Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez (born 30 June 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He started his career with Envigado, then had a short spell in Argentina, and played two years in France with Saint-Étienne. He made a name for himself with Porto in Portugal, where he spent four seasons and won nine major honours, including three Primeira Liga championships and the 2011 Europa League.
Guarín represented Colombia at the 2011 Copa América and the 2014 World Cup.
Club career Early years and Saint-Étienne Guarín was born in Puerto Boyacá. In 2005, already a regular for Envigado F.C. and the Colombian under-20 national team, he joined Boca Juniors of the Argentine Primera División, where he spent the first six months in the youth team. Upon completion of his loan the Buenos Aires-based club attempted to sign him on a permanent basis, but he instead chose to go on loan to AS Saint-Étienne in August 2006.
Guarín made his debut for the French side scoring twice in a friendly against RCD Espanyol, and gradually fought his way into the starting lineup as the season closed. He first appeared in the Ligue 1 on 14 October 2006 against Olympique Lyonnais, and scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over Troyes AC.
In April 2007, the deal was made permanent for four years.
Porto
On 10 July 2008, Guarín agreed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club FC Porto for an undisclosed fee. Portuguese under-21 international Paulo Machado went the opposite direction, on loan. During his spell he was used mainly as a substitute, but managed to appear regularly; arguably, his most important goal came on 16 May 2010 as the team renewed their Taça de Portugal title, defeating G.D. Chaves 2–1.
In 2010–11, even after the departure of Raul Meireles to Liverpool, Guarín initially struggled to make Porto's starting XI. He was, however, a very important midfield element for the eventual national champions, playing 43 official games and scoring ten goals, including five in the Europa League campaign, which also ended in victory; one of his five in the league was a spectacular longe-range strike on 8 January 2011 against C.S. Marítimo, which was nominated by newspaper The Guardian as European Goal of the Season.
Inter Milan
Guarín joined Inter Milan on 31 January 2012 for €1.5 million, on loan, with the player replacing Paris Saint-Germain FC-bound Thiago Motta. The Italians also had an option to make the move permanent for €13.5 million in June.
On 17 May 2012, a permanent deal was arranged, but for €11 million. Guarín scored his first official goal for the Nerazzurri on 30 August, in a 2–2 home draw against FC Vaslui in the Europa League (4–2 on aggregate). In the group stage of the same competition, he provided all three assists in a 3–1 defeat of Neftchi Baku PFC.
Again in the Europa League, on 21 February 2013, Guarín scored twice in a 3–0 away win over CFR Cluj (5–0 on aggregate) to help Inter make it through to the last 16. In the January 2014 transfer window, he was supposed to move to Juventus FC in exchange for Mirko Vučinić, but the deal ultimately fell through after the clubs could not reach an agreement. He declared he would not return if he was not allowed to leave, but eventually he reconsidered; it was later reported that he simply wanted to clarify his future with the club, stating that he never asked to leave and that he was confused as to why the situation was created.
On 25 March 2014, Guarín agreed to extend his contract until 2017. On 14 September, as a second-half replacement, he scored in a 7–0 home win against US Sassuolo Calcio. At the start of the 2014–15 season, he began being used by manager Walter Mazzarri as a second striker.
On 7 December 2014, in his 100th appearance for Inter, Guarín assisted Mauro Icardi in the 44th minute of an eventual 1–2 home defeat to Udinese Calcio. On 16 February of the following year, he scored twice after winning a first-minute penalty kick in a 4–1 victory at Atalanta BC, helping his team to secure the first away win in the league since December 2014.
Later career On 26 January 2016, Guarín joined Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C. in the Chinese Super League for a reported €11 million fee plus bonuses. On 26 September 2019, the 33-year-old free agent moved to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with CR Vasco da Gama.
Guarín missed nine matches at the beginning of 2020 because his original contract had expired the previous December. The player signed a new deal in February, and made three appearances before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 July, the club announced that he had been granted extended leave due to personal issues, raising uncertainty about his future; he was released by Vasco in September.
Guarín agreed to a one-year contract at Millonarios F.C. on 31 December 2020, again on a free transfer.
International career
On 24 May 2006, Guarín made his international debut for Colombia, in a pre-World Cup friendly against Ecuador. He represented the nation at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2011 Copa América.
Guarín was selected by José Pekerman for his 2014 World Cup squad. He played his first game in the tournament on 24 June after the national team had already won its first two group matches, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 4–1 win against Japan which was also his 49th cap; he earned his 50th four days later, coming on as a late substitute to help oust Uruguay 2–0 in the round of 16.
On 10 May 2015, whilst at the service of Inter, Guarín suffered a muscular injury to his right leg, being ruled out of the Copa América.
Style of play Guarín was primarily an attacking midfielder who could also play in the centre, in a holding role or on the right flank. He was capable of shooting from long-range with both feet, and of acting as a playmaker in midfield.
In 2013, Guarín's Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni described him as "...an extraordinary player who combines physicality with technique in an incredible way. He is also an important element in the locker room."
Personal life During an interview in May 2024, Guarín admitted that he struggled with alcoholism.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAtlético Huila2002Categoría Primera A361100———36112003Categoría Primera A5000———50Total411100———4111Envigado2003Categoría Primera A5000———502004Categoría Primera A23350———2832005Categoría Primera A10100———101Total38450———434Boca Juniors (loan)2005–06Primera División20————20Saint-Étienne (loan)2006–07Ligue 11817100——252Saint-Étienne2007–08Ligue 11805200——232Porto2008–09Primeira Liga151821030102832009–10Primeira Liga194434070103672010–11Primeira Liga2255020145—43102011–12Primeira Liga7100202020131Total63111751002654012021Inter Milan (loan)2011–12Serie A6000——0060Inter Milan2012–13Serie A32432—124–47102013–14Serie A32431———3552014–15Serie A28610—81—3772015–16Serie A16100———161Total1141573—205—14123Shanghai Shenhua2016Chinese Super League26341———3042017Chinese Super League181052—00—23122018Chinese Super League25700—51113192019Chinese Super League14120———161Total8321113—511110026Vasco da Gama2019Série A123————1232020Série A0020——1030Total12320——10153Millonarios2021Categoría Primera A7100—00—71Career total39667541410051116151793
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsColombia20065020071020081002009802010102011112201230201381201461201540Total574
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Guarín goal. + List of international goals scored by Fredy GuarínNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 26 March 2011 Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain 1–0 2–0 Friendly2 11 November 2011 Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia 1–0 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification3 14 August 2013 Mini Estadi, Barcelona, Spain 1–0 1–0 Friendly4 6 June 2014 Pedro Bidegain, Buenos Aires, Argentina 3–0 3–0 Friendly
Honours Porto Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2011 UEFA Europa League: 2010–11 Taça da Liga runner-up: 2009–10 UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2011
Shanghai Shenhua Chinese FA Cup: 2017
References
External links