Player Profile: Fernando Gago
Real Madrid star midfielder Fernando Gago started his career with Boca Juniors, where he climbed up the ranks to get into the first team.
The player made his first team debut for the Juniors in 2004, where Boca won 1-0 against Quilmes. At the time, the player was just 18 and at such a young age he was able to find his place in the Boca’s midfield, attracting attention from Spanish giants Real
Madrid and Barcelona.
At the age of 20, on 15th November 2006, Real Madrid President issued a statement regarding the signings of Gago and Gonzalo Higuain, in an attempt to replace older stars with young blood. However, Higuain’s departure to Madrid was announced premature,
as his former club, River Plate, rejected a 10 million Euro offer for the player, making him stay with the club till June 2007. For Gago, there was a huge transfer saga, with the player constantly linked to Milan. However, the transfer agent for Milan stated
that both Higuain and Gago only wanted to play for Real Madrid. Real Madrid reportedly paid 20.4 million pounds for Gago in December 2006. Since the player joining Madrid, Gago has featured in the defensive midfield position and has been compared with former
Argentinean legends Fernando Rodendo.
Gago made his much awaited Real Madrid Debut in their 2-0 loss to Deportivo La Coruna in January 2007. The player was extremely impressive in the midfield but owing to Real’s poor performance, the player was unable to showcase his true talents on the pitch.
Gago made an error whereby he broke from the defensive wall at a free kick, leading to the opening goal. Gago was therefore replaced by Ronaldo. A week later, Gago produced a magnificent performance against Real Zaragoza at the home ground of Real Madrid.
His performance was exemplary for the team and lifted the entire spirit of the team. The team won the match 1-0, when former Manchester United man Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored the only goal of the match.
In their fourth last match of the season, Madrid were level in terms with Recreativo Huelva at 2-2 and a draw would result in FC Barcelona taking the lead back in the La Liga. Gago’s last minute assist led Roberto Carlos to scoring the deciding the goal,
winning the very important match and that goal perhaps gifted the league title to Real Madrid.
In the start of the 07/08 season, Gago replaced his number 16 shirt with the 8. This was his second season with Real Madrid and displayed quality and decisiveness in the midfield. With a series of masterclass performances for his side, Gago played in an
important role in the successful defence of Madrid’s La Liga title. Gago’s performances led him to take the position of Mahamadou Diarra in the first team.
The following transfer window, Gago had almost joined Premier league side Manchester City. The personal terms had been agreed to between the club and the player but a 15 million pound deal couldn’t be confirmed between the two clubs.
In the 08/09 season, Gago could only manage 2 games in the opening games of the season. Gago picked up an injury while playing against Bate Borisov in the UEFA Champions league. Gago, however, made a quick recovery and manage to start the 27th October game
against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid managed to win the bout 3-2 and Gago was praised for his performance by then Real Madrid number 10, Wesley Sneijder. In the same season, Gago also managed to score his first goal for Real Madrid, when he headed the ball
from close range to tie the match at 3-3 against Sevilla. Madrid lost the match 3-4 however. Following the Arrival of Kaka in the 09/10 season, Gago got his favoured number 5 jersey, following the departure of Fabio Cannavaro. The number 8 shirt is now worn
by Kaka.
Tags: