Juan Pablo Sorín facts for kids

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Juan Pablo Sorín

Personal information
Full name	Juan Pablo Sorín
Date of birth	(1976-05-05) 5 May 1976 (age 49)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Left-back, left midfielder
Youth career
1992–1994	Argentinos Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	Argentinos Juniors	20	(1)
1995–1996	Juventus	3	(0)
1996–1999	River Plate	138	(16)
2000–2004	Cruzeiro	121	(18)
2002–2003	→ Lazio (loan)	6	(0)
2003	→ Barcelona (loan)	15	(1)
2003–2004	→ Paris Saint-Germain (loan)	33	(2)
2004–2006	Villarreal	41	(8)
2006–2008	Hamburger SV	24	(4)
2008–2009	Cruzeiro	1	(0)
Total		402	(50)
International career
1995	Argentina U20	6	(0)
1995–2006	Argentina	75	(11)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 1995 Qatar Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team Copa América Runner-up 2004 Peru
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Juan Pablo Sorín (born May 5, 1976) is a former football player from Argentina. He played as a left-back or left midfielder. After retiring from playing, he became a sports commentator.

Sorín had a very successful career playing for clubs in Argentina, Brazil, and Europe. Some of his famous teams included River Plate in Argentina, Cruzeiro in Brazil, and European clubs like Barcelona, Lazio, Paris Saint-Germain, and Villarreal.

He also played for the Argentina national team 75 times. He represented his country in two World Cups and two Copa América tournaments. He was even the captain of the Argentine team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Early Life and Interests

Juan Pablo Sorín was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is from a Jewish family.

He wrote a book called Grandes Chicos, which means "Big Kids." He wrote it to help raise money to build a school and a children's hospital in Argentina. This shows his caring side off the field. He lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and used to work as a sports commentator for ESPN Brazil.

Club Football Journey

Starting His Career

People in Argentina often called Sorín "Juampi." He started his football journey in the youth teams of Argentinos Juniors, a club in Buenos Aires. He joined the main team in 1994.

In the 1995–96 season, he was the captain of the Argentina Under-20 team. They won the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship in Qatar. After this success, the Italian club Juventus bought his contract. However, he didn't play much there, only four games. So, he soon went back to Argentina.

Sorín then joined River Plate in 1996. This move helped his career a lot! He won many titles with River Plate, including four Argentine league championships (Apertura in 1996, 1997, 1999, and Clausura in 1997). He also won the Copa Libertadores in 1996 and the Supercopa Sudamericana in 1997.

Playing in Brazil and Italy

In 2000, Sorín moved to Cruzeiro in Brazil. He played there for two and a half seasons. He won the 2000 Copa do Brasil and became a favorite player among the fans.

After the 2002 Brazilian Cup, he went to Italy again, joining Lazio on loan in July 2002.

Time at Barcelona and PSG

Sorín had some injuries while at Lazio and only played six league games. Then, Barcelona signed him in 2003. He played 15 games for Barcelona and scored one goal. His debut was in February 2003, and he scored in a 2–0 win against Celta Vigo in his last game of the 2002–03 season.

After a good half-season, he left Barcelona in the summer of 2003. He was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France. There, he helped PSG win the 2003–04 Coupe de France, a major French cup.

Sorín returned to Cruzeiro in Brazil in 2004 and played in the 2004 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Success at Villarreal

In November 2004, Sorín moved to the Spanish team Villarreal. He scored his first goal for them in February 2005, which was a winning goal in the last minute against Atlético Madrid. He scored three more goals that season, helping Villarreal finish third in the league. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Champions League, a big European competition.

In the 2005–06 season, Sorín played 20 league games and scored three goals. He also played 13 games in the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, scoring a goal against Everton. Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the Champions League that year, which was a great achievement for the club. They were eventually beaten by Arsenal.

Moving to Hamburg

In August 2006, Sorín signed with Hamburger SV in Germany. He signed a three-year contract. He played for two years with the German club, but injuries limited him to only 24 games. His contract ended on July 15, 2008, and he left the club.

Final Years and Retirement

Sorín returned to Cruzeiro for a third time on August 29, 2008. He signed a contract until the end of the season. He played only one match in the 2009 season. After another year with injuries, Juan Pablo Sorín announced his retirement from football on July 28, 2009.

Playing for Argentina

Sorín first played for the Argentina national team in 1995. His first big tournament was the 1999 Copa América, where Argentina lost to Brazil in the quarter-finals.

He was part of the Argentine team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. He played in all three group matches against Nigeria, England, and Sweden. Argentina won their first game but then lost to England and drew with Sweden. They were surprisingly knocked out early from the tournament.

Sorín also played in the 2004 Copa América, scoring a goal in a 3–0 win against Colombia. Argentina reached the final but lost to Brazil in a penalty shootout. The next year, Sorín played in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. Argentina again reached the final, but lost to Brazil once more.

For the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, José Pekerman became the coach, and Sorín was chosen as the captain of Argentina. He played a very important role as an attacking left-back. Argentina played well, beating Ivory Coast and crushing Serbia and Montenegro 6–0. They then beat Mexico in extra time to reach the quarter-finals. In a tough match, they lost to the host nation, Germany, in a penalty shootout.

How He Played

Juan Pablo Sorín was a strong and hardworking player. He mostly played as a left-back, which is a defensive position on the left side of the field. However, he was also very versatile and could play as a centre-back or anywhere on the left wing.

He was known for his good passing and his ability to send accurate crosses into the penalty box with his left foot. Even though he played in defensive roles, he often ran forward to join the attack. He used his skills and his strong heading ability to score goals and create chances for his team.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sorín goal.

List of international goals scored by Juan Pablo Sorín

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 October 1996	Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–1	5–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	10 February 1999	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Mexico	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	11 July 1999	Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Brazil	1–0	1–2	1999 Copa América
4	28 March 2001	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	2–0	5–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	25 April 2001	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	3–3	3–3	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	17 April 2002	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Germany	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7	20 November 2002	Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan	Japan	1–0	2–0	Friendly
8	2 June 2004	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Brazil	1–2	1–3	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	20 July 2004	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Colombia	3–0	3–0	2004 Copa América
10	4 September 2004	Estadio Monumental "U", Lima, Peru	Peru	3–1	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	30 May 2006	Stadio Arechi, Salerno, Italy	Angola	2–0	2–0	Friendly

Awards and Achievements

Sorín won many awards and championships throughout his career:

River Plate

• Argentine Primera División: 1996 Apertura, 1997 Clausura, 1997 Apertura, 1999 Apertura
• Copa Libertadores: 1996
• Supercopa Libertadores: 1997

Cruzeiro

• Copa do Brasil: 2000
• Campeonato Mineiro: 2009
• Copa Sul-Minas: 2001, 2002

Paris Saint-Germain

• Coupe de France: 2003–04

Argentina

• FIFA World Youth Championship: 1995
• Pan American Games: 1995

Individual Awards

• South American Team of the Year: 1996, 2000, 2001
• Bola de Prata: 2000
• UNFP Player of the Month: April 2004
• IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team C): 2021

See also

In Spanish: Juan Pablo Sorín para niños

• List of select Jewish association football (soccer) players