Place of birth Cali, Colombia Name Mario Yepes Salary 1 million EUR (2012) Years Team Spouse Carolina Villegas | Number 3 Height 1.86 m Playing position Role Footballer | |
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Full name Mario Alberto Yepes Diaz Date of birth (1976-01-13) 13 January 1976 (age 39) Children Miranda Yepes, Valentino Yepes, Luciano Yepes Similar People Pablo Armero, Abel Aguilar, Jose Pekerman, Juan Camilo Zuniga, Cristian Zapata | ||
Mario yepes
Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz ([ˈmaɾjo ˈʝepes]; born 13 January 1976) is a Colombian former football defender and former manager of Deportivo Cali. Yepes was well known for his time in Paris Saint-Germain, where he was considered to be one of the best defenders at the time, being dubbed by fans as "Super Mario". He served as the captain of the Colombia national team between 2008 to 2014. Having begun his soccer career in 1999, and having played for the Colombian national team during that period, Yepes is one of only two players that can truly be considered to be part of the late 1990s and early 2000s golden generation of Colombian soccer which won the 2001 Copa América and ended in 2003, but has also been part of Colombia's present golden generation (which began in 2013). Faryd Mondragón is the other Colombian soccer player of the two, but officially retired in 2014.
Contents
- Mario yepes
- Cortulu
- Deportivo Cali
- River Plate
- Nantes
- Paris Saint Germain
- Chievo
- Milan
- Atalanta
- San Lorenzo
- International career
- International goals
- Managerial career
- Club
- International statistics
- Honours
- International
- Personal life
- References
Cortuluá
When Mario Yepes started his playing career in 1994 with Cortuluá, he was playing as a forward before Cortulua's coach converted him to a libero (sweeper).
Deportivo Cali
Yepes signed for his home town club Deportivo Cali in 1998. He won a Colombian championship with Deportivo Cali. He was part of the squad of Copa Libertadores 1999.
River Plate
In 1999, Yepes joined River Plate in Argentina, where he won two Argentine Primera championships.
Nantes
Yepes signed for Nantes in January 2002.
Paris Saint-Germain
Yepes joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2004.
Chievo
In 2008, Yepes joined Chievo in Italy. He signed a new contract in summer 2009.
Milan
In March 2010, Chievo teammate Sergio Pellissier confirmed that Yepes would join Milan in the summer, when his contract ran out.
Yepes got to Milan in the 2010–11 season but was quickly deployed as a substitute due to the starting centre-back being Thiago Silva. Yepes played few games in the Italian Serie A, but participated in the UEFA Champions League. Yepes was close to scoring with Milan in the UEFA Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspur, in which he had two clear chances of scoring with a header, but was denied twice by Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes.
Yepes scored his first goal for Milan on the 23 October 2011, where he finished off a comeback against Lecce, scoring the fourth and winning goal for Milan in the 83rd minute to drive the Rossoneri to a 4–3 victory, with Kevin-Prince Boateng scoring a hat-trick to level the scores after a 3–0 losing position.
On 12 May 2012, Yepes signed a one-year extension contract with Milan, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013. After being an irregular player during the following season, however, Yepes stated that he would not sign a new contract with the club despite being offered the chance, expressing that he needed more "guaranteed" playing time in order to better prepare himself for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He later confirmed that Milan would not offer him as such and his reason for departure.
Atalanta
On 14 July 2013, Yepes signed a one-year contract with Serie A club Atalanta. He made 26 appearances during the 2013–14 season and left the club at the end of the term.
San Lorenzo
On 13 September 2014, Argentine club San Lorenzo announced the signing of Yepes on a deal valid until the end of 2015. On 20 January 2016, Yepes officially retired from professional football, joining Deportivo Cali as manager four months later.
International career
Yepes has played 102 matches for the Colombia national team since his debut in 1999, making him the second-most capped Colombian player of all time, after Carlos Valderrama. He was part of the Colombia squad that won the Copa América in 2001. and was also in the squads for three other editions of the tournament in 1999, 2007 and 2011.
During the team's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Yepes made 12 appearances as Colombia qualified for its first finals since 1998. In the final qualifying match, Yepes scored both goals in a 2–1 victory against Paraguay.
Due to his age during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Yepes expressed his passion for the national team and wanting to retire either after the World Cup qualifiers or during the 2014 World Cup. José Pékerman promised to meet with his retirement request. On 17 December 2013, Yepes announced that he would retire after the 2014 World Cup.
On 14 June 2014, Yepes made his first appearance in the FIFA World Cup finals stage at age 38, captaining Colombia to a 3–0 win over Greece in Belo Horizonte. Yepes was the oldest outfield player at the 2014 World Cup, and the second-oldest overall, after compatriot Faryd Mondragón.
On 19 June 2014, Yepes earned his 100th cap for Colombia in the second group stage match against the Ivory Coast, becoming the third Colombian player to reach the milestone after Valderrama and Leonel Álvarez. He led Colombia to its best ever World Cup performance as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they lost 2–1 to tournament hosts Brazil.
International goals
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.Managerial career
In late April 2016 Mario Alberto Yepes was named as manager of Deportivo Cali, which became his first managerial experience. Yepes came to replace Fernando "Pecoso" Castro, who had been dismissed for the poor recent results, especially the early elimination of Copa Libertadores and the farewell of the event at the hands of Boca Juniors with a 6–2 rout. Yepes's coaching team had Freddy Hurtado and Julián Barragán as assistants, and Daniel Curbelo as physical trainer. During his period as coach, Deportivo Cali was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the domestic league twice (at the hands of Independiente Medellín in the Apertura and Atlético Bucaramanga in the Finalización), and qualified for the 2017 Copa Sudamericana. However, a streak of poor performances in the start of the 2017 season plus a poor record while playing away from home, led to his exit from the club on 9 March 2017.
Club
As of match played 19 november 2015International statistics
As of 19 June 2014Honours
As of 27 August 2014Club
International
Colombia
Personal life
Yepes is married to Colombian Carolina Villegas. Yepes and his wife have three children, his son Luciano Yepes was born in May 2002, his second son Valentino Yepes was born on 23 September 2012, and his daughter Miranda Yepes was born in April 2005.