About

Fernando Rubén Gago dubbed as "El Pintita" is a footballer who plays for Spanish football club Real Madrid as well as for his national team Argentina.

He is considered by the many as the successor of countryman Fernando Redondo and was praised by football legends such as Diego Maradona and Jorge Valdano for his impressive talent and technical ability.

Background

Gago was born on the 10th of April, 1986 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina.

He began his career at Parque, a small and modest club where Fernando Redondo and Esteban Cambiasso, whose style resembles that of Gago, also got their start. His next stop was the Boca Juniors youth system, where his entire professional career was developed.

Club Football

Boca Juniors

Gago made his First Division debut with Boca Juniors on 5 December 2004 in a 1-0 win over Quilmas, but it was during the 2005 season that his career took off and made him the player and star he is today. In the 2005/06 season, Gago was one of the centerpieces of a team that won five titles.

His impressive performances with Boca Juniors attracted the eyes of many big european clubs including FC Barcelona, AC Milan, and Real Madrid.

However, he decided to join Gonzalo Higuaín at Real Madrid and they are very good friends although Higuaín grew and played at River Plate, Boca Juniors' biggest rival.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid confirmed the signing of Gago as well as Gonzalo Higuaín on the 15th of November, 2006 after a long transfer saga that involved AC Milan who quit after Gago had told them that he wanted to go to Madrid.

Gago put pen on paper on the 19th of December, 2006 after Real Madrid paid €20.4 million to his club, Boca Juniors.

He made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid in a 2-0 defeat against Deportivo La Coruna on the 7th of January, 2007. This promised to be an exciting start for the extremely talented midfielder, however due to the poor performance of the entire Real Madrid outfit, Gago's apparent talent was not outstanding, and, after being at fault for the opening goal by breaking from the rest of the defensive wall at a free-kick, he was substituted for Ronaldo.

However, a week later, against Real Zaragoza at Santiago Bernabeu, Gago's performance lifted along with that of his team mates. His defensive game picked up considerably as he fought hard in midfield, while also demonstrating vision by delivering several through balls to the attackers. Real Madrid defeated Real Zaragoza 1-0, with a goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy, created by fellow new signing Gonzalo Higuaín.

On May 20, 2007, With the score tied at 2-2 against Recreativo, Real Madrid looked set to return the lead back to rivals Barcelona until Fernando Gago gave a last minute assist to Roberto Carlos who scored at the end of the match and the squad left Huelva with just three "finals" left to play. Real managed to beat Recreativo 3-2 at the Nuevo Colombino and went on to win the league that year as well.

In his second season at the club, Gago displayed his true ability with a series of top class performances in the centre of Madrid's La Liga winning midfield. He managed to claim a first team spot in place of Mahamadou Diarra and was a key figure in the clubs second successive league title.

In the beginning of the 2008-2009 season, Gago only played 2 games due to an injury he picked up during the Champions League match against BATE Borisov. He managed to recover in time and was named in the starting eleven for October 27 La Liga clash against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid won 3-2 and Gago was commended for his match-winning performance in the midfield with Wesley Sneijder. Also in this season, Gago scored his first goal for Real Madrid against Sevilla when they were down 1-3. Real Madrid tied the game 3-3, but went on to lose it 3-4 with a goal from Renato in the 37th minute of the second half. Against Villarreal, he started in central midfield along with Lassana Diarra. They put in a solid performance together, and since then they have been regular starters together in central midfield.

International Football

Along with Sergio Agüero and Lionel Messi, Gago was part of the under-20 squad which won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and was one of many touted "future stars" in the competition.

Despite the fact that he was hailed and praised by many football experts, Gago was not named in Argentina's squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he received a call-up a year later and played in the 2007 Copa America.

However, since then, he has been a regular squad member.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Boca Juniors

• 2005 - Copa Sudamericana
• 2005 - Recopa Sudamericana
• 2005 - Primera Division Argentina
• 2006 - Recopa Sudamericana
• 2006 - Primera Division Argentina

Real Madrid

• 2006/07 - La Liga
• 2007/08 - La Liga
• 2008 - Spanish Super Cup

Argentina

• 2005 - FIFA U-20 World Cup
• 2007 - Copa América 2007 runners-up
• 2008 - Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's tournament

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

In addition to being a footballer, Gago is a literature and art enthusiast. Upon landing in Spain for the first time, he immediately visted the Prado Museum.

He earned the nickname El Pintita ("pintar" in Spanish means "to draw") ever since Ramón Maddoni scolded him for playing with his hair. Also, his Boca Juniors teammates would call him so because his youth squad coach would scold him "stop drawing and run!". He is called "Pintita" because in Argentina it is common to refer to someone who looks good with the expression "Pinta", since Gago was a young kid at that time they called him "Pintita".

Wife / Girlfriend

Gago is currently dating [Micaela Vazquez] an Argentine actress best known for her roles in Cris Morena's teenage soap operas Chiquititas, Rebelde Way and Floricienta.

Sponsors

Important Links

[Fernando Gago's profile at Realmadrid.com]

References