Arango playing for Mönchengladbach |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz | ||
| Date of birth | 17 May 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Maracay, Venezuela | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Borussia M'gladbach | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| UCV | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1999 | Nueva Cádiz | ? | (?) |
| 1999 | Zulianos | 12 | (0) |
| 2000 | Caracas | 19 | (5) |
| 2000–2001 | Monterrey | 45 | (6) |
| 2002–2003 | Pachuca | 52 | (16) |
| 2003–2004 | Puebla | 36 | (8) |
| 2004–2009 | Mallorca | 183 | (45) |
| 2009– | Borussia M'gladbach | 71 | (9) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999– | Venezuela | 103 | (19) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz (born 17 May 1980) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany, as an attacking midfielder.
Having played more than 100 times for Venezuela,[1] he is one of the few Venezuelan players ever to play for a first division team in any of the major European leagues - he spent the better part of his career in La Liga with Mallorca, appearing in more than 200 official games - and is widely regarded as the best player the country has ever produced.
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Arango's parents are Colombian, having emigrated to Venezuela before he was born, in the city of Maracay. He started playing as a professional at the age of sixteen with Nueva Cádiz FC, which ascended to the Venezuelan first division the following season under the name Zulianos FC.
The following year, he joined Caracas Fútbol Club but, after six months playing with the team, was bought by Mexico's Club de Fútbol Monterrey.
Arango played for two other Mexican clubs, C.F. Pachuca and Puebla FC, until 2004, when he joined La Liga side Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, in Spain (coached by Benito Floro, also his boss at Monterrey) on a one-year link with an option for a further three.[2] Earlier that summer, he appeared in all three group stage matches during the Copa América.
On 20 March 2005, Arango suffered a serious injury, after a brutal collision with Sevilla FC's defender Javi Navarro. He fell unconscious, broke his cheekbone, swallowed his tongue and got serious cuts in his face.[3][4] He returned to play a month later and, in 2005–06, was the team's top scorer with 11 league goals.
In 2006, EFE chose Arango as the third best Latin American player in the Spanish league, with the first place taken by Pablo Aimar. The following year, he also obtained a Spanish passport, in March. On 9 March 2008, Arango scored his first hat-trick for Mallorca, in a 7–1 home thrashing of Recreativo de Huelva, with teammate Daniel Güiza, who finished as the season's Pichichi, adding two.[5] He only missed one league game from 2005–08 combined.
As his contract was due to expire at the end of 2009–10, Arango was sold on 26 June 2009 to Borussia Mönchengladbach, for €3.3 million, penning a three-year contract.[6]
Arango appeared for Venezuela in five Copa América tournaments. In the 2007 edition held in his country, he helped the national team finish first in the group stage, and scored in the quarterfinals against Uruguay, but in a 1–4 defeat.
Also in that year, Arango was chosen national team captain by newly-appointed coach César Farías. In the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, he helped the Vinotinto finish a best-ever fourth in the continental competition, scoring in the last match, a 1–4 loss against Peru, in what was his 100th international cap.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Zulianos | 1999–00 | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | — | ||||
| Total | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | — | |||||
| Caracas | 1999—00 | 19 | 5 | — | — | — | 19 | 5 | — | ||||
| Total | 19 | 5 | — | — | — | 19 | 5 | — | |||||
| Monterrey | 2000–01 | 30 | 5 | — | — | — | 30 | 5 | — | ||||
| 2001–02 | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | — | |||||
| Total | 43 | 6 | — | — | — | 43 | 6 | — | |||||
| Pachuca | 2001–02 | 15 | 5 | — | — | 6 | 4 | — | 21 | 9 | — | ||
| 2002–03 | 37 | 11 | — | — | — | 37 | 11 | — | |||||
| 2003–04 | 36 | 8 | — | — | — | 36 | 8 | — | |||||
| Total | 88 | 24 | — | — | 6 | 4 | — | 94 | 28 | — | |||
| Mallorca | 2004–05 | 34 | 6 | — | — | — | 34 | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 37 | 11 | 5 | — | — | 37 | 11 | 5 | |||||
| 2006–07 | 37 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 40 | 8 | 9 | |||
| 2007–08 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 43 | 15 | 9 | |||
| 2008–09 | 37 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 9 | 9 | |||
| Total | 183 | 45 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 0 | — | 195 | 49 | 32 | |||
| Borussia M'gladbach | 2009–10 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 36 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 4 | 6 | |||
| 2011–12 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 4 | 7 | |||
| Total | 71 | 9 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 77 | 11 | 23 | |||
| Career totals | 416 | 89 | 54 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 440 | 99 | 55 | |
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