Juan Arango

Early years and Mallorca

Arango's parents hailed from Colombia, having immigrated to Venezuela before he was born, in the city of Maracay. He started playing as a professional at the age of sixteen with Nueva Cádiz FC, which ascended to the Venezuelan Primera División the following season under the name Zulia FC. The following year, Arango joined Caracas FC but, after six months playing with the team he was bought by Mexico's C.F. Monterrey. He represented two other clubs in the latter country, C.F. Pachuca and Puebla FC, until 2004, when he joined La Liga side RCD Mallorca in Spain (coached by Benito Floro, also his boss at Monterrey) on a one-year link, with an option for a further three. On 20 March 2005, Arango suffered a serious injury after a brutal collision with Sevilla FC's Javi Navarro. He fell unconscious, broke his cheekbone, swallowed his tongue and got serious cuts in his face; he returned to play a month later and, in the following season, was the team's top scorer with 11 league goals. In 2006, EFE chose Arango as the third best Latin American player in the Spanish league, with the first place taken by Pablo Aimar. The following year, he also obtained a Spanish passport, in March. On 9 March 2008, he scored his first hat-trick for Mallorca, in a 7–1 home thrashing of Recreativo de Huelva, with teammate Dani Güiza – who finished as the campaign's Pichichi – adding two; he only missed one league game from 2005 to 2008 combined.

Borussia…

At the 2004 Copa América, Arango appeared in all three group stage matches for Venezuela. In the 2007 edition, held in his country, he helped the national team finish first in the group stage, and scored in the quarterfinals against Uruguay, but in a 4–1 defeat. Also in that year, Arango was chosen national team captain by newly appointed coach César Farías. In the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, he helped the Vinotinto to a best-ever fourth-place finish in the continental competition, scoring in the third-place match, a 1–4 loss against Peru for what was his 100th cap. In his 116th international appearance, Arango levelled the record for the most goals scored for Venezuela with 22 goals, scoring in the 56th minute against Bolivia in a 1–1 draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on 7 June 2013.

A left-footed playmaker, who was known for his technical skills, leadership and ability both to score and create goals, courtesy of his striking ability, crossing and passing, Arango was a classic number ten, who was capable of playing both as an attacking midfielder and as a winger. Nicknamed Arangol, he was also a dead ball specialist, who was highly regarded by pundits for his exceptional accuracy from free kicks and his ability to bend the ball.

Arango is the son-in law of Argenis Tortolero, brother-in-law of Edson Tortolero, and father of Juan Arango Jr., all of whom were professional footballers.