Faustino Asprilla

Early years

After starting out playing football with local team Carlos Sarmiento Lora School, Asprilla started his professional career in 1988 for the Colombian team Cúcuta Deportivo at the age of 18 for a year before transferring to Atlético Nacional. Thirty-five goals in seventy-eight games brought him to the attention to several Italian clubs who bid for him, with Parma winning the race to sign him for US$10.9 million in 1992.

Parma

In his first season at Parma, Asprilla scored some important goals, including a 27-yard second-half free-kick which helped Parma defeat Milan 1–0, ending the Italian champions' unbeaten streak at 58 matches.^[6] It was at Parma Asprilla arguably enjoyed his greatest club success. Asprilla was part of the Parma squad which won its first international tournament, the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring four goals in eight matches. It was his brace in Spain that rallied the Italian team to a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final. However, an injury meant he was an unused substitute as Parma defeated Belgian club Royal Antwerp 3–1 in the final.^[6]

In early 1994, Asprilla was part of the Parma side which defeated Milan 0–2 at the San Siro to overturn a 0–1 first leg deficit and claim the 1993 European Super Cup.

Also in the 1993–94 season, Parma reached a second Cup Winners' Cup final. However, a 0–1 defeat to Arsenal meant they would not retain their trophy.

In 1994–95, Parma again reached the final of a major European competition as they faced Italian compatriots Juventus in the final of the UEFA Cup. Asprilla was instrumental in Parma's run to the final, with three goals over two legs in the semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen.^[7] In the final itself, Asprilla was in the starting XI for both legs as Parma defeated Juventus 2–1 on aggregate.

At the start of the 1995–96 season, Asprilla found himself out of head coach Nevio Scala's plans. In February 1996, after making only six appearances in the opening five months of the season,^[8] Asprilla joined English Premier League leaders Newcastle United for a £6.7 million transfer fee.

During his first spell at Parma, Asprilla scored 25 goals in 84 Serie A appearances.^[8] He is considered one of the greatest players of Parma's successful period in the 1990s.^[9] In his three full seasons with the club, Parma finished third, fifth and third in Serie A. The club also reached a European final in each of those seasons, as well as the 1994–95 Coppa Italia final.

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1992/93
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1993/94
• European Super Cup winner: 1993
• UEFA Cup winner: 1994/95, 1998/99

Newcastle United

Parma sold Asprilla to English Premier League side Newcastle United for £6.7 million in February 1996, with "Tino", as the fans nicknamed him, appearing at St James' Park to finalise the move during a snowstorm, dressed in a fur coat. At the time, Newcastle were ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League, although their lead at the top of the table was narrowing. Asprilla's arrival on Tyneside came just months after earlier media reports of a move to England, with Leeds United being linked with his signature.^[10]

Asprilla made his league debut in Newcastle's 2–1 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, coming on as a second-half substitute with the score 1–0 in Middlesbrough's favour. He made an immediate impact, creating the assist for Newcastle's equaliser. However, his time on Tyneside was blighted by inconsistency and off-field incidents, and Asprilla was blamed as one of the reasons Newcastle would go on to concede the 1995–96 Premier League title to eventual winners Manchester United.

Asprilla's second season for Newcastle ended with the club finishing in second place once again, behind Manchester United. His role was largely reduced to substitute appearances, although he retained his best performances for the club's UEFA Cup campaign, scoring five goals. His celebration of the goal he scored against Metz, whereby he removed his shirt and swung it from a corner flag, resulted in Asprilla being given a yellow card, meaning a suspension from Newcastle's next UEFA Cup match against Monaco.

The 1997–98 season was Asprilla's last for Newcastle. With the sale of striker Les Ferdinand to Tottenham Hotspur and a serious injury to Alan Shearer during the pre-season, Asprilla was preferred as first choice striker alongside the young, inexperienced Jon Dahl Tomasson. With the club competing in that season's UEFA Champions League, Asprilla scored a hat-trick for Newcastle in a 3–2 win over Barcelona, which would be his last goals for the club.^[11] By the end of January 1998, with Newcastle struggling in the league and eliminated from the Champions League, Asprilla's time at Newcastle came to an end. He was sold back to Parma for £6 million, having scored a total of 9 goals in 48 Premier League appearances and 9 goals in 11 European matches.

Return to Parma

In his second spell at Parma, Asprilla won his second UEFA Cup, coming on as a substitute as Parma defeated Marseille in the final.^[12]

Palmeiras

Asprilla played in the successful Palmeiras team in the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

• Rio-São Paulo Tournament winner: 2000
• Brazilian Champions Cup winner: 2000

Later career and Darlington link

Although his brief time with Palmeiras saw the team achieve success, for Asprilla personally his time there marked the beginning of a pattern of short, relatively unproductive stays with various clubs across various countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.

During a time which was generally low-key, he appeared in the public eye again in 2002 amid reports he had been approached by English Division Three side Darlington. Darlington successfully appealed an initial work permit refusal and had offered around £17,000 per week plus 20% of gate receipts, a car and a rent-free flat. Chairman George Reynolds considered they were friends and in fact paraded Asprilla in front of 5,163 fans before Darlington's 2-0 win over Carlisle United on 27 August, believing the intended two-year contract was good as signed. However, it was reported that after Asprilla stalled on taking a medical on 29 August, in the early hours of 30 August, Asprilla caught a flight from Newcastle Airport to the Middle East, apparently to accept a more lucrative contract offer. Reynolds described himself as "absolutely gutted" by the snub, complaining Asprilla "did not even have the decency to say goodbye" and said he would never talk to him again.^[13][14] This was the second time Darlington was snubbed by a high-profile ex-Newcastle player that summer, the first being Paul Gascoigne.

The identity of the Middle East club has never been revealed and whether Asprilla did join them remains a mystery.

There is no official record of Asprilla playing for another professional team after his departure from Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata in 2004.

Summary

Asprilla scored 20 goals in 57 matches for Colombia from 1993 to 2001 and played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. Asprilla was expected to be one of the top players of the 1994 tournament, but failed to score a single goal as Colombia was eliminated in the first round.

1992 Summer Olympics

Asprilla was a member of the Colombian team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where the team was eliminated in the first round following losses to Spain (4–0) and Egypt (3–4) and a draw with Ireland (1–1).

1993 Copa America

In the 1993 Copa América, held in Ecuador, Colombia finished third overall. After topping Group C with a 2–1 win over Mexico and draws with Bolivia (1–1) and Argentina (1–1), Colombia defeated Uruguay 1–1 (5–3 on penalties) before losing 0–0 (6–5 on penalties) to Argentina in the semi-final, the eventual tournament winners. In the match for third place, Colombia defeated hosts Ecuador 1–0 to claim third place. Asprilla did not score in the tournament.

1994 FIFA World Cup

Asprilla was part of the Colombian team which demolished Argentina 5–0 in a World Cup Qualifier match in Buenos Aires in 1993, where Asprilla scored twice. Colombia finished undefeated in the South American qualifying group. Entering the 1994 World Cup, there were high expectations for Colombia as a dark horse favourite to win the tournament with a squad that included such notable players as Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincón and Asprilla. However, with one win and two losses, Colombia finished at the bottom of their group and was eliminated after the first round. Asprilla himself had a disappointing tournament, failing to score, and even walked out on his teammates midway through the group stage.

1995 Copa América

In the 1995 Copa América, held and won by Uruguay, Colombia again finished third. Colombia started out by finishing third in Group B with a 1–1 draw with Peru (Asprilla scored the goal), a 1–0 win over Ecuador and a 0–3 loss to Brazil. The nation then went on to defeat Paraguay 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the quarter-finals before losing to Uruguay 2–0 in the semi-final. In the third place match, Colombia faced the United States, which Colombia easily defeated 4–1 with Asprilla scoring one of the Colombians' four goals in the match.

1998 FIFA World Cup

In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, held in France, expectations were again high for Colombia and Asprilla remained in the team. However, again Colombia was eliminated in the first round following one win and two losses. Asprilla was dismissed from the team after complaining to reporters about the head coach's decision to substitute him near the end of Colombia's opening loss against Romania.

In 2001, at age 32, Asprilla retired from international football.

International goals

Scores and results lists Colombia's goal tally first.^[15]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Final	Competition
1.	6 June 1993	Estadio Nemesio Camacho, Bogotá, Colombia	Chile	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	5 September 1993	Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	2–0	5–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.				4–0
4.	7 July 1995	Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera, Rivera, Uruguay	Peru	1–0	1–1	1995 Copa América
5.	22 July 1995	Estadio Domingo Burgueño, Maldonado, Uruguay	United States	3–0	4–1
6.	28 March 1996	Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia	Bolivia	3–1	4–1	Friendly
7.	24 April 1996	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Paraguay	1–0	1–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	29 May 1996	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Scotland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
9.	7 July 1996	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Uruguay	1–0	3–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	1 September 1996		Chile	1–0	4–1
11.				2–0
12.				4–0
13.	9 October 1996	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	1–0	1–0
14.	8 February 1997	Estadio Hernán Ramírez Villegas, Pereira, Colombia	Slovakia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
15.	20 August 1997	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Bolivia	3–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.	9 February 1999	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Germany	1–0	3–3	Friendly
17.				2–2
18.	17 June 1999	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Colombia	Peru	1–3	3–3
19.				2–3
20.	19 February 2000	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	United States	1–1	2–2	2000 Gold Cup

Club

^[20][21]

Club

Atlético Nacional

• Categoría Primera A: 1991
• Copa Interamericana: 1990

Parma

• Coppa Italia: 1998–99
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1992–93
• European Super Cup: 1993
• UEFA Cup: 1994–95, 1998–99

Palmeiras

• Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 2000
• Brazilian Champions Cup: 2000