Place of birth Necocli, Colombia Name Juan Cuadrado Salary 550,000 EUR (2012) Years Team Weight 66 kg | Number 16 Height 1.76 m Playing position Role Footballer | |
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Full name Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello Date of birth (1988-05-26) 26 May 1988 (age 27) Parents Marcela Bello Guerrero, Guillermo Cuadrado Similar People Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, David Ospina, Jackson Martinez, Juan Fernando Quintero Profiles | ||
Cuadrado, Hernanes, Pjanić, S3 Freestyle -- Gamedayplus Episode 5 -- adidas Football
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello ([ˈhwaŋ ɡiˈʝermo kwaˈðɾaðo]; born 26 May 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Italian club Juventus and the Colombia national team. He is known for his direct style of play, including his pace (both on and off the ball) as well as his dribbling skills. He started off in a central role as a defensive midfielder early in his career before being moved into wider positions in which he now plays as a right winger.
Contents
- Cuadrado Hernanes Pjani S3 Freestyle Gamedayplus Episode 5 adidas Football
- La Vecchia Signora Juan Cuadrado 2019 Amazing Skills Show
- Early career
- Udinese
- Lecce loan
- Fiorentina
- Chelsea
- Juventus
- International career
- Playing style
- Personal life
- Club
- International
- International goals
- Individual
- References
Having begun his career at Independiente Medellín, Cuadrado moved to Italy in 2009 to join Udinese. Used sparingly at the club, he was loaned to Lecce for the 2011–12 season, where despite relegation from Serie A, his performances earned a transfer to Fiorentina. In February 2015, he was signed by Chelsea, but after playing sparingly, was loaned to Juventus, where he won the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia.
Cuadrado made his senior international debut in 2010, and has since earned over 60 caps. He was part of the Colombian squads which reached the quarter-finals at two Copa América tournaments and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, also contributing to his nation's third-place finish at the Copa América Centenario.
La Vecchia Signora - Juan Cuadrado 2019 - Amazing Skills Show
Early career
Born in Necoclí, Cuadrado began his club career in Atlético Uraba, where his preferred position was as a forward. However, on the recommendation of club founder Nelson Gallego, Cuadrado took on a midfielder role, usually as a winger. Cuadrado's confidence and ability in the position also allowed him to play occasionally as a full-back. He later had a brief spell at Colombian second division club Rionegro, where he languished on the bench under coach Víctor González Scott, but his potential was recognized by Juan José Peláez of Independiente Medellín. He was eventually signed by Medellin in 2008, allowing him to return to the first division. That year, Cuadrado made his senior professional debut against Boyacá Chicó, a match in which he would also score his first goal. Cuadrado remained in Medellin until 2009 before making the leap to European football.
Udinese
On 2 July 2009, Cuadrado signed with Serie A club Udinese on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He played his first match for Udinese in a 2–1 win against Chievo as a right wing back. Cuadrado, however, was not given many first-team minutes for the rest of the season, and he would be sent on loan to fellow Serie A side Lecce.
Lecce (loan)
On 3 August 2011, it was officially confirmed that Cuadrado would join Lecce for the 2011–12 season. He scored his first goal for the club against Cesena, the sole goal in a 1–0 victory. In spite of further impressive performances from Cuadrado, however, Lecce finished 18th and was relegated from Serie A. He would then return to Udinese to avoid playing in the second flight. Around this time, he was watched by an unidentified English club who deemed that at 23 years he was too old to be signed by the club.
Fiorentina
On 23 July 2012, Cuadrado completed his move to Fiorentina, initially in a temporary deal for a €1 million transfer fee. He scored his first goal for the Florence club in a 4–1 victory at home against Cagliari. He finished the season with five goals and six assists, an integral part of a side that finished fourth in Serie A. In June 2013, La Viola purchased half of the registration rights of Cuadrado for €5 million.
On 11 February 2014, Cuadrado scored Fiorentina's second goal of a 2–0 Coppa Italia semi-final second leg victory over his former club Udinese, securing La Viola a 3–2 aggregate victory and a spot in the final. He was booked after scoring the winning goal, and suspended for the final, which his team lost 1–3 to Napoli on 3 May.
On 16 June 2014, amid media speculation of a move to a larger club by the player, Fiorentina agreed a deal to purchase full ownership of Cuadrado's contract from Udinese, for an additional €12 million.
Chelsea
On 2 February 2015, Premier League club Chelsea announced the signing of Cuadrado from Fiorentina on a four-and-a-half-year deal, for a reported initial fee of £23.3 million, which could potentially rise to £26.8 million; Mohamed Salah went the other way on loan. While in Fiorentina's financial filing of year 2014, in the management report (Italian: Relazione sulla Gestione), Fiorentina declared the fee was €30 million. Upon signing, Cuadrado said, "I am very happy and thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given. This is a great club and honestly it is like a dream to join the Chelsea family and to know that the manager (José Mourinho) believes in me. I’m happy." His Fiorentina manager, Vincenzo Montella, stated, "It was a sale that had to be done. Cuadrado is a player that has always arrived with a smile and given everything to Fiorentina – I'm happy for him because he is going to a big club." Mourinho commented that he was not in a "rush" for Cuadrado to fully showcase his abilities within a short time, as stated in an interview: "He needs time to adapt to the Premier League. I know Italy and I know the difference between Italy and England; his formation, his development, his experience – everything was in Italy."
Five days after signing, Cuadrado made his Chelsea debut after replacing Willian for the last ten minutes of a 2–1 win away against Aston Villa. On 11 February, he made his first start in his first appearance at Stamford Bridge, playing the first 70 minutes before being replaced by Cesc Fàbregas in a 1–0 win against Everton. He won his first Chelsea trophy on 1 March as the club defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the League Cup final, coming on in the 76th minute for Willian. In response towards the criticism of Cuadrado's lack of immediate impact, Mourinho argued in an interview, "Everyone believes that he needs to play all the time or at least every match, but like every player that joins a new club, he needs time. Time which hasn't been given to Cuadrado. I do believe that he'll be amazing next season."
On 3 May, Cuadrado made his only third start since his move to Chelsea, in the match against Crystal Palace, as Ramires was taken ill before the game. At half-time, however, Cuadrado was substituted for John Obi Mikel; Chelsea ended up claiming their fifth league title with a 1–0 victory. Three weeks later, in the final match of the season against Sunderland, he won a penalty when fouled by John O'Shea, on which Diego Costa evened the score in an eventual 3–1 home win, but he was later substituted when he was injured in the final minute of the first half.
Juventus
On 25 August 2015, Cuadrado signed a season-long loan deal with Juventus for €1.5 million. Five days later, he made his debut, as a 75th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat away against Roma. On 31 October, Cuadrado scored his first Juventus goal against Torino to secure a 2–1 win in extra time at the end of the Derby della Mole. On 16 March 2016, Cuadrado scored his first ever UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–2 away defeat against Bayern Munich, in the second leg of the round of 16. On 21 May, he came off the bench to set-up Álvaro Morata's match-winning goal against Milan in the 110th minute of extra time of the 2016 Coppa Italia final, in Rome's Stadio Olimpico; Juventus' 1–0 victory enabled the club to secure the domestic double for the second consecutive season.
Cuadrado returned to Chelsea on 30 June 2016 and played a few friendlies for Chelsea, including the 2016 International Champions Cup. On 31 August, however, Cuadrado returned to Juventus on a three-year loan for €5 million per season, plus a conditional obligation to buy the full registration rights of Cuadrado from Chelsea for an additional €20 million (or €15 million and €10 million in the second and the third year of loan respectively), after certain sports related achievements. Chelsea would also receive a maximum of €4 million bonuses, making the fee potentially raise to €29 million. Cuadrado scored his first league goal in nine months on 5 February 2017, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 home win in a Derby d'Italia clash with Inter Milan.
On 22 May 2017, it was announced that Cuadrado would join Juventus on a permanent deal for a preset price of €20 million until 2020, after a clause in his contract had been triggered (winning the Serie A mathematically in round 37). In the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final against defending champions Real Madrid on 3 June, Cuadrado came on as a substitute for Andrea Barzagli in the 60th minute, but was later controversially sent off after picking up two yellow cards, the second for an alleged stamp on Sergio Ramos; Juventus lost the match 4–1.
International career
After being transferred to Udinese, Cuadrado received his first call-up to the Colombia national team, as well as a spot in the starting XI in a match against Venezuela on 3 September 2010, scoring the opening goal of a 2–0 victory at the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz.
Cuadrado was in the Colombian squad which reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Copa América in Argentina. His only appearance of the competition came in their last group match, a 2–0 victory over Bolivia in Santa Fe, replacing Fredy Guarín after 50 minutes.
Cuadrado was named in Colombia's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the third group stage match, a 4–1 victory against Japan, he scored the team's opening goal on a penalty kick. He would end his World Cup campaign with four assists, tying Toni Kroos as the competition's assist leader.
Cuadrado played every minute of Colombia's run to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Copa América in Chile, and scored in their penalty shootout defeat against Argentina.
On 13 October 2015, Cuadrado was sent off at the end of Colombia's 3–0 loss away against Uruguay in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, for elbowing Diego Rolán.
Cuadrado was included in Colombia's 23-man squad for the Copa América Centenario.
Playing style
Cuadrado is known for his direct, offensive style of play along the right flank, and is capable of both scoring goals himself as well as creating goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. He often utilises his speed and technical skills to beat opponents in one on one situations and create space and time for him to shoot on goal, or deliver crosses to strikers in the area. Due to his playing style and ability to make attacking runs down the wing, he has been labelled a "traditional" wide midfielder. Tim Vickery, a reporter on South American football, stated that as Colombia's defensive players played near the goal in order to cover for veteran centre-back Mario Yepes, Cuadrado's pace, agility, creativity and dribbling ability on the right wing moved the team forward at the 2014 World Cup. He also noted that Cuadrado is equally adept as an attacking right back or wing back, due to his energy and work-rate. A versatile player, he is also capable of playing on the left, a position which allows him to cut into the middle and shoot on goal with his stronger, right foot. In his early career, he was initially deployed as central or defensive midfielder, and he has also been deployed as a forward or as a second striker on occasion.
Personal life
Cuadrado was born in Necoclí as the son of Marcela Bello Guerrero and Guillermo Cuadrado, a truck driver, and he was raised in Tumaco. His father was shot when he was five years old. His mother stated in an interview that Cuadrado had to be a perfect student in order to be able to play football. As of July 2014, Cuadrado lived with his family in Florence.
Cuadrado features on the Latin American cover of FIFA 16, alongside global cover star Lionel Messi.