Newell's
Old Boys (Argentina), Real Valladolid (Spain), Sporting CP
(Portugal), , Real Valladolid (Spain), Paris-SG (France),
Manchester United FC (England)
Honours
2003
French Cup Finals (Paris-SG)
Biography
Iván Heinze (born April 19, 1978 in Crespo, Entre Ríos
Province) is an Argentine football (soccer) player who currently
plays for the English team Manchester United as a left-back,
having transferred from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of
2004.
Heinze, began his career in small young local teams before
moving to Santa Fe Province's Newell's Old Boys debuting
professionaly in 1997.
He soon drew the attention of European scouts and in 1997 was
snapped up by Spanish outfit Real Valladolid. Leaving his
homeland at such a young age without having turned out for the
national side, the tough-tackling, left-footed centre-back was
barely known in his home nation. He was then loaned to
Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon for the 1998/99 campaign.
On his return to Spain he established himself as a star of the
Valladolid side, building up a reputation as a powerful left-sided
player with good aerial ability. That led to a move to Paris
Saint Germain in 2001, where he continued to impress. Between
2003 and 2004, he picked up a French Cup winners' medal and a
Ligue 1 runners-up medal.
Heinze played in the gold medal winning Argentine team at the
2004 Summer Olympics. Heinze was part of another impressive
defensive effort as Argentina strolled through the tournament
without conceding a goal. It is worth noting that when playing
for Argentina, Heinze is generally used on the left-hand side of
a three-man back line, and does not get forward as much as he
does in his left-back role at club level.
Gabriel holds an Italian passport but opted to play for the
nation of his birth, Argentina. Yet he was still an unknown back
in Argentina - when he earned his fifth cap against Ecuador he
had to be introduced to fans in the press back home. His
performances for PSG earned him a place in Argentina's
qualification squad for the 2006 World Cup. As the defender
prepared for Argentina's World Cup qualifying matches in May he
was linked with Manchester United. A couple of weeks later he
signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford.
Heinze has built a reputation as a powerful, no-nonsense
defender. He is also renowned for his tenacity and leadership
qualities and is dominant in the air. He arrived in England with
a reputation as a 'hardman'. One newspaper in France ran a poll
to discover which player fans thought was the roughest defender
in French football - Heinze was the unequivocal winner. The
signing of the Argentinian brought to an end a long search for a
much needed new left-back for Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester
United.
He marked his debut for United in September 2004 with a goal in
the 2-2 draw against Bolton Wanderers and immediately
established himself as United's first choice left-back with a
number of highly impressive performances. The Manchester United
fans have taken to the Argentine for his exemplary attitude,
showing fierce determination on the pitch. Heinze's impressive
play is regularly lauded by United fans with the familiar chant
of "Ar-gen-tina!" Heinze was voted Manchester United fans'
player of the year for the season 2004-2005, beating top-scorer
Wayne Rooney, and is the first South American to do so. In
August 2005 he was voted by the fans as Best defence player in
the history of Paris Saint-Germain.
Heinze was injured in a UEFA Champions League match with
Villarreal on 13 September and will be out of action until April
2006. United have suffered a dip in form in Heinze's absence,
further highlighting the Argentine's importance to the
Manchester club. English youngster Kieran Richardson and Irish
defender John O'Shea have taken turns in Heinze's left-back
position with varying degrees of success. Ferguson has said that
his team are missing Heinze's experience and leadership.
