Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ariel Arnaldo Ortega | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 4 March 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Ledesma, Jujuy, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1988–1990 | Atlético Ledesma [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
1991–1996 | River Plate | 134 | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Valencia | 32 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Sampdoria | 27 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
1999–2000 | Parma | 18 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2002 | River Plate | 56 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2002–2003 | Fenerbahçe | 14 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2006 | Newell's Old Boys | 53 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2006–2012 | River Plate | 82 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2008–2009 | → Independiente (Riv) (loan) | 25 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | → All Boys (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2011–2012 | → Def. Belgrano (loan) | 27 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 480 | (109) | |||||||||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1993–2010 | Argentina | 88 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Ariel Arnaldo Ortega (born 4 March 1974) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. His nickname is "El Burrito" (The Little Donkey), thus he is called "Burrito Ortega".
Ariel Ortega first played for Club Atlético River Plate on 14 December 1991 and until 1996 and returned in 2000–02, 2006–08 and 2009–11. [3] Ortega also played for Spanish club Valencia, Turkish club Fenerbahçe and Italian clubs Parma and Sampdoria. A former Argentina international, Ortega played for his country in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cups. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.He played against KRC Harelbeke during the Intertoto cup in 1998.
Ortega began his professional football career in 1991 with Argentine club River Plate. With the club, he won the Primera División in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1996, as well as the Copa Libertadores in 1996. He lost out on the 1996 Intercontinental Cup final to Juventus.
Ortega left Argentina in 1996. He played 1+1⁄2 seasons for Valencia CF before being signed by Sampdoria in 1998 for 23 billion Italian lire (£8 million), [4] replacing Juan Sebastián Verón. After the club was relegated to Serie B, Ortega joined Parma AC, rejoining national and former club teammate Hernán Crespo, replacing Verón again who left for Lazio. Parma paid Sampdoria 28 billion lire (£9.4 million). [5] However, in the following season he returned to Argentina with River Plate, to compensate unpaid 12 billion lire transfer fees of Crespo. (The 10% of the transfer fees to Lazio) Claudio Husaín also joined the club. [6] River Plate acquired 50% registration rights of Ortega for a reported 5.5 million dollars. [7] While, in Parma AC annual filing to Italian government, Ortega was sold for 11 billion lire. [8]
In May 2002, Fenerbahçe signed Ortega from River Plate for a fee of US$7,500,000 (US$2,500,000 of which was paid to Parma). Fenerbahçe also bought his image rights for a further US$1,500,000. Ortega signed a 4-year contract. [9] He was one of the key players of the team, scoring 5 goals in 14 matches.
Fenerbahçe were forced to file a complaint to FIFA in April 2003 as Ortega had failed to return from international duty since 12 February 2003. [9] In June 2003 the FIFA Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) ordered Ortega to pay Fenerbahçe USD 11,000,000 as compensation for breach of an employment contract and suspended him until 30 December 2003. [9] Ortega appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2003 but the case was dismissed on 5 November. [9] Ortega served a 4-month suspension from that day. [9] After the ban he was without a club.
In 2004, when he could finally come back to football, he joined Newell's Old Boys after he was called by his friend Américo Gallego, who at the time was Newell's' coach. Newell paid an unknown sum to Fenerbahçe as part compensation for what Ortega owed the club. They won the Apertura 2004.
In June 2006, he went back to his first team River Plate, where he played for about half of the Apertura 2006, [10] before he stopped to begin treatment for alcoholism. In January 2007, during River's pre-season in Mar del Plata, and one day after playing an excellent game in which he scored, he surprised everyone with another alcoholic episode, after which River Plate's doctors suggested to the coach that Ortega should go back to Buenos Aires to resume treatment for his problem.
Coach Daniel Passarella later brought Ortega back, stating he was ready for a comeback. On 15 March 2007, in a Copa Libertadores 2007 match against LDU Quito, Ortega formed part of River's bench but was not given a chance to play. However, three days later, in a league match versus Quilmes, he came on during the second half to help break the opposing team's defense in a tight 0–0 up to that point. Ortega scored a controversial goal with his hand, in the 93rd minute, to give River the victory and himself a great comeback.
Upon the arrival of Diego Simeone as head coach of River, Ortega allegedly lost some "protections" he was rumoured to have and, despite being an important part of the team that achieved the Clausura 2008 title, Simeone left him out of the squad for the upcoming season, reasoning his decision on Ortega having several times not come to train as well as some episodes of alcoholism. [11] [12] [13] After some controversy [14] and rumours [15] [16] in the winter window of Argentine market, he was loaned to Nacional B side Independiente Rivadavia, [17] signing a one-year contract where a twice a week trip to a Chilean Special Treatment Center for alcoholics [18] is one of the clauses. On 1 May 2009. he was let go by Independiente officials. The club decided to terminate his contract in advance. Ortega was on loan from River Plate. On his first game back in River Plate, 25 July 2009, he scored an outstanding chip shot goal to give River a 1–0 victory over Everton F.C. of England in Edmonton, Canada during the preseason. In the 2009 Apertura, Ortega scored a wonder lobbed goal against Chacarita Juniors to give River Plate a 4–3 victory. Later in the tournament, he scored a last minute equalizer against Estudiantes.
In the 2010 Clausura, Ortega started River's first two matches, but suffered another alcoholic relapse and missed the next ten games before returning against Newell's Old Boys in the 13th round of matches.
In 2011, he was loaned to Defensores de Belgrano.
On 8 April 2012, Fox Sports Argentina journalist Juan José Buscalia, confirmed that Ortega would join Chilean Primera División club Unión San Felipe in June 2012.
Ortega was included in the squad for the 1994 World Cup. His debut in the starting eleven occurred on 3 July 1994 when Argentina was knocked out of the competition by Romania. He also reached the final of the 1995 King Fahd Cup with Argentina, and he won a Silver Olympic medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Ortega was handed the #10 shirt for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he was expected to carry the mantle of the team's playmaker, and it was his first World Cup as an established star. Despite impressing in the early rounds to be considered a favorite as player of the tournament, Ortega was most notable for his sending-off in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. Ortega received a second yellow card for head-butting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar when van der Sar confronted him after a dive in the penalty area, for which Ortega was just getting his first yellow card. Shortly after Ortega's sending-off, Dennis Bergkamp scored the winning goal to make it 2–1, eliminating Argentina.
Ortega was also a member of the squad for the 2002 World Cup. Ortega missed a penalty in the last match against Sweden, which was then followed up and converted into the back of the net by Hernan Crespo, nonetheless the result meant that Argentina was knocked out in the first round.
On 24 September 2009, he was recalled to the Argentina national first-team squad, [19] but had to miss the friendly match against Ghana due to an injury he picked up during the weekend in the Argentine Domestic League. [20]
In April 2010, 17 years after his Argentina debut, Ortega received a call-up again, this time against Haiti. [21] All the players in Diego Maradona's squad were from the Primera División Argentina. He played the match as starting XI on 5 May. [22]
A highly creative player with excellent technical ability, Ortega was well known for his pace, mobility, dribbling, and skills from dead ball situations, as well as his ball trickery, clever body feints, and lobbed shots. At his prime he was regarded as one of the best dribblers in the world; primarily deployed as an attacking midfielder, Ortega was an effective playmaker due to his vision and passing ability, which earned him comparisons with Maradona as a youth. Along with his skills, Ortega was infamously temperamental, and he was criticised throughout his career for not living up to his potential. [23]
Club | Season | League | National cup [lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
River Plate | 1991–92 | Primera División | 14 | 1 | – | – | – | 14 | 1 | |||
1992–93 | 27 | 5 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 34 | 6 | ||||
1993–94 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | 40 | 8 | |||
1994–95 | 25 | 7 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 33 | 8 | ||||
1995–96 | 23 | 7 | – | 22 | 3 | – | 45 | 10 | ||||
1996–97 | 16 | 6 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 19 | 6 | ||||
Total | 134 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 44 | 5 | – | 185 | 39 | |||
Valencia | 1996–97 [24] | La Liga | 12 | 7 | – | – | – | 12 | 7 | |||
1997–98 [24] | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 2 | ||||
Total | 32 | 9 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 9 | ||||
Sampdoria | 1998–99 | Serie A | 27 | 8 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 9 | ||
Parma | 1999–2000 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 [lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 1 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
River Plate | 2000–01 | Primera División | 27 | 9 | – | 12 | 3 | – | 39 | 12 | ||
2001–02 | 29 | 14 | – | 10 | 2 | – | 39 | 16 | ||||
Total | 56 | 23 | — | 22 | 5 | – | 78 | 28 | ||||
Fenerbahçe | 2002–03 [25] | Süper Lig | 14 | 5 | – | 6 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | – | 20 | 5 | ||
Newell's Old Boys | 2004–05 | Primera División | 24 | 5 | — | – | – | 24 | 5 | |||
2005–06 | 29 | 6 | — | 7 [26] | 0 | – | 36 | 6 | ||||
Total | 53 | 11 | — | 7 | 0 | – | 60 | 11 | ||||
River Plate | 2006–07 | Primera División | 18 | 4 | — | 3 | 0 | – | 21 | 4 | ||
2007–08 | 26 | 4 | — | 9 | 2 | – | 35 | 6 | ||||
Independiente Rivadavia (loan) | 2008–09 | Primera B Nacional | 25 | 4 | — | – | – | 25 | 4 | |||
River Plate | 2009–10 | Primera División | 22 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | – | 24 | 3 | ||
2010–11 | 16 | 1 | — | – | — | 16 | 1 | |||||
Total | 82 | 12 | — | 14 | 2 | – | 96 | 14 | ||||
All Boys (loan) | 2010–11 | Primera División | 12 | 0 | — | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||
Def. Belgrano (loan) | 2011–12 | Primera B Metropolitana | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 4 | ||
Career total | 480 | 109 | 16 | 4 | 100 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 597 | 126 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Argentina | 1993 | 1 | 0 |
1994 | 10 [lower-alpha 1] | 1 | |
1995 | 16 [lower-alpha 2] | 2 | |
1996 | 7 | 3 | |
1997 | 9 | 1 | |
1998 | 13 [lower-alpha 3] | 5 | |
1999 | 8 [lower-alpha 4] | 2 | |
2000 | 11 | 3 | |
2001 | 7 | 0 | |
2002 | 4 [lower-alpha 5] | 0 | |
2003 | 1 | 0 | |
2004 | 0 | 0 | |
2005 | 0 | 0 | |
2006 | 0 | 0 | |
2007 | 0 | 0 | |
2008 | 0 | 0 | |
2009 | 0 | 0 | |
2010 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 88 | 17 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 December 1994 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
2 | 8 January 1995 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Japan | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1995 King Fahd Cup |
3 | 20 September 1995 | Madrid, Spain | Spain | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
4 | 24 April 1996 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Bolivia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
5 | 2–0 | |||||
6 | 9 October 1996 | San Cristóbal, Venezuela | Venezuela | 1–1 | 5–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
7 | 30 April 1997 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Ecuador | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
8 | 22 April 1998 | Dublin, Ireland | Republic of Ireland | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
9 | 14 May 1998 | La Plata, Argentina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
10 | 25 May 1998 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | South Africa | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
11 | 21 June 1998 | Paris, France | Jamaica | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
12 | 2–0 | |||||
13 | 7 September 1999 | Porto Alegre, Brazil | Brazil | 2–4 | 2–4 | Friendly |
14 | 13 October 1999 | La Plata, Argentina | Colombia | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
15 | 26 April 2000 | Maracaibo, Venezuela | Venezuela | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
16 | 3–0 | |||||
17 | 15 November 2000 | Santiago, Chile | Chile | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
River Plate
Parma
Newell's Old Boys
Argentina
Individual
José Marcelo Salas Melinao, nicknamed Matador, El Fenómeno and Shileno, is a Chilean former footballer who played as a striker. Salas is considered the best striker in the history of Chile. He stood out during the 1990s and 2000s in clubs such as Universidad de Chile, River Plate, Lazio and Juventus. He was the captain of the Chile national team and the top scorer – scoring 45 goals in total: 37 goals for the Chile national football team and 8 goals with the Chile Olympic football team.
Enzo Francescoli Uriarte, nicknamed "El Príncipe", is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of Uruguay's and South America's greatest ever players. He represented his nation at two FIFA World Cups, in 1986 and 1990, also winning the Copa América in 1983, 1987 and 1995.
Damián Ariel Álvarez, also known as "La Chilindrina", is a former professional footballer who played as a winger. Born in Argentina, he played for the Mexico national team.
Juan Pablo Sorín is an Argentine former footballer and current sports broadcaster, who played as a left-back or left midfielder. He had a successful club career in his native Argentina with River Plate, in Brazil with Cruzeiro, and with various teams in Europe, including Barcelona, Lazio, Paris Saint-Germain and Villarreal.
Julio César Cáceres López is a Paraguayan football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the current manager of Sportivo Luqueño.
Roberto Néstor Sensini is an Argentine football manager and former player, who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. As a player with the Argentina national team, he finished third place in the 1989 edition of the tournament. He also represented his nation in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, finishing in runner-up at the 1990 World Cup. Furthermore, he won an Olympic silver medal with Argentina at the 1996 Olympics.
Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career.
Gabriel Alejandro Paletta is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Marcelo Daniel Gallardo is an Argentine football coach and former professional player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. During his playing career, Gallardo was an attacking midfielder and playmaker. He was regarded for his vision, technique, class, dribbling, and especially his defence-splitting passing.
Matías Jesús Almeyda is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Greek Super League club AEK Athens.
Claudio Daniel Husaín is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Sergio Ángel Berti is an Argentine retired professional footballer, nicknamed La Bruja, who played as a midfielder.
Ignacio "Nacho" Martín Scocco is an Argentine retired professional footballer who last played as a forward for Newell's Old Boys. He has also played for clubs in Mexico, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, England and Brazil.
Augusto Matías Fernández is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
Marcelo Alberto Barovero is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga MX club Atlético San Luis. He often goes by the nickname of "Trapito".
Rogelio Gabriel Funes Mori is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club UNAM. Born in Argentina, he represented the Mexico national team.
Nahuel Ignacio Guzmán Palomeque is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Liga MX club Tigres UANL.
Germán Alejo Pezzella is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Betis and the Argentina national team, with whom he won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Guido Rodríguez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis and the Argentina national team. He was a member of the Argentina team that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 2002–03 season is River Plate's 73nd season in the Argentine Primera División. The season was split into two tournaments Apertura (Opening) 2002, and Clausura (Closing) 2003.