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The player, who has a German father and an Italian mother, began his career in his homeland with Newell's Old Boys. Somewhat bizarrely, Heinze is able to speak Welsh. He hails from Patagonia, an area where many Welsh people settled in the 19th century and as such the language is spoken to some degree.
He soon drew the attention of European scouts and in 1997 was snapped up by Spanish outfit Real Valladolid. Leaving his homeland at such a young age without having turned out for the national side, the tough-tackling, left-footed centre-back was barely known in his home nation. He was then loaned to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon for the 1998/99 campaign.
On his return to Spain he established himself as a star of the Valladolid side, building up a reputation as a powerful left-sided player with good aerial ability. That led to a move to Paris Saint Germain in 2001, where he continued to impress. In 2003/04 he picked up a French Cup winners' medal and a Ligue 1 runners-up medal.
Heinze holds an Italian passport but opted to play for the nation of his birth, Argentina. Yet he was still an unknown back in Argentina - when he earned his fifth cap against Ecuador he had to be introduced to fans in the press back home.His performances for PSG have earned him a place in Argentina's World Cup qualification squad. He has made seven international appearances and is part of the country's World Cup 2006 qualifying side. As the defender prepared for Argentina's World Cup qualifying matches in May he was linked with Manchester United. A couple of weeks later he signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford.
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Heinze has built up a reputation as a powerful, no-nonsense defender. He is also renowned for his tenacity and leadership qualities and is dominant in the air. He arrives in England with a hard man reputation. One newspaper in France ran a poll to discover which player fans thought was the roughest defender in French football - Heinze was the unequivocal winner. The signing of the Argentinian brought to an end a long search for a much needed new defender for Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. His capacity to play in either a central or side role will prove invaluable throughout the long season ahead.
Heinze said: "I am extremely proud to sign for such a great Club. It is a very important step in my football career to join Manchester United and I have faith and great belief that I can meet the high expectations required". Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We have been monitoring Gabriel for a long time and he demonstrates all the qualities of the top Argentinian defenders – strength, speed and excellent technical ability. He can play either as a central defender or left back and this flexibility means that he is a great acquisition for the Club." |
14.GABRIEL HEINZE
