Turn of the century, Latin America.
At that time, the two major football kingdoms in Latin America, Brazil and Argentina, both showed a phenomenon of genius blowouts.
Brazil naturally needless to say, the "Samba Legion" led by the "alien" Ronaldo is in the limelight, supplemented by Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Carlos, Cafu and other super celebrities.
The Brazilian team's lifelong enemies and their neighbor Argentina are also full of talents, crespo, Ayala, Zanetti are also well-known in international football. These players alone are not enough to compete with Brazil, and Argentina's secret weapon is the super powerful midfield they are proud of.
It was the era of Argentine football talent, the era of the fiercest competition in Argentine football.
After Maradona, Argentina has not had so many talented front waists for a long time, and a large number of talented front waists led by "Romi" Riquelme have stunned the world, "Wizard" Belon, "Clown" Aimar, "Big Head" Dalizandro, "Little Donkey" Ortega, each name is so dazzling, it is called "Maradona's successor".
Among them, Ortega is the predecessor of others.
"Little Donkey" Ortega
Being able to wear Argentina's no. 10 shirt is enough to prove Ortega's talent and strength.
Ortega is proud, after all, he debuted at a young age in Argentina's giants River Plate, and once he debuted, he conquered all Argentines, including Maradona, with his super gorgeous dribbling skills, unparalleled superiority and extremely sensitive sense of smell in front of goal.
Naturally, the title of "Maradona's successor" was given to this super genius.
<h1>Not a perfect World Cup trip, the brilliance and regret of Ortega</h1>
In 1994, at the age of 20, Ortega represented Argentina at the World Cup in the United States and performed very well. At the same time, the "alien" Ronaldo just sat on the bench of brazil and watched all the matches of brazil.
Then, in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, Ortega represented the national team, and in that era when Argentina's forward competition was the most fierce, the "little donkey" represented three consecutive World Cups, which was a great affirmation of him in itself.
Debut world cup
Among them, the most glorious competition of Ortega was the 1998 World Cup.
At that time, Ortega was in a brave state, as the core of the Argentine midfield, he led the "Pampas Eagles" all the way through the level, and no one could beat him.
The world-renowned "Anglo-Afghan War" attracted all the attention of the media in the end, although in the end all the eyes of the media were attracted by the back of Beckham, who was still full of collagen at that time. Fans around the world, especially female fans, are berating Simeone's fake fall. But the person who really sent England to hell was Ortega.
Beckham and Simone
Although the amazing play of "Golden Boy" Owen helped England take the lead, Ortega hit the English defense line with sharp breakthroughs again and again, making the "Three Lions" tremble and be at a loss.
In the end, Argentina defeated England and reached the quarterfinals with its super gorgeous free-kick combination and tenacity in the penalty shootout.
To the quarter-finals, this day, perhaps the most regrettable day for Ortega, this day presented his football career to the whole world, good and bad.
Ortega breaks through Suhiro Yamaguchi
Argentina vs. the Netherlands, the Pampas Eagles vs. the Uncrowned King, and the war is on the verge of breaking out.
Although the Dutch team had the young Kluivert in the lead, the Argentine team quickly counterattacked, and only 5 minutes later, the "little worm" Lopez equalized.
Subsequently, the Argentine midfielder, led by Ortega and Verón, firmly controlled the game, did not give the Dutch team a chance to breathe, and the Dutch team could only stop the Argentine attack with constant fouls.
Successfully swung over "Wild Boar" Davis
In the 77th minute of the second half, Newman of the Netherlands turned red because of his foul on Simeone, and Argentina was more relaxed.
However, just as the game was about to end, the grumpy Ortega had an argument with Dutch goalkeeper Van der Sar, and Ortega's uncool behavior made him pay a terrible price for the Argentine team.
Ortega put van der Sar on his head and was sent off with a red card.
Bump into Van der Sar
Ortega's offside left Argentina out of control of the midfield, and at the end of the game, the "Ice Prince" Bergkamp scored a classic deadlock to send the Argentine home.
This game is simply the epitome of Ortega's football career - omnipotent midfield possession, stubborn temper, irrational behavior. All of this seems to be predestined, otherwise, where did the nickname "Little Donkey" come from?
In the 2002 World Cup, the "alien" Ronaldo, who was two years younger than Ortega, made the world tremble for it, and Ortega, affected by the 3-3-1-3 tactics of "crazy coach" Bielsa, could only blindly bury his head in breakthrough and get lost in East Asia.
Ortega confronts Da Luo
He also knew that he might no longer have any hope of wearing the Argentine No. 10 shirt or surpassing Maradona, because Riquelme and Aimar were also known as the "Maradona successors", with the same talent and the same temperament.
<h1>In an unsuccessful European adventure, River Plate is his eternal home</h1>
The outstanding performance in Argentina attracted the attention of many European giants, and among the many suitors, Ortega chose the Spanish league, which also advocated attack, and joined the "Bat Army" Valencia.
"Joker" Aimar
But the experience at Valencia was not so good, although he helped Valencia score 7 goals in one season, but he was too obsessed with his own dribbling, and some "independent" style of play did not help Ortega integrate smoothly into the team.
Just one season later, Ortega left the team to join Sampdoria in Serie A. However, a year's trip to Spain was not for nothing, ortega let the Spaniards know how important it was to have an Argentine forward in the team, so when Mendietta was about to leave the team, Valencia immediately bought the "Joker" Aimar to help the team.
Come to Ortega in Serie A
However, the journey in Italy was not as easy as expected, although Ortega's excellent performance did not prevent Sampdoria's relegation, and then came to Parma and failed to show his performances in the Argentine national team and river plate.
He also had a good performance in Parma
Finally, after four years in Europe, Ortega returned to where his football career began, and he wanted to regain respect, and he chose to return to the place where his dream began, River Plate.
In the riverbed, Ortega became the omnipotent king, and received countless honors and worships.
Return home
<h1>Hurt Zhongyong? He just lost to himself</h1>
In fact, Maradona admires Ortega the most, but Ortega has never been able to meet people's expectations of him, and has not been able to catch up with the ideal self.
In addition to the some mavericks in the style of football, there is also a point of Life Habits of Ortega: he is an alcoholic.
Because of alcohol problems, Ortega has entered the alcohol rehab center three times before and after for forced treatment. All this obviously seriously affected his football career, compared with the current Messi C Ronaldo's dripping wine, it is simply "heinous".
Get a new lease of life in the riverbed
Imagine what Ortega's football career would have been like if he had a highly disciplined life. Will he be the world footballer of the year, will he lead Argentina to the World Cup in 1998, will he have a more brilliant European football career? All this can only be imagined by the fans who love him.
Despite being grumpy and deviant, Ortega is still Maradona's favorite, and Argentine fans can imagine a Boca king obsessed with a century-old rival, River Plate. After being elected as argentina's head coach, the stubborn old horse put Ortega on the national team roster and even threatened to take him to the World Cup in South Africa.
End of life
Alcohol scandals off the pitch and contract turmoil on the pitch drained Ortega's last football enthusiasm, and in 2013, at the age of 39, he officially retired. At Ortega's farewell match, "Little Donkey" assisted his son to score a goal, and father and son hugged and cried, infecting the fans.
People have a thousand faces, the years are merciless, and even if there are thousands of reluctance, the "little donkey" will eventually disappear into the Pampas.
Father and son hug each other