Andrés Guardado

Full name : José Andrés Guardado Hernández
Date of birth : September 28, 1986 (1986-09-28) (age 23)
Place of birth : Guadalajara, Mexico
Height : 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Playing position : Left Winger





José Andrés Guardado Hernández (born September 28, 1986 in Guadalajara) is a Mexican international footballer who plays as a left winger for Deportivo de La Coruña in La Liga. He is known for his long-distance left-footed strikes, dribbling, agility, and pace.Guardado started playing professionally in F.C. Atlas, and made his league debut in August 2005 at 18 years old, in a 3–2 victory over Pachuca C.F in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He eventually became a very important player for Atlas, and would go on to play 64 games with the side, scoring 7 goals. In the summer of 2006, press speculations linked Guardado to several Italian Serie A teams, the Spanish club Real Madrid, and Portuguese club SL Benfica. However, Deportivo de La Coruña moved quickly and made an offer of €5.25m, for 75% of his rights which in turn will be worth a total of €7m. The Mexican side accepted the offer and the transfer was finalized on July 7, 2007. Atlas remained entitled a 25% sell-on-fee as long as they held the remaining 25% of his rights. He stated his happiness with the agreement, with a preference to move to Spain, as he would not have to learn any additional languages or cope with a non-Hispanic culture.[1]Guardado made his first international appearance for Mexico in a friendly match against Hungary on December 14, 2005, just four months after his first team debut for Atlas. Guardado was called up to represent his country in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He played his first World Cup match against Argentina in the round-of-16 2–1 in extra time. Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe's contract expired and was not renewed, but his replacement, Hugo Sánchez, kept Guardado in the setup.

Guardado played in Mexico's first friendly under Sánchez against his country's CONCACAF rival USA. His introduction from the bench saw the game turn in Mexico's favor however the match resulted in a 2–0 loss for Mexico. Guardado still cemented his place in the nation's subsequent starting 11.

On February 28, 2007, in a friendly match against Venezuela, Guardado scored his first goal for Mexico. 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 United States right back Jonathan Spector while both attempted to head the ball but managed to recover to play the rest the of the match.