Sorín is saying good bye to the soccer’s world, and here is Power Soccer’s tribute to this great player.
The Beginning
On the 5th of May,1976 one of the greatest soccer players the world has ever seen was born in Buenos Aires, Juan Pablo Sorín that is. Known as “Juampi” in Argentina, Sorín made history in the world of soccer, by becoming a real championship winner. The club which launched him into the world of soccer was Argentinos Juniors. In 1994, Sorín broke into Juniors main team, he was truly an exceptional player, reaching Argentina’s National Team was just a matter of time. After seeing Sorín’s great qualities he was called up to Argentina’s national team to play the 1995 U-20 World Cup.
Sorín wasn’t just an amazing player, he was also a strong leader, and for that he became Argentina U-20 National Team captain. With other talented youngsters in that selection, Sorín conquered the “world defeating”, their great rivals, Brazil, by two goals. That was just the beginning of a champion.
In the second part of 1995 Juventus from Italy bought him on a transfer. Sorín didn’t fit too well in the squad, he played only a few matches, but enough to help Juventus conquer one of their main titles in history, their 2nd UEFA Champions League title.
The Glory
After that season in Italy Sorín went back to Argentina to play in River Plate, and there he enjoyed one of the best times in his soccer career. “Juampi” excelled in winning derbies, he would become a monster in these matches full of energy, he would give his soul in each match till the last minute. One of Sorín’s virtue was never giving up, and this was showed to Newell’s Old Boys in the Apertura championship in 1997. Newell’s were holding the game back, since they were first in the Argentinean championship, but on the 89th minute of the game, Sorín went there and made a beautiful pass to the defender Trotta who scored the winning goal. This virtue was also showed in a match between River and Platense. The game was being disputed really hard, but after a ball crossed into the area, Sorín went there and made the winning goal possible by scoring a great header, another great virtue of Sorín, putting the score on River’s side (2-1).
With Sorín playing for River plate, they conquered many important titles. Three Apertura championships (1996, 1997 and 1999), one Clasura championship (1997), one Libertadores (1996), and one Supercopa Libertadores (1997).
A True Argentinean in Brazilian Soil
For that reason, Cruzeiro from Brazil bought him for 5.2 million dollars in the beginning of 2000. At that time was the most expensive investment a Brazilian team had ever made, and still the highest investment for Cruzeiro. However, he made that high price worth it, in his first year in Cruzeiro, Sorín conquered one Copa do Brazil (2000), and two Sul-Minas (2001 and 2002) in the next two following years. In a short time, this great player conquered all Cruzeirenses and became one of the most recent and beloved idols of the Cruzeiro Esporte Clube fans. He would give his blood in the field, he would fight till the very last time in all disputes in every single match. It didn’t take long to Sorín prove his leadership, now in Cruzeiro, and soon he became Cruzeiro’s captain
In 2002, his last year in Cruzeiro, an Italian team bought Sorín. But he still had to win one more title with Cruzeiro. The championship was Sul-Minas 2002, the opponent was Atlético-PR. The stadium was at its maximum, and if Cruzeiro wanted conquer that title twice in a row, they would have to defeat Atlético-PR. That game didn’t just represent another final to Sorín, he was playing his last match in a team which all fans loved him, where he pleaded eternal love, and that was his last chance to conquer something before leaving. So like always, he gave blood for the team, he fought for every dispute like if they were the last. But right in the beginning of the match in a very hard dispute, Sorín was injured on his eyebrow, right away the medics wanted him out of the match. Every single fan was worried! That couldn’t be happening, not now, not to Sorín. However he said: -”I can’t leave, doctor, it doesn’t make sense staying out of this match.”, for that reason Cruzeiro’s doctor made a bandage cap and sent him back to the field. But again in another hard dispute, Sorín got headed by another Atlético’s player. He lost his cap and started to bleed badly, yet he made it to the break. He then got 6 stitches in his eyebrow (not like he cared!). He went to the second half like nothing happened.
Throughout the whole game Sorín attacked and defended, on the right and on the left, up front and down back, “Juampi” was everywhere and anywhere at any time the whole game. Although the draw would lead Cruzeiro to its second Sul-Minas’ title, it wasn’t enough for Sorín, he wanted more than a simple tie, so he went on fighting that hard battle. But then, in the 30th minute of the second half Cruzeiro’s player Ruy, made a great move out the area of Atlético on the right, almost close to the goal line, he then passed the ball to the only striker Cruzeiro had in the area… but wait! That was the left wingback Sorín! And so with a strange and unbalanced but memorable curling shot, “Juampi” made the winning goal. The whole stadium shook, all you could see on the bleachers was a blue sea full of happiness. Cruzeiro had conquered twice Sul-Minas championship, and it was all thanks to that true Argentinean called Sorín. A true Argentinean in Brazilian soil.
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
Sorín was one of the greatest Argentinean players at the time. And with “Juampi”, Argentina got classified to FIFA World Cup. Sorín was going to the most important sport event on the Earth… The FIFA World Cup that is! For the first time in history, FIFA World Cup was held in Asia, and also for the first time in history it was hosted by two countries. This was the chance for Sorín to write his page in the World Cup’s history page. But they failed right away, the team played three matches for the Group F. With one victory against Nigeria (1-0), one lost against England (0-1) and one draw against Sweden (1-1). They ended up in third place, which sent them back to Argentina.
Travelling Back and Forth
Now Sorín was back to Italy, more mature and experienced. This time the team was Lazio, and once again he had the chance to show his abilities to Italy and Europe. Sorín did well, but Lazio was having financial problems. After a season and a half, filled with injuries, he was loaned to Barcelona where he debuted in February of 2003 in the Spanish League against Atlético de Madrid. He went very well throughout the whole half season he played for the Nou Camp team. However after the end of the 2002-03 season he was loaned to the French club, Paris Saint-German, where he had a great season, winning the Coupe de France. In the final, PSG played LB Châteauroux, who were playing their first Coupe de France. It wasn’t an easy game, but in the end Paris Saint-German won their 6th title by one goal. In middle of 2004 Sorín returned to Cruzeiro as part of a loan deal, and played the last half of the Brazilian season. The team didn’t do too well in that year, but the fans were glad to have Sorín back, even if it was for a short time.
After travelling back and forth, Sorín got transferred to Villarreal Club de Fútbol, and became one of the most important players in the team. With “Juampi” Villarreal reached (until then) its highest skies. In that 2004-05 season, they made it to La Liga’s third place, that was the first-time they ever made to LFP’s Top 4. That was a great achievement to Villarreal’s fans. But with Sorín they could go even further, now they qualified for the greatest championship in Europe, the UEFA Champions League. They didn’t want to think small, they wanted the title, and so they fought for it.
In the first phase of the Champions League they fell into the D Group, which had Manchester United from England, Benfica from Portugal and Lille Métropole from France. Villarreal didn’t lose a single game, yet didn’t score much either. With 2 victories, 4 draws and 3 goals, Villarreal ended the group stage on first place. Many times thanks to their Argentinean warriors, Sorín and Riquelme, Villarreal escaped from the worst and reached its best.
The team then made it to the quarter-finals, playing on the first knockout phase against Glasgow Rangers in two drawn games (the match was decided on away goals), and later on against Internazionale, which Inter won the first game by a 2-1 score. The second leg was in Spain, and Villarreal won it 1-0 against Inter, “Juampi” blocked the left side and middle, Ibrahimovic and Adriando just couldn’t get through him, and thanks to that, plus Forlán’s goal in San Siro, Villarreal went to the semi-finals against Arsenal. Which Arsenal won the 1st leg by 1-0, and draw the 2nd leg in Spain with no goals.
Although Villarreal didn’t conquer the Champions, nor La Liga, with Sorín they went much further that they had ever gone.
Chance of Redemption
After Argentina’s failure in the last World Cup, this was the chance of redemption. After José Parkeman’s squad rebuild, Sorín became the captain of one of the most successful national team, and he showed his great leadership abilities by leading the team to second place on the South American’s World Cup qualification for Germany 2006, with an impressive 34pts and 10 victories (one more than the first placed team).
After FIFA’s World Cup draw, Argentina was put in Group C with Ivory Coast, Serbia and Montenegro and Holland. It was not going to be an easy task making it to the knockout rounds… Yet they made it seem easy by winning Ivory Coast by (2-1), and Serbia and Montenegro by scoring 6-0! On the last group round, they faced Holland, the match ended with no goals, and along with Holland, they passed to the next phase with 2 victories and 1 draw.
Now they were in the knockout phase, and any mistakes could be crucial. Although Mexico didn’t go too well on the group phase, the next match showed to be very dangerous for Argentina. That was proven true right on the 6th minute of the first half, the Mexican player Márquez scored the opening goal. A few minutes later, on the 10th minute to be more precise, Crespo made it all even. From there on, Sorín blocked the left side, Rodriguez the right side, and nothing would get through them. Meanwhile the front players were trying to penetrate the Mexican defence. It was possible to see Sorín’s atacking skill once in a while, but he knew better that the left wing should not be left open for long, and for most of the time he would simply steal the Mexicans attackers exhibition.
The same happened in the seccond half. The hard dispute between both teams was breathtaking to watch, time was passing, and each goal opportunity was being taken as the last. Yet no goals were scored, and so they went to extra time. Argentina didn’t want to take the match to penalties, they knew it would be too dangerous, and so the whole team lead by Sorín, fought like it was their last chance. The hard work paid off when Rodríguez scored the final goal of the match on the 98th minute.
They were tired after the 120 minutes match against Mexico, but there was no time to sit around, the next match was going to be against Germany, the event holders. Things were getting harder and harder, and this was by far their most difficult match. If they wanted to conquer their third World Cup, they would have to beat the German team. The dream got closer right on the beginning of the second half, right on the 4th minute, Ayala scored the opening goal. Argentina was walking to the semi-final’s, they would conquer the long awaited third title, only if the great German player Klose hadn’t scored in the 35th minute, not much happened after that, and so they moved to the extra time, which had no goals either.
The dream was now equally divided between the hosts of the cup and Argentina, or that’s what most people thought. But during the penalty shootout, the Germans had one huge barrier on the goal, Lehmann defended two shots, sending Argentina home earlier than expected.
Time’s Coming
During the summer of 2006, Sorín was watched by many teams from the English Premiership, names like Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, but he ended up signing for the German team, Hamburger SV. Yet due to many injuries, Sorín only played 24 matches, and in July of 2008, Sorín left Hamburger after his contract expired. However, at that time he was going through a knee injury.
Cruzeiro than offered Sorín the opportunity to continue his rehabilitation at their Advanced Sport Rehabilitation Centre (CARE) with the hope of signing him. Sorín then left Germany to go back to Brazil, only to recover from his knee problem. But when Cruzeiro’s fans received the news of Sorín’s return, many of them went to the Confins Iternational Airport to give him a warm welcome. Hundreds of “Cruzeirenses “went there to see Sorín’s return. He was greeted by a legion of fans, over 200 people showed up to see him again, many of them singing Sorín’s old and eternal war cries.
Sorín didn’t want to take advantage of Cruzeiro, that was the main reason he didn’t sign a contract at first, but Cruzeiro wanted him back, the fans wanted him back, the soccer world wanted him back! Sorín was then convinced that it was time to go back to the soccer fields, and so he signed with Cruzeiro. His debut match was moved many times, he wanted to be 100% recovered before entering his first match.
After a couple of delays, Sorín was finally ready for his first match in Cruzeiro’s jersey after 4 long years. The opponent was Ituiutaba, the match was for the local state league, Campeonato Mineiro. Right on his first touch, on the left wing, he made a beautiful dribble followed by a back pass shot to the opponent’s goal area. Sorín received a standing ovation by all fans of Cruzeiro. And this ovation would happen every single match he played, even when Cruzeiro wasn’t doing a good job. However, once again, many matches were missed because of frequent injuries, he knew his time was coming.
In July 29th, of 2009, at the age of 33, Sorín announced the end of his soccer career, after admitting not being able to rehabilitate from an injury which has been going on for years. “Juampi” preferred to hang up his boots, than harm Cruzeiro financially by them paying for his rehabilitation, a team which he defended so well.
However, Sorín won’t leave the Cruzeiro and the whole world of soccer without a retirement match. A last match for the great “Juampi” was organized, Cruzeiro vs. Argentinos Juniors, and will take place on the next Wednesday, 4th of November, 2009 in the Minerião Stadium. For this special event, Cruzeiro will use for the first time, their unrevealed 3rd uniform, in a game that will be filled with many great soccer stars.
Sorín’s retirement will happen with the team of his heart (his own words): Cruzeiro Esporte Clube.
Special thanks to:
- camelman
- lillililli
- gaston0802
- cruzeiro.com.br (for the image)
- bladesman1
Written by luizfpa MA
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