Faustino Asprilla

Early years

After starting out playing football with local team Carlos Sarmiento Lora School, Asprilla started his professional career in 1988 for the Colombian team Cúcuta Deportivo at the age of 18 for a year before transferring to Atlético Nacional. 35 goals in 78 games brought him to the attention to several Italian clubs who bid for him with Parma winning the race to sign him for US$10.9 million in 1992.

Parma

In his first season at Parma, Asprilla scored some important goals, including a 27-yard second-half free kick which helped Parma beat Milan 1–0, ending the Italian champions' unbeaten streak at 58 matches. It was at Parma that Asprilla arguably enjoyed his greatest club success. Asprilla was part of the Parma team that won its first international tournament, the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring four goals in eight matches. It was his brace in Spain that rallied the Italian team to a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi finals. However, an injury meant he was an unused substitute as Parma defeated Belgian club Royal Antwerp 3–1 in the final.

In early 1994, Asprilla was part of the Parma team which beat Milan 0–2 in the San Siro to overturn a 0–1 first leg deficit and claim the 1993 European Super Cup.

Also in the 1993–94 season, Parma reached a second Cup Winners Cup final. However, a 0–1 defeat to Arsenal of England meant they would not retain their trophy.

In 1994–95, Parma again reached the final of a major European competition as they faced Italian compatriots Juventus in the final of the UEFA Cup. Asprilla was instrumental in Parma's run to the final, with three goals over two legs in the semi final against Germany's Bayer Leverkusen. In the final itself, Asprilla was in the starting XI for both legs as Parma defeated Juventus 2–1 on aggregate.

At the start of the 1995–96 season, Asprilla found himself out of coach Nevio Scala's plans. In February 1996, after making only 6 appearances in the opening 5 months of the season, Asprilla joined English Premier League leaders Newcastle United for £6.7m.

During his first spell at Parma, Asprilla scored 25 goals in 84 Serie A appearances. He is considered one of the greatest players of Parma's successful period in the 1990s. In his three full seasons with the club, Parma finished 3rd, 5th and 3rd in Serie A. The club also reached a European final in each of those seasons, as well as the 1994–95 Coppa Italia final.

Newcastle United

Parma sold Asprilla to English Premier League side Newcastle United for £6.7m in February 1996, with 'Tino', as the fans nicknamed him, appearing at St James Park to finalise the move during a snowstorm, dressed in a fur coat. At the time, Newcastle were ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League, although their lead at the top of the table was narrowing. Asprilla's arrival on Tyneside came just months after earlier media reports of a move to England, with Leeds United being linked with his signature.

He made his league debut in Newcastle's 2–1 win over Middlesbrough at The Riverside Stadium, coming on as a second-half substitute with the score 1–0 in Middlesbrough's favour. He made an immediate impact, creating the assist for Newcastle's equaliser. However, his time on Tyneside was blighted by inconsistency and off-field incidents, and Asprilla was blamed as one of the reasons Newcastle would go on to concede the 1995/96 Premier League title to eventual winners Manchester United.

Asprilla's second season for Newcastle ended with the club finishing in second place once again, behind Manchester United. His role was largely reduced to substitute appearances, although he retained his best performances for the clubs UEFA Cup campaign, scoring 5 goals. His celebration of the goal he scored against FC Metz, whereby he removed his shirt and swung it from a corner flag, resulted in Asprilla being given a yellow card, meaning a suspension from Newcastle's next UEFA Cup game against AS Monaco.

The 1997/98 season was Asprilla's last for Newcastle. With the sale of striker Les Ferdinand to Tottenham Hotspur, and a serious injury to Alan Shearer during pre-season, Asprilla was preferred as first choice striker alongside the young, inexperienced Jon Dahl Tomasson. With the club competing in that season's Champions League, Asprilla scored a hat-trick for Newcastle in a 3–2 win over Barcelona, which would be his last goals for the club. By the end of January 1998, with Newcastle struggling in the league and knocked out of the Champions League, Asprilla's time at Newcastle came to an end. He was sold back to Parma for £6m, having scored a total of 9 goals in 48 league appearances, and 9 goals in 11 European games.

Return to Parma

In his second spell at Parma he won his second UEFA Cup, coming on as a substitute as they defeated Marseille in the final.

Palmeiras

Asprilla played in the successful Palmeiras team in the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Later career and Darlington link

Although his brief time with Palmeiras saw the team achieve success, for Asprilla personally his time there marked the beginning of a pattern of short, relatively unproductive stays with various clubs across various countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.

During a time which was generally low-key, he appeared in the public eye again in 2002 amid reports he had been approached by English Division Three side Darlington. Darlington successfully appealed an initial work permit refusal and had offered around £17,000 per week plus 20% of gate receipts, a car and a rent-free flat. Chairman George Reynolds considered they were friends and in fact paraded Asprilla in front of 5,163 fans before Darlington's 2-0 win over Carlisle United on Tuesday 27 August, believing the intended 2-year contract was good as signed. However it was reported that following the player stalling on taking a medical on Thursday 29 August, in the early hours of Friday 30 August, Asprilla caught a flight from Newcastle Airport to the Middle East, to apparently take up a more lucrative offer. Reynolds described himself as "absolutely gutted" by the snub, complained Asprilla "did not even have the decency to say goodbye" and said he would never talk to him again. This was the second time that Darlington was snubbed by a high-profile ex-Newcastle player that summer – the other was Paul Gascoigne.

The identity of the Middle East club has never been revealed and whether Asprilla did join them remains a mystery. There is no record of him officially playing for another professional team after his departure from Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata in 2004.

Summary

Asprilla scored 20 goals in 57 matches for Colombia from 1993 to 2001 and played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. Asprilla was expected to be one of the top players of the 1994 tournament, but failed to score a single goal as Colombia was eliminated in the first round.

1992 Summer Olympics

Asprilla was a member of the Colombian team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where the team also went out in the first round with losses to Spain (4–0) and Egypt (3–4), and a draw with Ireland (1–1).

1993 Copa America

In the 1993 Copa America held in Ecuador, Colombia finished third overall. After topping Group C with a win over Mexico 2–1, and draws with Bolivia 1–1 and Argentina 1–1, Colombia beat Uruguay 1–1 (5–3 on penalties) before losing 0–0 (6–5 on penalties) to Argentina in the semi-final. Argentina went on to win the tournament. In the third place game, Colombia beat Ecuador 1–0 to claim third spot. Asprilla failed to score in the tournament.

1994 FIFA World Cup

Asprilla was part of the Colombian team which demolished Argentina 5–0 in a World Cup Qualifier game in Buenos Aires in 1993, a game in which he scored twice. Colombia finished undefeated in the South American qualifying group. Going into the 1994 FIFA World Cup, there were high expectations for Colombia as a dark horse favorite to win the cup with a team that included such notable players as Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincón, and Asprilla. With 1 win and 2 losses, Colombia finished at the bottom of their group and went out in the first round. Asprilla himself had a disappointing tournament, failing to score at all. He walked out on his teammates midway through the group phase. Colombia failed to advance to the next round, despite having an excellent team.

1995 Copa America

In the Copa America held in Uruguay and won by Uruguay, Colombia again finished third. Colombia started out by finishing third in Group B with a 1–1 draw with Peru (Asprilla scored the goal), a 1–0 win over Ecuador and a 0–3 loss to Brazil. The team then went on to defeat Paraguay 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the quarter-finals before losing to Uruguay 2–0 in the semi-final. In the third place match, Colombia faced the United States who they easily defeated 4–1 with Asprilla scoring one of the Colombians' four goals in the match.

1998 FIFA World Cup

In the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, expectations were again high for Colombia and Asprilla remained in the team. Again, Colombia was out in the first round with 1 win and 2 losses. Asprilla was dismissed from the team after complaining to reporters about the coach's decision to substitute him near the end of Colombia's opening loss against Romania.

Following the World Cup, Asprilla retired from international football for Colombia at the age of 32 in 2001.

International goals

Scores and results lists Colombia's goal tally first.

Retirement

In July 2009 Asprilla officially retired from top flight football following a retirement match in Medellín, Colombia. Although this marks his official retirement date, he had not been actively employed by a professional side in around 5 years.

Subsequently he was rumoured to at one stage be on the books of Slovenian side NK Bravo, who play in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, and to have been running an academy, coaching young players in Colombia. In 2008, he was arrested for allegedly firing a machine-gun at security forces near his farm in Colombia. He was placed under house arrest on charges of weapons possession and criminal damage. He has appeared in various Colombian Reality Shows, such as Desafio 2005 and Nomadas. In 2011, he was spotted attending Newcastle United matches, his cult status amongst English supporters meaning his presence often draws comment. At the Stadium of Light for the Sunderland vs Newcastle game on 17 January 2011 he was in the away end sporting a Newcastle scarf. He made a return to St. James' Park on 22 January 2011 appearing on the pitch at half time during Newcastle United's Premier League home game against Tottenham Hotspur and attended a charity dinner in Gateshead that evening, alongside Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley, where he spoke of his affection for the Newcastle fans.

In early 2013, Asprilla was linked with a return to his former club Newcastle. Asprilla spoke of performing a coaching role with the youth squad as well as developing a special role in introducing young talent into the academy from his homeland Colombia. His intention is to give Colombians a chance to showcase their skills in European/English football, based on the sheer amount of talent that has come from Colombia in recent years.

Asprilla played in former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper's testimonial match on 11 September 2013 against AC Milan Glorie. He had a header disallowed for offside before the Italians won 2-1 on penalties.

In September 2014 it was revealed that he was preparing to launch a range of flavoured condoms in Colombia.

Club