Who was the first Argentina No.10 player after Maradona?
I believe that the vast majority of fans will throw Ortega's name when they see this problem. After all, Ortegana was the recognized successor of Maradona, and as early as the 94 World Cup, he began to serve as a substitute for the king of football. During Maradona's ban, Ortega, wearing the number 17 shirt, entered Argentina's starting line-up and performed quite well.
However, this does not mean that the first Argentine No.10 player since Maradona is Ortega. Because before Ortega wore Argentina's No. 10 shirt, his River Plate teammate Gallardo had already worn this highly symbolic shirt. However, Galado, who was born at the front of the post, was born at an opportune time, and his future development did not meet expectations, so it was habitually ignored by the world:
Marcelo Gallardo was born on January 18, 1976 in Melo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although he did not come into contact with football early, he only met this black and white elf when he was 8 years old, but his super football talent allowed Gallardo to quickly catch up with his peers and even become the best among his peers.
As a local club in Buenos Aires, River Plate naturally did not want to miss the good seedlings of the local area, so he recruited Gallardo into his own youth academy and regarded him as a key training object. It was under the careful training of the River Plate Academy that Gallardo developed into a qualified forward player, not only good enough to control the ball, but also very imaginative to pass the ball, and can personally attack the city. The team with him as the core does not have to worry about the offensive problem at all.
River Plate manager Passarella was a historic player who played alongside Maradona. With his knowledge, he naturally realised the potential in Gallardo and recruited Gallardo into the River Plate first team early. At the same stage, it happened to be a blowout period for River Plate club's youth talents, and what Ortega, Crespo, which will become famous, are all leveled under Pasalella.
These talented players came together and developed good chemistry. Gallardo organizes the attack, Ortega breaks through wildly, and Crespo finishes in front of goal. The routine seems simple, but because the players' individual ability is too strong, the opponent is still unpreventable. With the help of these talented players, River Plate is not only extremely competitive in the Argentine league, but also recognized as a strong team in the entire South American competition.
Teams and players have always achieved each other. River Plate is so competitive that it will naturally make Argentine football realize the value of Gallardo, Ortega and Crespo. In fact, these young players are all recognized as superstars in Argentine football. It's just that even if you are also a supernova, there are ups and lows in terms of fame. Gallardo's fame is significantly inferior to his River Plate teammate Ortega.
As for the reason, it's not that Gallardo's personal ability is not as good as Ortega's, mainly because Ortega's playing style is more ornamental. The technique of "Little Donkey" is extremely gorgeous, and it is as simple as eating and drinking, and he is often seen crushing his opponent one-on-one, or even with more than one enemy, which is really ornamental. In South American football, this type of player is undoubtedly the most popular. As for Gallardo, although his style of play also deserves a gorgeous evaluation, it is not so eye-catching compared to Ortega.
Compared to Ortega, Gallardo has the advantage that he has a better view of the big picture and is more like a commander in command. On the other hand, Ortega's personal breakthrough is indeed sharp, but it is slightly inferior in terms of the overall situation, more like a charging general. It is precisely because of the different emphases of the two on the court that they can coexist perfectly in River Plate.
After the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Pazarella succeeded Basile as the manager of the Argentine national team. And Gallardo, as a concubine of Passarella, will naturally become a regular in the Argentine national team.
Passarella was in charge of River Plate, Gallardo and Ortega played under him, and he naturally knew that Gallardo was the manager and Ortega was just the general. So in Passarella's opinion, Gallardo may be a better fit for the No. 10 shirt. In the 1995 Copa America, the first major tournament in the post-Maradona era, Gallardo donned Argentina's number 10 shirt instead of Ortega.
If Gallardo shines in this Copa America, he will definitely have a chance to become Argentina's midfielder. It's a pity that the opportunity is in front of you, but Gallardo can't seize it. Not only did he fail to play as the main team, but he also led Argentina to a 3-0 defeat to the United States, who were invited teams.
Leading Argentina to play like this, Gallardo will not have to think about whether he can continue to wear Argentina's No. 10 shirt in the future. In fact, this is the only time he wears Argentina's number 10 shirt during a tournament. In the days that followed, Ortega was the owner of the number 10 shirt. Therefore, it is not surprising that many fans have consciously or unintentionally ignored the history of Gallardo wearing Argentina's No. 10 shirt.
The overlooked Argentina No.10 is still quite good at the club. He led River Plate to South American football before moving to Monaco to help his new club win the 1999-00 Ligue 1 title as an attacking core. It was precisely because Gallardo's performances this season were so deeply rooted that he was named the best player in Ligue 1 in 1999-00, even shortly after he entered Ligue 1.
Unfortunately, Gallardo only had one season in Monaco, and his team fell into a slump, finishing only 11th in the following 2000-01 season, as if changing teams. In desperation, Monaco invited Deschamps, who had only recently retired at the time and could only be regarded as a rookie coach, to take the helm.
Deschamps was known for his iron-blooded defense as a player. This type of player, once a coach, tends to place extreme emphasis on defense. Simeone in Argentina, for example, is also of this type. Gallardo, a classical front waist, has not done much dirty work since his debut.
Speaking of which, I have to mention the interesting anecdote that Gallardo frequently eats red and yellow cards. Some friends may take it for granted that Gallardo's frequent card eating must be due to his active defense. But the reality is that Gallardo eats cards, often has nothing to do with defense, and most of the time he eats it with his opponent.
It is rumored that during his time in Ligue 1, Gallardo always liked to use less proficient French to "greet" opponents who he did not like. One of his favorite phrases to greet opponents is "You play here, God knows where your wife is". It is not at all surprising that such words are thrown and caused conflict.
All in all, Gallardo is the kind of bad boy who is not highly motivated to defend and likes to cause trouble on the court. It would be strange if this type of player could be reused by Deschamps. So not long after Deschamps took over Monaco, the pair became incompatible. Gallardo has said that he will either leave the team himself or Deschamps will leave. The management of the club was on Deschamps' side, and Gallardo could only say goodbye to Monaco...
For Gallardo, meeting a coach of Deschamps' type is naturally untimely. But Gallardo's life was much more than that. At the beginning of the century, the role of the front waist was constantly weakened. For coaches who don't catch a cold in the front waist, that's not Deschamps alone. Many powerful clubs in Europe have made the decision to abandon the front back. Even if it is as strong as Riquelme, after joining Barca, he is facing the problem of being arranged by the coach to go to the wing, not to mention other former players.
This kind of environment is too unfriendly for a front waist like Gallardo. The neglected Argentine No.10 returned to the Argentine league and once again donned the River Plate shirt. It wasn't until he was around 30 that he went back to play in the Europa League. But at this time, in European football, the front waist was becoming more and more unwelcome.
Gallardo played for a while at Paris Saint-Germain before hurriedly bidding farewell to Ligue 1 and heading to the United States to pan for gold. At this time, he can no longer kick any fame.