Juan Pablo Sorín

Early career

Nicknamed Juampi, as he is often known in Argentina, Sorín began his career playing in the lower-reaches of the Argentine league for Argentinos Juniors, a Buenos Aires football club. He broke into the first team in 1994 and during the 1995–96 season, after he captained the Argentina Under-20 side who won the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship played in Qatar, his contract was bought by Italian club Juventus. However, he struggled to find space in an already established first-team under manager Marcello Lippi, totalling only four appearances for the club; as such, he soon returned to Argentina.He still ended up winning the Champions League with Juventus that same year.

Sorín played for River Plate in the second half of 1996, and revived his career, winning three Apertura championships (1996, 1997 and 1999), one Clausura championship (1997), one Copa Libertadores in 1996 and a Supercopa Sudamericana in 1997.

Cruzeiro and Lazio

He was transferred to Cruzeiro of Brazil in 2000. He played for two and a half seasons, winning the 2000 Copa do Brasil and becoming one of the most cherished players by the fans up to this day. After the 2002 Copa do Brasil ended, he signed for Lazio on loan in July 2002.

Barcelona and PSG

After an injury-plagued half-season at Lazio in Italy, where he only played six league games, Sorin was acquired by Barcelona, occupying the non-EU quota along with Juan Román Riquelme and Roberto Bonano. He made his La Liga…

Sorín made his Argentina debut in 1995. His first major tournament participation was at the 1999 Copa América, where Argentina were eliminated by eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals. Sorín was part of the Argentine squad in the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Japan and South Korea. He played and started all three matches against Nigeria, England and Sweden. After winning their opening match against Nigeria, the Argentine team lost a close match with England 1-0 and were only able to manage a draw with Sweden in their final group match and were eliminated early from the competition after being a pre-tournament favorite. In an underwhelming tournament for Argentina, Sorín stood out as one of Argentina's few bright spots. Sorín played at the 2004 Copa América, scoring a goal in a 3–0 victory against Colombia. He started 5 out of 6 possible matches, missing the match against Uruguay. Argentina lost the final to Brazil 2–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw following 90 minutes. The next year, Sorín played at the 2005 Confederations Cup. He played and started every match, as Argentina lost in the final to Brazil again 4–1. The Argentine squad was then rebuilt by José Pekerman and Sorín was made captain of his country for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Sorín played an important role in the World Cup for Argentina as an effective attacking full-back. Argentina qualified for the second round after taking care of Ivory Coast (2–1) and crushing Serbia and Montenegro 6–0. After…

Sorín was a strong, versatile and hardworking left-back, who could also play as a centre-back or anywhere on the left wing, due to his passing and crossing ability with his left foot. He had an eccentric style of play, and despite being played predominantly in defensive roles, he often made attacking runs into more offensive positions, where he used his technical skills and aggressive heading ability to great effect.

Sorín was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is Jewish. He has written a book called Grandes Chicos ("Big Kids" or "Big Little People") to raise funds for the building of a school and a children's hospital in Argentina. He currently lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and worked as a pundit for ESPN Brasil from 2012 to 2017.