderrama was placed by the Eduardo Santos stadium in his hometown Santa Marta, created by Colombian artist Amilkar Ariza.
| Club performance | League | Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Colombia | League | Cup | Total | |||||
| 1981 | Unión Magdalena | |||||||
| 1982 | ||||||||
| 1983 | ||||||||
| 1984 | Millonarios | |||||||
| 1985 | Deportivo Cali | |||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
| 1987 | ||||||||
| France | League | Coupe de France | Total | |||||
| 1988-89 | Montpellier | Division 1 | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 1989-90 | 18 | 1 | ||||||
| 1990-91 | 35 | 2 | ||||||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Total | |||||
| 1990-91 | Real Valladolid | La Liga | 17 | 1 | ||||
| Colombia | League | Cup | Total | |||||
| 1992 | Independiente Medellín | |||||||
| 1993 | Atlético Junior | 35 | 4 | |||||
| 1994 | 18 | 1 | ||||||
| 1995 | 29 | 0 | ||||||
| USA | League | Open Cup | Total | |||||
| 1996 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Major League Soccer | 23 | 4 | ||||
| 1997 | 20 | 3 | ||||||
| 1998 | Miami Fusion | Major League Soccer | 18 | 2 | ||||
| 1999 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 1999 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Major League Soccer | 27 | 3 | ||||
| 2000 | 32 | 1 | ||||||
| 2001 | 12 | 1 | ||||||
| 2001 | Colorado Rapids | Major League Soccer | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2002 | 27 | 1 | ||||||
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | Colombia | |||||||
| France | 77 | 4 | ||||||
| Spain | 17 | 1 | ||||||
| USA | 175 | 16 | ||||||
| Career total | ||||||||
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