'The complete player'

Spanish veteran Hierro playing as if still in prime

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- For some he's one of the best defenders in Europe. For others, he's a hatchet man who should have retired years ago.

At 34, Fernando Hierro will be one of the oldest players at the World Cup, his third. But having scored 102 league goals for Real Madrid and a record 27 for Spain, Hierro's age has never been an issue for coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

"Hierro is the captain and is someone special," Camacho told The Associated Press. "He knows how to play as captain and in football terms he's among the most important in Europe.

"It's like Zidane. If France plays without Zidane, they appear to be missing something."

Hierro gave a superb display of some of those attributes in a recent match between Real Madrid and Zaragoza, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win, a day after turning 34.

"Hierro, The Complete Player," read the headline of sports daily Marca. The newspaper ABC described him as the "the defender with attacker's blood."

"I have faith in certain players and Hierro is one of them," Camacho said. "God willing we'd have more Hierros in Spanish soccer but there's only one."

Born in the southern town of Velez-Malaga in 1968, Hierro first starred for two seasons at Valladolid before joining Madrid in 1989. Since then he has played 468 games for the club, winning five league titles and two European Champions Cups, among many other titles.

Measuring 1.87 meters (6-foot-1), he has a commanding presence in the air and remarkable long-ball precision. Within minutes of Spain's opening match against Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup in France, his perfect, 40-meter (yard) pass set up Raul for a stunning goal.

His critics, however, say age has caught up with him and that he resorts to fouls to compensate for a resulting lack of pace. This season alone, he has been shown 14 yellow cards for Real Madrid.

But a former Real coach, Yugoslav Radomir Antic, says Hierro has never received the credit he deserves.

"I don't believe he's been treated in accordance with the human and soccer qualities he possesses," Antic told Marca. "It usually happens that some players are more popular than others -- and he hasn't been held in the esteem he deserves for what he has done."

 

Related information
Stories
Spanish veteran Hierro playing as if still in prime Spanish coach looks to Raul for goals, leadership
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.