Gabriel Heinze facts for kids
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Heinze in 2022
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gabriel Iván Heinze | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Crespo, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Arsenal (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Newell's Old Boys | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | Valladolid | 54 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | → Sporting CP (loan) | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Paris Saint-Germain | 99 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Manchester United | 52 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Real Madrid | 44 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Marseille | 58 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Roma | 30 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Newell's Old Boys | 54 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 397 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Argentina Olympic | 6 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2010 | Argentina | 72 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Godoy Cruz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Argentinos Juniors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Atlanta United | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Newell's Old Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Arsenal (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gabriel Iván Heinze (born 19 April 1978) is a football coach and former player from Argentina. He is currently an assistant coach at the Premier League club Arsenal. During his playing career, he was a defender, playing as a left-back or a centre-back.
Heinze was known by the nickname Gringo. He became famous playing for Paris Saint-Germain. Later, he moved to big clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid. He won three trophies with these two clubs. Heinze started and ended his 18-year professional career with Newell's Old Boys in Argentina.
He played 72 times for the Argentina national team. He also played in two FIFA World Cup tournaments and two Copa América tournaments. In 2015, he started his career as a manager. He led four different teams in the top Argentine league, the Argentine Primera División.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Football Journey
Gabriel Heinze was born in Crespo, Entre Ríos, Argentina. His family background includes German and Italian roots. He began his football journey in his home country with Newell's Old Boys. When he was 19, many European clubs were interested in him. He then signed with Real Valladolid in Spain. In his first season, he did not play any games in the top Spanish league, La Liga. He was also loaned to Sporting CP in Portugal for a short time.
After playing 36 league games for Valladolid in the 2000–01 season, Heinze moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France. He played over 100 games for them in three years. He helped the team win the Coupe de France cup in 2004.
Playing for Manchester United
In June 2004, Heinze joined Manchester United in England. He cost the club about £6.9 million. He scored a goal in his very first game on 11 September, which was a 2–2 draw against Bolton Wanderers. He quickly became the main left-back for the team. Fans loved him and often chanted "Ar-gen-tina!" He was even voted the club's best player for the 2004–05 season.
In September 2005, Heinze got injured during a UEFA Champions League match. This injury kept him from playing for most of the 2005–06 season. Before his injury, he had scored two goals in the Champions League. He tried to come back in April 2006, but another small injury stopped him. Because of his injury, Manchester United signed another player, Patrice Evra, who became the main left-back.
Heinze returned to play for United in the 2006–07 season. He earned a spot in the team again, this time as a central defender, because other players were injured. After the team won the Premier League title, he was made captain for the last two games of the season.
Later, Heinze was not happy about not playing regularly. He asked to move to Liverpool, but Manchester United said no.
Time at Real Madrid
On 22 August 2007, Heinze joined Real Madrid in Spain. He signed a four-year contract. He was the third player from Manchester United to join Real Madrid that summer. He played his first game for Real Madrid on 2 September. On 30 March 2008, he scored his first goal for the team in a 3–1 win against Sevilla. He played 20 games in his first season, helping Real Madrid win the league title.
Heinze played more often in his second year at Real Madrid. The team did not win many trophies that season, except for the Spanish Super Cup in 2008.
Playing for Marseille
On 30 July 2009, Heinze moved to Marseille in France. He signed a two-year deal. In his first year, he scored four league goals in 27 matches. This was his best goal-scoring season in the league. Marseille won both the French championship and the Coupe de la Ligue cup that season. On 27 March 2010, he started in the cup final, where his team beat Bordeaux. This was Marseille's first major title since 1993. On 5 May, he scored the first goal in a 3–1 win against Rennes, which secured the league title.
Heinze continued to be a strong defender for Marseille in the 2010–11 season. On 20 March 2011, he scored from a free kick to help his team beat his old club, PSG, 2–1. On 1 June 2011, Marseille announced that Heinze would leave the club.
Later Playing Years
Heinze joined Serie A club AS Roma in Italy on 22 July 2011. He had left Marseille at the end of June. He played his first game for Roma on 11 September.
After playing 25 official games for Roma, his contract was automatically extended for another year. However, just five months later, Roma announced that he was leaving the club. The very next day, he rejoined his first club, Newell's Old Boys, in Argentina. He signed a two-year deal with them.
International Career
Heinze first played for the Argentina national team on 30 April 2003. It was a friendly game against Libya, which Argentina won. The next year, he was one of the older players chosen for the Argentina U23 team. This team won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He scored a goal in a 6–0 win against Serbia and Montenegro during the group stage.
Even though he missed many games for Manchester United due to injury, Heinze was chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In the quarter-final match against Germany, he started the game. Argentina lost that match after a penalty shootout.
Heinze also played in the 2007 Copa América. He scored a goal with his head from a Juan Román Riquelme free kick in the semi-finals against Mexico. Argentina won that game 3–0 but finished as runners-up in the tournament. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he played in four of Argentina's five matches. He scored the only goal in a group stage win against Nigeria. This was his third goal for the national team.
Coaching Career
Early Coaching Roles
Gabriel Heinze started his coaching career in June 2015, even though he did not yet have the full coaching license. He was appointed manager of Godoy Cruz in Argentina's top league. He won his first game as manager, a 3–0 home victory. However, he was let go on 27 September after a short period with two wins, two draws, and six losses.
Heinze then signed with Argentinos Juniors in June 2016. In July of the next year, he helped the team get promoted to the top league. After this success, he resigned from his role.
On 11 December 2017, Heinze became the manager of Vélez Sarsfield. He led the team to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana twice in a row. He decided not to continue as manager after the 2019–20 season.
Managing Atlanta United
On 18 December 2020, Heinze was named the manager of Major League Soccer club Atlanta United in the United States. He signed a two-year contract. In his first game on 6 April, his team won 1–0 away against Alajuelense from Costa Rica. This was in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.
Heinze had some disagreements with the team's star striker, Josef Martínez. On 18 July 2021, after winning only two of 13 games, he was removed from his job.
Return to Newell's Old Boys
On 25 October 2022, Heinze was hired by Newell's Old Boys, his original club. He had turned down an offer from them the previous December. His team was knocked out of the Copa Argentina cup in February 2023. He left the club after one year. During that year, the team finished in the middle of the league table. They were also eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.
Assistant Coach at Arsenal
On 8 July 2025, Arsenal announced that Gabriel Heinze had joined their coaching staff. He is now a first-team assistant coach for the club.
Honours and Achievements
Heinze achieved many successes during his playing and coaching careers:
As a Player
- Paris Saint-Germain
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001
- Manchester United
- Premier League: 2006–07
- Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2007–08
- Supercopa de España: 2008
- Marseille
- Ligue 1: 2009–10
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2009–10, 2010–11
- Newell's Old Boys
- Argentine Primera División: 2013 Final
- Argentina Olympic Team
- Summer Olympic Games: Gold Medal in 2004
- Argentina National Team
- Copa América runner-up: 2004, 2007
- FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2005
- Individual Awards
- Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 2004–05 (This award is given to Manchester United's best player of the season)
As a Manager
- Argentinos Juniors
- Primera B Nacional: 2016–17 (This is the second-highest football league in Argentina)
See also
In Spanish: Gabriel Heinze para niños
