- Marcelo Gallardo
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Marcelo Gallardo Personal information Full name Marcelo Daniel Gallardo Date of birth January 18, 1976 Place of birth Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) Playing position Attacking midfielder Club information Current club Nacional (Manager) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1992–1999 River Plate 109 (18) 1999–2003 Monaco 103 (18) 2003–2006 River Plate 77 (25) 2007 Paris Saint-Germain 22 (2) 2008 D.C. United 15 (4) 2008–2010 River Plate 28 (7) 2010–2011 Nacional 12 (3) National team 1994–2003 Argentina 44 (13) Teams managed 2011– Nacional * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 June 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).Marcelo Daniel Gallardo (born 18 January 1976 in Merlo, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine ex footballer who is currently the manager for Nacional de Uruguay.[1]. He was an attacking midfielder in the role of playmaker.
Contents
Club career
Early years
Nicknamed El Muñeco (the doll) due to his small frame (169 cm, 70 kg), Gallardo started his football career back in 1992-93 season with River Plate and won 4 Argentinian Torneo de Apertura (93, 94, 96 and 97), 1 Argentinian Torneo de Clausura (1997) and 1 Copa Libertadores (1996).
His initial spell with los millonarios lasted until season 1992-99, by then he had played 109 league games for them and scored 17 goals.
Europe
In 1999, he was snapped up by Monaco. In his first season in Europe, Gallardo proved his worth and played 28 games, scoring 8 goals and formed lethal partnership with Ludovic Giuly in Midfield.
In the following season, Gallardo won his first Première Division and Trophée Des Champions with Monaco.
As a team containing many big-name players such as Marco Simone, Fabien Barthez, Willy Sagnol, Martin Djetou, Pablo Contreras, Ludovic Giuly, Philippe Christanval, Rafael Márquez, Sabri Lamouchi, David Trezeguet, and John Arne Riise, Monaco enjoyed their success domestically and it was evident Gallardo was one of the star players, having won the French League Footballer of the Year that year.
However in his third season, things did not go well off the pitch for Gallardo as he was not in good terms with his coach Didier Deschamps[1] after being named on the bench midway through 2000-01 season. Following the examples of Panucci and Simone, Gallardo decided to leave Monaco at the end of the season.
Back to Argentina
After making 102 appearances and scoring 18 goals for Monaco, Gallardo returned to his old club River Plate as club captain, he helped them win another Clausura in 2004.
Back to France
Marcello Gallardo was bought by the Parisian club PSG for an undisclosed fee in January 2007. Paris Saint-Germain signed a two year contract with Marcelo and made his debut in a 3-0 cup win against Nîmes on January 7.
On January 13, 2007 he played his first Ligue 1 match for PSG against Valenciennes[2]
After spending only one season with the club, Gallardo terminated his contract, looking to move to Major League Soccer in the United States.[3]
Major League Soccer with D.C. United
On January 29, 2008 Gallardo was presented as the newest member of D.C. United. With a 2008 salary of $1.87 million, Gallardo is the highest-paid player in United history and its first Designated Player. Gallardo has the third-largest salary in MLS for 2008, behind English midfielder David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy ($6.5 million guaranteed) and Mexican forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire ($2.67 million).[4] He scored his first league goal for United on April 5, 2008 against Toronto FC. On July 17 and 19 Gallardo underwent surgery for a sports hernia. In February 2009 he left D.C. United and returned for the third time to his old club River Plate.
Nacional and new career as a manager
In 2010 he signed for his current club, Nacional de Montevideo. On June 12 of 2011, Gallardo played his last match winning the Uruguay Tournament making one of the few players that won a championship or a league in every team that he play. He retired as a player, and was hired a few days later as new manager of Nacional, his first job as a football manager. He will be assisted by Matías Biscay, Pablo Rodríguez and professor Marcelo Tulbovitz
National team
Gallardo made his international debut for Argentina in 1994 against Chile and made 44 appearances and scored 14 goals. He was also in the Argentina squad for the 1998 World Cup and 2002 World Cup.
Playing style
He tends to play as a central playmaker. He is well known for his free kicks and corners. He is also skillful in confrontation and possesses an intelligent footballing brain although he is best known for his defense splitting passes.
National team statistics
Argentina national team Year Apps Goals 1994 2 0 1995 11 5 1996 0 0 1997 8 5 1998 9 0 1999 4 0 2000 2 1 2001 5 2 2002 1 0 2003 2 0 Total 44 13 Honours
Medal record Competitor for 
ArgentinaMen's Football Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Competition Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team Competition - Primera División Argentina (1993A, 1994A, 1996A, 1997C, 1997A, 2004C)
- Copa Libertadores (1996)
- Supercopa Sudamericana (1997)
- With AS Monaco FC
- Ligue 1 (2000)
- Trophée des champions (2000)
- Coupe de la Ligue (2003)
- With Paris Saint-Germain
- Coupe de la Ligue (2008)
- With D.C. United
- U.S. Open Cup (2009)
- Uruguayan Primera División (2011)
Individual Honors
Distinción Año Chosen as the best young player in Torneo Apertura of Argentina 1993 Chosen as the best young player in Torneo Clausura of Argentina 1994 Chosen as the best player in Torneo Clausura of Argentina 1994 Chosen as the best player in Torneo Apertura of Argentina 1994 Chosen as the best player in Torneo Clausura of Argentina 1995 Chosen as the best player in Torneo Clausura of Argentina 1996 Chosen as the best player in Torneo Apertura of Argentina 1997 Chosen as the best player in the French League 2000 References
- ^ «Gallardo es el técnico»
- ^ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. http://www.football-lineups.com/wiki/_match3213.php. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
- ^ "Gallardo Leaning Towards MLS". Soccer365.com. http://www.soccer365.com/mls/story_22108120608.php. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- ^ Goff, Steven (April 4, 2008). "Gallardo Is United's Highest-Paid Player Ever". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304288.html. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
External links
- Marcelo Gallardo – FIFA competition record
- Marcelo Gallardo at National-Football-Teams.com
- Statistics at Irish Times
- Argentine Primera statistics
Argentina Squad Argentina squad – 1995 King Fahd Cup Runners-up 
Argentina squad – 1995 Copa América Argentina squad – 1996 Summer Olympics Silver Medalists Argentina squad – 1997 Copa América Argentina squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Argentina squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Burgos • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Pochettino • 5 Almeyda • 6 Samuel • 7 C. López • 8 Zanetti • 9 Batistuta • 10 Ortega • 11 Verón (c) • 12 Cavallero • 13 Placente • 14 Simeone • 15 Husaín • 16 Aimar • 17 G. López • 18 K. González • 19 Crespo • 20 Gallardo • 21 Caniggia • 22 Chamot • 23 Bonano • Coach: BielsaCategories:- 1976 births
- Living people
- People from Buenos Aires Province
- Argentine footballers
- River Plate footballers
- AS Monaco FC players
- Club Nacional de Football players
- Expatriate footballers in Uruguay
- Expatriate footballers in Monaco
- Expatriate footballers in France
- Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- 1995 King Fahd Cup players
- 1995 Copa América players
- 1997 Copa América players
- Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for Argentina
- Olympic footballers of Argentina
- Argentina international footballers
- D.C. United players
- Ligue 1 players
- Argentine expatriate footballers
- Primera División Argentina players
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France
- Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Argentine expatriates in Monaco
- Olympic medalists in football
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