Juan Manuel Vargas
Encyclopedia
Juan Manuel Vargas Risco (ˈxwan manˈwel ˈbarɣas; born 5 October 1983 in Magdalena Del Mar
Magdalena del Mar
Magdalena del Mar, commonly known simply as Magdalena, is a seaside district of the Lima Province in Peru and one of the districts that comprise the city of Lima. Its current mayor is Francis James Allison Oyague...

, Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

), is a Peruvian
Peruvian people
Peru is a multiethnic country formed by the combination of different groups over five centuries, so people in Peru usually treat their nationality as a citizenship rather than an ethnicity. Amerindians inhabited Peruvian territory for several millennia before Spanish Conquest in the 16th century;...

 footballer who plays as a wing-back for Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 club A.C.F. Fiorentina, and the Peru national team
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...

 and is currently the team's captain. He is nicknamed El Loco ("The Madman") or 'Jardo' to the fans.

Early career

Vargas got his start in the popular Peruvian team Universitario de Deportes
Universitario de Deportes
Club Universitario de Deportes, also known as Universitario, or more popularly as [La] "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. It is the most successful football club in Peru. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of...

 where he quickly earned a main spot in the team by 2004, given his great play and his crowd-pleasing goals at key moments. In 2005 he transferred to Argentine team Colón de Santa Fe
Colón de Santa Fe
Club Atlético Colón, commonly referred to as Colón de Santa Fe, is a football team from Santa Fe, Argentina. As of Primera División Argentina 1946 the football squad plays in the highest division of Argentine football, and has done so continuously since 1995-96...

, where he has also earned a spot in the starting line-up and the admiration of his coaches.

Catania

In August, 2006, he signed a four year contract with Catania
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...

.

He scored his first goal for Catania
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...

 on 31 October 2007, in the 88th minute, tying Siena 1–1 and prolonging Catania's
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...

 unbeaten streak to 7 games. During his two year stay in Sicily, he was continuously one of their best players, and was always a first team regular. His performances helped the Sicilians to Serie A survival for two seasons. These impressive displays led to elite clubs around Europe chasing after the 23 year old's signature.

Fiorentina

It was reported that Vargas had agreed to sign for Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

 on 17 May 2008 but on 5 July 2008 he joined Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...

 for a fee of €12million. Upon arriving in Florence he struggled in the left back position and was highly criticized, however after realizing his true potential as an attacking midfielder, he has become a crucial part to the Viola squad providing crucial assists, giving the squad great speed, and acting almost as a third forward.
On 24 November
November
November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...

 2009, Vargas scored a critical spot kick goal that advanced Fiorentina onto the knock-out stages in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. This was the first time Fiorentina made it to the Round of 16 in 10 years.

Style of play

Vargas plays at left back, on the wing, or in the midfield, in both offensive and defensive positions. Vargas impresses with his ability to dribble the ball and make remarkable shots on goal. He is also known for his free kick ability and accurate crosses. His Fiorentina teammate Alberto Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team....

 stated that Vargas is probably the best crosser he has played with.

International career

He started to play in the Peruvian national team
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...

 against Ecuador
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...

 in Germany 2006 campaign
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for South America. 10 teams took part, all in a single group. The rules were very simple: the teams would play against each other in a home-and-away basis, with the four teams with most points qualifying to...

 with Paulo Autuori as a coach.

He scored his first international goal on 12 September 2007 in a friendly game against Bolivia
Bolivia national football team
The Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once—in 1994...

.
He was sent off in the 2011 Copa América
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América Argentina 2011, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America...

 Semi-Final match for elbowing a Uruguay player; previously, Peruvian player Paolo Guerrero received a similar aggression from a Uruguayan player, but the referee ignored it.

International

|-
|2004||2||0
|-
|2005||4||0
|-
|2006||2||0
|-
|2007||6||2
|-
|2008||7||0
|-
|2009||6||1
|-
|2010||3||0
|-
|2011||8||1
|-
!Total||38||4
|}

International appearances and goals



Statistics accurate as of match played 16 November 2011

Club

  Universitario de Deportes
Universitario de Deportes
Club Universitario de Deportes, also known as Universitario, or more popularly as [La] "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. It is the most successful football club in Peru. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of...

  • Torneo Apertura: 2002

Country

Peru national team
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...

  • Copa America
    Copa América
    The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...

    :
    Bronze medal 2011
    2011 Copa América
    The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América Argentina 2011, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America...


Personal life

Vargas currently lives with his longtime partner Blanca Rodríguez, and their three children: Luana Mia (born in 2007), Ánika Lía (born December 28, 2009), and Juan Manuel (born in 2011).

External links

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