Juan Arango facts for kids
Arango with Borussia M'gladbach in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Maracay, Venezuela | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1996 | UCV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1999 | Nueva Cádiz | ||
| 1999 | Zulia | 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) |
| 2009–2014 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 154 | (25) |
| 2014–2016 | Tijuana | 45 | (11) |
| 2016 | New York Cosmos | 29 | (15) |
| 2017 | Zulia | 15 | (2) |
| 2017 | New York Cosmos | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 593 | (133) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2015 | Venezuela | 129 | (22) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz (born on May 16, 1980) is a former professional footballer from Venezuela. He played as an attacking midfielder, which means he helped both defend and attack. Many people consider Arango to be one of the greatest Venezuelan footballers of all time.
He spent most of his career playing in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league, with Mallorca. He played 196 official games for them. He also played for several years with Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany, joining them when he was 29 years old.
Arango held the record for the most games played and goals scored for the Venezuelan national team for many years. He scored 22 goals in 129 matches between 1999 and 2015. He also played for his country in six Copa América tournaments, which are big football competitions for South American teams.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Juan Arango's parents moved to Venezuela from Colombia before he was born in the city of Maracay. He began his professional football journey at just 16 years old with a team called Nueva Cádiz FC. This team later became Zulia FC and moved up to Venezuela's top football league.
The next year, Arango joined Caracas FC. After playing with them for six months, he moved to Mexico to play for C.F. Monterrey. He also played for two other Mexican teams, C.F. Pachuca and Puebla FC, until 2004. That year, he joined RCD Mallorca in Spain, a team in La Liga.
Playing for Mallorca
On March 20, 2005, Arango had a serious injury after a collision during a game against Sevilla FC. He recovered quickly and was back playing a month later. In the next season, he became his team's top scorer in the league, scoring 11 goals.
In 2006, a news agency called EFE named Arango the third-best Latin American player in the Spanish league. In March of the next year, he also received a Spanish passport. On March 9, 2008, he scored his first hat-trick for Mallorca, which means he scored three goals in one game. This happened in a big 7–1 win against Recreativo de Huelva. He played almost every league game from 2005 to 2008.
Time with Borussia Mönchengladbach
On June 26, 2009, Arango moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany for €3.6 million. He signed a three-year contract with the team. In his third season in the Bundesliga, which is Germany's top football league, he scored six goals in 34 games. He also made 12 assists, helping his teammates score goals. His team finished fourth that season and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, a big European club competition.
On December 10, 2012, Gladbach's manager, Lucien Favre, said that Arango was one of the best left-footed players in the world. This was after Arango scored an amazing goal from 48 yards away in a 2–0 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05. The next year, he was named the most popular footballer in the world by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
Arango scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season on August 24, 2013, in a game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He also scored in his team's next league game, helping them win 4–1 against SV Werder Bremen.
Playing for Tijuana
At 34 years old, Arango returned to Mexico and signed with Club Tijuana on May 22, 2014. In April of the next year, he received a two-match ban from the Mexican Football Federation for an incident during a game.
Later Career Years
On January 28, 2016, Arango joined the New York Cosmos, a team in the North American Soccer League. A year later, at 36 years old, he returned to his home country and played for Zulia FC again.
Arango then had another short time playing for the Cosmos before leaving in January 2018.
International Career
Juan Arango played for the Venezuelan national team in many important tournaments. At the 2004 Copa América, he played in all three group stage matches. In the 2007 tournament, which was held in Venezuela, he helped his team finish first in their group. He scored a goal in the quarterfinals against Uruguay, but Venezuela lost that game 4–1.
Also in 2007, Arango was chosen as the national team captain by the new coach, César Farías. In the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, he helped Venezuela achieve their best-ever finish in the competition, coming in fourth place. He scored a goal in the third-place match against Peru, which was his 100th game playing for his country. Venezuela lost that match 4–1.
In his 116th game for Venezuela, Arango tied the record for the most goals scored for his country with 22 goals. He scored in the 56th minute against Bolivia in a 1–1 draw during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on June 7, 2013.
How Juan Arango Played
Juan Arango was a left-footed playmaker. This means he was very good at controlling the game and setting up plays for his team. He was known for his great technical skills, his leadership on the field, and his ability to both score goals and help others score. He was excellent at shooting, crossing the ball, and passing.
Arango was a classic "number ten" player, which is a role for a creative attacking midfielder. He could play both as an attacking midfielder and as a winger (a player who plays on the side of the field). People called him Arangol because of his goal-scoring ability. He was also a specialist at dead ball situations, like free kicks. Pundits (football experts) admired his amazing accuracy from free kicks and his ability to bend the ball into the net.
Personal Life
Juan Arango comes from a family of footballers. He is the son-in-law of Argenis Tortolero, the brother-in-law of Edson Tortolero, and the father of Juan Arango Jr.. All of them have played professional football.
Honors and Awards
Pachuca
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2002 (a major club competition in North and Central America)
New York Cosmos
- NASL: 2016 (a football league in North America)
Individual Awards
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup top scorer: 2002
- NASL MVP Award: 2016 (Most Valuable Player award)
Images for kids
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Arango playing for Borussia M'gladbach in 2012
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Arango in action in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Juan Arango para niños
