Andrés Guardado


José Andrés Guardado Hernández is a Mexican professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Betis and captains the Mexico national team. Mainly a midfielder, he can also operate as a left winger or left back.
Popularly known as Principito, he came through the youth ranks at Atlas, then signed with Spain's Deportivo, where he spent five seasons. In 2012 he joined another team in the country, Valencia, with brief loan stints at Bayer Leverkusen and PSV, permanently joining the latter club in 2015 and winning two Eredivisie titles.
A Mexican international since 2005, Guardado represented the country in four World Cups, four Gold Cups – winning the 2011, 2015 and 2019 tournaments – two Copa Américas and two Confederations Cups, winning over 150 caps.

Early life

Guardado was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, to Andrés Manuel Guardado and Teresa.

Club career

Atlas

Guardado started playing professionally for Club Atlas, joining the team's youth system at the age of seven and going on to appear in two full Primera División seasons. He made his league debut on 20 August 2005, in a 3–2 home win against C.F. Pachuca.
In the summer of 2006, press speculation linked Guardado to several Serie A teams as well as Real Madrid, but Deportivo de La Coruña moved quickly and made an offer of €7 million for 75% of his rights. Atlas accepted the offer and the transfer was finalized on 7 July 2007, making him the most expensive ever Mexican player. Atlas retained a 25% sell-on-fee as long as it held the remaining 25% of his rights.

Deportivo

Guardado was officially introduced on 24 July 2007, with the Spanish team giving him the number 18 shirt. He made his La Liga debut on 26 August in a 0–3 home loss against UD Almería, and finished his first season with 26 games and five goals as Depor finished in ninth position, eventually qualifying to the UEFA Intertoto Cup – and the subsequent UEFA Cup, where he scored in a 3–0 group stage home win over Feyenoord.
Coach Miguel Ángel Lotina stated that Guardado was a key player for Deportivo, and admired his talent and character. He solidified himself as first-choice for the team, providing several assists and being charged with set pieces; he was also hampered by several injuries, however.
Guardado only managed to appear in 20 matches in 2010–11, and the Galicians were relegated to Segunda División after 20 years. On 27 March 2012 he confirmed that 2011–12 would be his last season with the club, and he scored a career-best 11 goals as his team returned to the top level as champions. Halfway through the season, he was voted by their fans as best player, and was also named the competition's best attacking midfielder; additionally, he eventually surpassed Juan Carlos Valerón as the highest provider of assists.

Valencia

On 28 May 2012, Guardado signed a four-year contract with Valencia CF. He made his debut on 19 August, playing 66 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Real Madrid. His maiden appearance in the UEFA Champions League took place on 12 September, in a 1–2 group stage loss at eventual winners FC Bayern Munich; during his first season he featured regularly at left back, mainly due to the serious injury of Jérémy Mathieu.
Guardado scored his first goal for the Che on 12 May 2013, contributing to a 4–0 rout at Rayo Vallecano, and he featured mostly in the backline in the following months. On 30 January 2014, Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen announced that they had signed him on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to buy afterwards. He made his debut on 2 February in a 0–1 loss against 1. FC Kaiserslautern for the DFB-Pokal, playing as a left wingback.
Guardado's playing time at both the Mestalla Stadium and the BayArena was hampered by injuries and loss of form.

PSV Eindhoven

For 2014–15, still owned by Valencia, Guardado joined PSV Eindhoven. He made his Eredivisie debut on 31 August 2014 against Vitesse Arnhem at Philips Stadion. He managed to wear the captain's armband within his first months, won the Player of the Month award for November, and on 7 March of the following year he scored his first goal for his new club, contributing to a 3–0 away victory over Go Ahead Eagles.
On 15 March 2015, prior to the match against FC Groningen and amidst rumours of a transfer to AFC Ajax, PSV fans displayed a Mexican flag tifo and a banner in Spanish which read "Andrés Guardado, our Golden Mexican Eagle. He has to stay in PSV Eindhoven. Our house is your house, Andrés". On 27 March, PSV announced that they had reached a deal with Valencia over a permanent transfer, for an undisclosed fee and three years.
On 18 April 2015, with three matches to spare, the team won the league championship after a 4–1 win over SC Heerenveen, with Guardado playing the full 90 minutes. At the end of his first season, his impressive performances led him to be named the player of the year by Dutch magazines Algemeen Dagblad and Voetbal International; his displays also led to his inclusion in that year's FIFA Ballon d'Or longlist.
The following campaign, Guardado contributed with 25 appearances to help the side successfully defend their title, finishing with nine assists as the team's second-highest provider. He was listed on Football Oranje's team of the season.
On 31 July 2016, Guardado was in the starting eleven against Feyenoord, who were defeated 1–0 in the Johan Cruyff Shield.

Betis

Despite rumors linking him to a possible move to Atlanta United and Los Angeles FC of the Major League Soccer, it was announced on 27 July 2017 that Spanish club Real Betis had signed Guardado for a reported €2.3 million on a three-year deal. The following month he was named their co-captain, and on 20 August he made his competitive debut, playing all 90 minutes in a 2–0 loss to FC Barcelona. He scored his first goal on 25 November, in a 2–2 home draw against Girona FC.
In December 2019, the 33-year-old Guardado renewed his contract until 2022. On 4 July 2020 he made his 100th official appearance for the Andalusians, captaining the side in their 1–1 league draw to RC Celta de Vigo.

International career

Guardado made his first appearance for Mexico in a friendly match against Hungary on 14 December 2005, four months after his first-team debut with Atlas. He was then called up to represent his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he appeared in the round of 16 1–2 loss to Argentina, starting as a shifting attacking midfielder/wing-back alongside Ramón Morales but was replaced by Gonzalo Pineda after picking up an injury in the second half; after the departure of manager Ricardo La Volpe, his replacement Hugo Sánchez kept the player in his squad.
Guardado's first game under the new manager was an exhibition game against the United States, where he came on as a bench in a 0–2 defeat. On 28 February 2007, in a friendly with Venezuela, he scored his first international goal.
In the final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Guardado scored the opening goal against the United States. During the second half he collided head-on with Jonathan Spector while both attempted to head the ball, but recovered to play the rest of the match, which ended in a 1–2 loss. He also participated in that year's Copa América, scoring the third goal against Uruguay in the third-place match.
Javier Aguirre included Guardado in the roster for the 2010 World Cup. He assisted Rafael Márquez in the opening game of the World Cup against hosts South Africa, in a 1–1 draw. An expected starter, he lacked playing time and appeared in three out of four games, in another last-16 exit at the hands of Argentina.
In May 2011, Guardado was called up by José Manuel de la Torre for the 2011 Gold Cup. He scored his first brace with the national team during that tournament, in a 4–1 win over Costa Rica on 12 June. He found the net again in the final in a 4–2 victory over the United States, as Mexico retained the trophy.
Guardado made the squad for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. As El Tri failed to progress from the group stage, he played all three matches.
On 5 March 2014, Guardado made his 100th appearance for Mexico in a friendly with Nigeria. Selected by Miguel Herrera for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he started all the games as a left midfielder, and scored in the last group phase fixture against Croatia, a 3–1 win; following the end of the tournament, the manager declared the player would captain the following September friendlies with Chile and Bolivia, captaining for instances when actual captain Rafael Márquez was absent.
Guardado scored six times at the 2015 Gold Cup, the first being a first-half effort in a 6–0 demolition of Cuba in the group stage and the third a penalty kick in the last minute of extra time in the quarter-final against Costa Rica. In the semi-finals against Panama, he scored twice from the penalty spot to help his country come from behind and win 2–1 and, in the decisive match against Jamaica, scored the opener in an eventual 3–1 victory. Subsequently, he won the Golden Ball Award as most outstanding player.
Picked for the Copa América Centenario squad by Juan Carlos Osorio, Guardado provided a cross in the opening fixture against Uruguay that led to an own goal but was also sent off for two bookable offences, winning 3–1 at University of Phoenix Stadium on 5 June 2016. He took part in a further two games, in a quarter-final exit.
Guardado also made the final list for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, where he appeared as captain in the group stage fixtures against Portugal and Russia, picking up a yellow card on both occasions and thus missing out in the semi-finals against Germany. He returned to the lineup in the third-place playoff, lost 2–1 to Portugal.
Guardado was selected in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup, his first as captain. In the first match, he played 74 minutes in a 1–0 defeat of Germany, going on to take part in all the fixtures including the round of 16 loss with Brazil. Following their elimination, it was reported by Mexican sports newspaper Récord that he had played through the tournament with a muscle injury he sustained in his right leg while playing with Betis.
Guardado was called up by Gerardo Martino to participate in the 2019 Gold Cup. In the second group match against Canada, he replaced the injured Érick Gutiérrez at the 37th minute and scored twice, helping to a 3–1 win and being named Player of the match. He broke various CONCACAF-based records at the end of that stage, among them the most-capped Mexican player in the Gold Cup and the only from the country to score in four editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, eventually winning the competition and being included in the Best XI.

Style of play

Guardado started his career as a winger at Atlas, occasionally playing as a left back. He was mainly deployed in the former position at Deportivo by Miguel Ángel Lotina, and changed to the latter after moving to Valencia. When played as a winger, he was an incisive and quick footballer, known to play deep into the field, take on defenders one-on-one and provide accurate crosses, managing to score for both club and country.
In 2014, under Miguel Herrera's improvisation, Guardado began to play as a defensive midfielder for the national team. At PSV, manager Phillip Cocu facilitated his positional change as injuries hampered his speed, as the latter began to operate as a central midfielder with box-to-box and deep-lying playmaker qualities; he later took on more defensive duties.
A creative player with excellent vision, Guardado is also a technically proficient player known for establishing the tempo of his team. He also has good passing and dribbling skills, also being proficient at free kicks and holding up the ball. He also possesses a powerful and accurate shot from distance, and is also capable of aiding his team defensively due to his work rate and stamina; additionally, he was described as playing closer to the "Iberian midfielder archetype," focused on possession in the center of the field, winning the ball back with smart positioning instead of tackles and then pushing it forward.
Guardado idolised his compatriot and national teammate Rafael Márquez, citing him as an influence in his playing style.

Personal life

Guardado married fellow Guadalajara native Briana Morales in December 2006. Five years later, they divorced.
Guardado is an "honorary associate" of the Asociación Mexicana de Futbolistas, created in October 2017. An association that its main goal is, according to him, to "create a dialogue with league, federation and club authorities" with the domestic league's footballers.
Much of Guardado's first year at Betis' Estadio Benito Villamarín was captured in the Amazon Prime television documentary series Six Dreams, in which he was one of the stars.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.27 February 2007Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States1–03–1Friendly
2.24 June 2007Soldier Field, Chicago, United States1–01–22007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3.14 July 2007Estadio Olímpico, Caracas, Venezuela3–13–12007 Copa América
4.8 June 2008Soldier Field, Chicago, United States2–04–0Friendly
5.21 June 2008Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico2–07–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.6 September 2008Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico2–03–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.5 September 2009Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica3–03–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.13 May 2010Reliant Stadium, Houston, United States1–01–0Friendly
9.26 March 2011Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, United States2–03–1Friendly
10.12 June 2011Soldier Field, Chicago, United States2–04–12011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
11.12 June 2011Soldier Field, Chicago, United States3–04–12011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12.25 June 2011Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States2–24–22011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
13.4 September 2011Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain1–01–0Friendly
14.12 October 2012BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States1–05–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
15.23 June 2014Itaipava Arena Pernambuco, São Lourenço da Mata, Brazil2–03–12014 FIFA World Cup
16.9 July 2015Soldier Field, Chicago, United States4–06–02015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
17.15 July 2015Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States3–34–42015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
18.19 July 2015MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States1–01–02015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
19.22 July 2015Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States1–12–12015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
20.22 July 2015Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States2–12–12015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
21.26 July 2015Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States1–03–12015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
22.13 November 2015Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico1–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.29 March 2016Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.28 May 2016Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States1–01–0Friendly
25.10 November 2017King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–13–3Friendly
26.5 June 2019Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States3–13–1Friendly
27.19 June 2019Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, United States2–03–12019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
28.19 June 2019Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, United States3–13–12019 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours

Club

Deportivo
PSV
Mexico