Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez (born 30 June 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer. A versatile player, he was comfortable as a central, defensive or right midfielder.

Fredy Guarín
Guarín in 2014
Personal information
Full name Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez
Date of birth (1986-06-30) 30 June 1986 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Puerto Boyacá, Colombia[1]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Cooperamos Tolima
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002 Atlético Huila 5 (0)
2003–2007 Envigado 38 (4)
2005–2006Boca Juniors (loan) 2 (0)
2006–2007Saint-Étienne (loan) 18 (1)
2007–2008 Saint-Étienne 18 (0)
2008–2012 Porto 63 (11)
2012Inter Milan (loan) 6 (0)
2012–2016 Inter Milan 108 (15)
2016–2019 Shanghai Shenhua 83 (21)
2019–2020 Vasco da Gama 13 (3)
2021 Millonarios 7 (1)
Total 396 (67)
International career
2003 Colombia U17 6 (2)
2003–2005 Colombia U20 7 (2)
2006–2015 Colombia 57 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Club career

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Early years and Saint-Étienne

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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-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, 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,[2] and scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over Troyes AC.[3] In April 2007, the deal was made permanent for four years.[4]

Porto

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Guarín in action for Porto (2011)

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 went the opposite direction, on loan.[5] During his spell he was used mainly as a substitute, but managed to appear regularly;[6] arguably, his most important goal came on 16 May 2010 as the team renewed their Taça de Portugal title, defeating G.D. Chaves 2–1.[7]

In 2010–11, even after the departure of Raul Meireles to Liverpool, Guarín initially struggled to make Porto's starting XI. He was, however, a very important midfield element for the eventual national champions, playing more than 40 official games and scoring ten goals,[8] including five in the Europa League campaign,[9][10][11][12][13] which also ended in conquest.[14]

Inter Milan

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Guarín training with Inter in 2014

Guarín joined Inter Milan on 31 January 2012 for 1.5 million, on loan, with the player replacing Paris Saint-Germain FC-bound Thiago Motta.[15] The Italians also had an option to make the move permanent for €13.5 million in June.[16][17]

On 17 May 2012, a permanent deal was arranged, but for €11 million.[18] Guarín scored his first official goal for the Nerazzurri on 30 August, in a 2–2 home draw against FC Vaslui in the Europa League (4–2 on aggregate).[19] In the group stage of the same competition, he provided all three assists in a 3–1 defeat of Neftchi Baku PFC.[20]

Again in the Europa League, on 21 February 2013, Guarín scored twice in a 3–0 away win over CFR Cluj (5–0 on aggregate) to help Inter make it through to the last 16.[21] In the January 2014 transfer window, he was supposed to move to Juventus FC in exchange for Mirko Vučinić, but the deal ultimately fell through after the clubs could not reach an agreement.[22] He declared he would not return if he was not allowed to leave, but eventually he reconsidered;[23] 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.[24][25]

On 25 March 2014, Guarín agreed to extend his contract until 2017.[26] On 14 September, as a second-half replacement, he scored in a 7–0 home win against U.S. Sassuolo Calcio.[27] At the start of the 2014–15 season, he began being used by manager Walter Mazzarri as a second striker.[28]

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.[29] On 16 February of the following year, he scored twice after winning a first-minute penalty kick in a 4–1 victory at Atalanta BC, helping his team to secure the first away win in the league since December 2014.[30][31]

Later career

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On 26 January 2016, Guarín joined Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C. in the Chinese Super League for a reported €11 million fee plus bonuses.[32][33] On 26 September 2019, the 33-year-old free agent moved to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with CR Vasco da Gama.[34]

Guarín agreed to a one-year deal at Millonarios F.C. on 31 December 2020, again on a free transfer.[35]

International career

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Guarín (left) playing for Colombia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

On 24 May 2006, Guarín made his international debut for Colombia, in a pre-World Cup friendly against Ecuador. He represented the nation at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2011 Copa América.[36][37]

Guarín was selected by José Pekerman for his 2014 World Cup squad.[38] 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;[39] he earned his 50th four days later, coming on as a late substitute to help oust Uruguay 2–0 in the round of 16.[40]

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.[41]

Style of play

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A versatile player, Guarín was a strong, fast and creative attacking midfielder, who could also play in the centre, in a holding role or on the right flank. He was capable of shooting from long-range with both feet, and of acting as a playmaker in midfield.[42][43][44]

In 2013, Guarín's Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni 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."[45]

Personal life

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During an interview in May 2024, Guarín admitted that he struggled with alcoholism.[46]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[47][48][49]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Huila 2002 Primera A 36 11 0 0 36 11
2003 5 0 0 0 5 0
Total 41 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 11
Envigado 2003 Primera A 5 0 0 0 5 0
2004 23 3 5 0 28 3
2005 10 1 0 0 10 1
Total 38 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 4
Boca Juniors (loan) 2005–06 Primera División 2 0 2 0
Saint-Étienne (loan) 2006–07 Ligue 1 18 1 7 1 0 0 25 2
Saint-Étienne 2007–08 Ligue 1 18 0 5 2 0 0 23 2
Porto 2008–09 Primeira Liga 15 1 8 2 1 0 3[c] 0 1[d] 0 28 3
2009–10 19 4 4 3 4 0 7[c] 0 1[d] 0 36 7
2010–11 22 5 5 0 2 0 14[e] 5 43 10
2011–12 7 1 0 0 2 0 2[c] 0 2[f] 0 13 1
Total 63 11 17 5 10 0 26 5 4 0 120 21
Inter Milan (loan) 2011–12 Serie A 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Inter Milan 2012–13 Serie A 32 4 3 2 12[e] 4 47 10
2013–14 32 4 3 1 35 5
2014–15 28 6 1 0 8[e] 1 37 7
2015–16 16 1 0 0 16 1
Total 114 15 7 3 0 0 20 5 0 0 141 23
Shanghai Shenhua 2016 Chinese Super League 26 3 4 1 30 4
2017 18 10 5 2 0 0 23 12
2018 25 7 0 0 5[g] 1 1[h] 1 31 9
2019 14 1 2 0 16 1
Total 83 21 11 3 0 0 5 1 1 1 100 26
Vasco da Gama 2019 Série A 12 3 12 3
2020 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 0
Total 12 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 3
Millonarios 2021 Primera A 7 1 0 0 0 0 7 1
Career total 396 67 54 14 10 0 51 11 6 1 517 93
  1. ^ Includes Copa Colombia, Coupe de France, Taça de Portugal, Coppa Italia, Chinese FA Cup, Copa do Brasil
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Taça da Liga
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  5. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  7. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League
  8. ^ Appearance in Chinese FA Super Cup

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[50]
National team Year Apps Goals
Colombia 2006 5 0
2007 1 0
2008 10 0
2009 8 0
2010 1 0
2011 11 2
2012 3 0
2013 8 1
2014 6 1
2015 4 0
Total 57 4
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Guarín goal.
List of international goals scored by Fredy Guarín[51]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2011 Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain   Ecuador 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 11 November 2011 Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia   Venezuela 1–0 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification
3 14 August 2013 Mini Estadi, Barcelona, Spain   Serbia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 6 June 2014 Pedro Bidegain, Buenos Aires, Argentina   Jordan 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours

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Porto

Shanghai Shenhua

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Fredy Guarín". Eurosport. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Lyon à l'arraché" [Lyon snatch it] (in French). Eurosport. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. ^ "St Etienne 3–1 Troyes". ESPN Soccernet. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Guarin signe à Saint-Etienne" [Guarin signs for Saint-Etienne] (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Porto acquire St-Étienne's Guarín". UEFA. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  6. ^ Assunção, Manuel (3 May 2009). "Portistas só marcaram já em vantagem" [Porto boys only scored when already in the lead]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Desp. Chaves 1–2 FC Porto" (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Freddy Guarín sueña con ganar la Liga Europa con el Oporto" [Freddy Guarín dreams of winning the Europa League with Porto]. El Espectador (in Spanish). 13 April 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Bryan, Paul (17 February 2011). "Guarín gives Porto narrow win in Seville". UEFA. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Guarín fires Porto past CSKA". UEFA. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Quick-fire Porto too good for CSKA". UEFA. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  12. ^ Van Poortvliet, Richard (14 April 2011). "Irrepressible Porto leave Spartak in a spin". UEFA. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  13. ^ Atkin, John (28 April 2011). "Porto triumph as four-goal Falcao stuns Villarreal". UEFA. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  14. ^ "2010/11: Falcao heads Porto to glory". UEFA. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Guarín and Palombo in, Motta out for Inter". UEFA. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  16. ^ "FC Porto revela valores dos empréstimos de Belluschi e Guarín" [FC Porto reveal figures on Belluschi e Guarín loans]. Público (in Portuguese). 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  18. ^ "FC Porto transfere Guarín" [FC Porto transfer Guarín] (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  19. ^ "Inter 2–2 Vaslui: Palacio and Guarin settle it". Inter Milan. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Neftchi 1–3 Inter: Nerazzurri ease past 500-goal landmark in Europe". Goal. 4 October 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  21. ^ "Inter progress with clinical showing at CFR". UEFA. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  22. ^ Luchini, Giacomo (20 January 2014). "Inter e Juve, scambio Vucinic-Guarin: l'affare si farà" [Inter and Juve, Vucinic-Guarin swap: deal will be done]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  23. ^ "Aria tesa in casa Inter, ma Guarin torna ad allenarsi. Ausilio: "E' nostro, eh..."" [Rocky days at Inter, but Guarin returns to training. Ausilio: "He's ours, hey..."] (in Italian). Goal. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Fredy Guarin asks for Inter 'clarity'". Yahoo! Sports. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Guarin annoyed with Inter treatment". Reuters. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Former Juventus target Fredy Guarin signs Inter Milan extension". Gulf News. 25 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  27. ^ "Inter Milan 7–0 Sassuolo". BBC Sport. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  28. ^ Credentino, Marco (18 September 2014). "Guarin relishing new forward role at Inter". Forza Italian Football. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  29. ^ "Inter 1–2 Udinese: Bianconeri fightback leaves hosts in San Siro slump". Goal. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  30. ^ Gibberd-Thomas, Louis (15 February 2015). "Atalanta 1–4 Inter: Guarin brace gives Nerazzurri lift in Bergamo". Forza Italian Football. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  31. ^ "Fredy Guarin brace helps Inter Milan to convincing win at Atalanta". ESPN FC. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  32. ^ "Breaking news: Inter's Guarin agrees to join Shanghai". Calcio Mercato. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  33. ^ Wright, Joe (27 January 2016). "Official: Guarin leaves Inter for Shanghai Shenhua". Goal. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  34. ^ "Vasco acerta contratação de Guarín, ex-Inter de Milão que negociou com o Flamengo" [Vasco agree signing of Guarín, formerly of Inter Milan who negotiated with Flamengo] (in Portuguese). Fox Sports. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  35. ^ Beetar Peñuela, Juan David (31 December 2020). "Oficial: Fredy Guarín, nuevo jugador de Millonarios para 2021" [Official: Fredy Guarín, new Millonarios player for 2021]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  36. ^ Courtney, Barrie; Saaid, Hamdan. "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 – Full Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  37. ^ "Freddy Guarín: "los goles llegarán en cualquier momento"" [Freddy Guarín: "goals will arrive at any moment"]. El Espectador (in Spanish). 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  38. ^ "Colombia World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  39. ^ "Cruising Colombia triumph, send Japan home". FIFA. 24 June 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  40. ^ "Rodriguez brace sets up Brazil showdown". FIFA. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  41. ^ "¡Alerta en la selección! Fredy Guarín estará de baja de 4 a 5 semanas" [National team alert! Fredy Guarín will miss 4 to 5 weeks] (in Spanish). Fútbol Red. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  42. ^ Mari, Daniele (2 February 2012). "Guarin: "Inter, un orgoglio. Ecco le mie caratteristiche..."" [Guarin: "Inter, a pride. These are my characteristics..."] (in Italian). FC Inter 1908. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  43. ^ Keeney, Tim (21 January 2013). "Wesley Sneijder: Fredy Guarin will ease loss of talented Dutchman". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  44. ^ Bandini, Nicky (21 January 2013). "Fredy Guarín shows vision to ensure Wesley Sneijder is not missed at Inter". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  45. ^ Campanale, Susy (12 May 2013). "Stramaccioni has Inter faith". Football Italia. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  46. ^ Johnson, Jimmy (29 May 2024). "Fredy Guarin: former Europa League winning footballer opens up on alcoholism struggles". MSN. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  47. ^ Fredy Guarín at ForaDeJogo (archived)  
  48. ^ a b c d e f g Fredy Guarín at Soccerway
  49. ^ Fredy GuarínUEFA competition record (archive)
  50. ^ Fredy Guarín at National-Football-Teams.com
  51. ^ "F. Guarín – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  52. ^ "足协杯-马丁斯轰世界波 申花总分3–3上港夺冠" (in Chinese). Sina Sports. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
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