Ariel Ortega

Ariel Ortega

Ortega in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Arnaldo Ariel Ortega
Date of birth	(1974-03-04) 4 March 1974 (age 50)
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
1993–2003	Argentina	88	(17)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Argentina Pan American Games 1995 Mar del Plata Team Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arnaldo Ariel 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 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.

Club career

Beginnings in Argentina

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.

Europe

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]

Fenerbahçe and ban

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.

Return to Argentina

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.

International career

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 number 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]

Style of play

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]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	–		4	0	7 [lower-alpha 2]	3 [lower-alpha 3]	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	—		44	5	7	3	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 4]	0	1 [lower-alpha 5]	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 6]	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	9	1	100	12	8	3	597	126

1. Includes Copa Argentina, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
2. Appearance in Copa Centenario de la AFA
3. Goals in Copa Centenario de la AFA
4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Cup
5. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
6. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year ^[27]

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

1. Three appearances in 1994 FIFA World Cup
2. Four appearances in 1995 Copa América
3. Five appearances and 2 goals in 1998 FIFA World Cup
4. One appearance in 1999 Copa América
5. Three appearances in 2002 FIFA World Cup

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

List of international goals scored by Ariel Ortega

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

Honours

River Plate

• Primera División: 1991 Apertura, 1993 Apertura, 1994 Apertura, 1996 Apertura, 2002 Clausura, 2008 Clausura
• Copa Libertadores: 1996

Parma

• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999

Newell's Old Boys

• Primera División: 2004 Apertura

Argentina

• Pan American Games Gold Medal: 1995
• Summer Olympics Silver Medal: 1996

Individual

• South American Team of the Year: 1994, 1996, 2001 ^[28]

References

1. "Ariel Ortega". Club Atlético River Plate. Archived from the original on 24 January 2007.
2. "Ortega said: Gracias a la camiseta de River y a los hinchas" (in Spanish). Olé.
3. es:Ariel Ortega#Inicios
4. Bartolozzi, Bruno (29 July 1998). "Ortega alla Samp per 23 miliardi, il Betis sonda Cesare Maldini". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 4 May 2010.
5. Monti, Fabio (4 July 1999). "Ortega, un affare da 28 miliardi". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 4 May 2010.
6. Laudisa, Carlo (10 August 2000). "Ortega dà l' addio al Parma Torna al River con Husain". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
7. "Ariel Ortega vuelve a River". La Nación (in Spanish). 9 August 2000. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
8. AC Parma SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011 (in Italian), CCIAA Archive (require login and purchase)
9. "Arbitration CAS 2003/O/482 Ariel Ortega v/ Fenerbahçe & Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), award of 5 November 2002" (PDF). The Court of Arbitration for Sport. 5 November 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
10. "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
11. "Ortega said: I will leave River" (in Spanish). Clarín. 23 June 2008.
12. "Aguilar forced Ortega and Simeone to an agreement" (in Spanish). Clarín. 5 July 2008.
13. "Ortega is left out of River squad" (in Spanish). Clarín. August 2008.
14. "New scandal by Ariel Ortega" (in Spanish). La Nueva. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
15. "Ariel Ortega is too close to UAE" (in Spanish). ESPN. 5 August 2008.
16. "Dallas FC aims on Ariel Ortega" (in Spanish). La Nación.
17. "Ortega signs for Independiente Rivadavia" (in Spanish). La Nación.
18. "Ortega signs for Independiente Rivadavia" (in Spanish). La Nación.
19. "Ortega returns to Argentina squad after six years". Espnsoccernet.com. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
20. "La Selección se entrenará hoy y mañana por la tarde" (in Spanish). AFA. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
21. "Diego Maradona dio la lista para el amistoso ante Haití". AFA (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
22. "La Selección Argentina derrotó a Haití". AFA (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
23. Mora, Marcela (18 January 2007). "Ariel Ortega - just an ordinary genius". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
24. "Historical Data". LFP. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
25. "Player Details". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
26. "CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com.
27. Ariel Ortega at National-Football-Teams.com
28. "South American Team of the Year". 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.

External links

• Ariel Ortega – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Ariel Ortega at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ariel Ortega at BDFutbol
• River Plate – Sitio Oficial (in Spanish)