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Birth Date:
3/9/1975
Birth Place:
La Plata, Argentina
Nationality:
Argentina
Height:
186
Weight:
79
Position:
Midfielder
At ?28.1million, Veron, was, at the time of signing, the most expensive player in Britain.
With his array of passing, shooting, and ball-skills, Juan Sebastian Veron is almost the complete footballer. He became known to fans on British shores during the 1998 World Cup where he played a big part in England's defeat to Argentina.
Though on his arrival in England he had little knowledge of the English language, he does have two connections that may have brought him closer to his move to Manchester United and English football.
Firstly, his girlfriend is a student of English and secondly, his father Juan senior played at Old Trafford in the 1968 World Club Cup for Estudiantes and won. In a game that saw multiple dismissals, Senor Veron is remembered as one of the players who did the least fouling.
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Indeed Juan Sebastian Veron's move to United was whole-heartedly supported by his father.
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Like his dad, Veron began his career at Estudiantes but his prodigious talents soon won him a move to Argentine giants Boca Juniors. After seventeen games and at 21, Italian club Sampdoria came in for him and he was soon playing for them.
Juan Sebastian Veron was then off to Parma when they secured his services in 1998. It was there that his standing, both in Italy and at home, started to rise. After a personally succesful World Cup, he was sold to Lazio for ?20million.
Playing under Sven Goran Eriksson Veron won a stack of honours - in 2000 the Serie A title and Copa Italia double, the last ever European Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and the Super Cup the same year, with the latter at United's expense.
Season 2000/01 was a troubled one for Veron and Lazio. Eriksson left for the England job and the club faltered in the league and Champions League. Veron himself became involved in a fake passport scandal, and though he was eventually personally exonerated, his time at Lazio was ended.
It still took a record fee for United to prise him away though and Veron took his place in the United midfield. It was a move which failed to bear fruit too often in the 2001/02 season as Veron, troubled by an Achilles inury, failed to adapt to the English game.
Some high-profile errors, specifically against Middlesbrough and Chelsea, marked him out as a target for ridicule.
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