Juan Cuadrado is one of the best players who play for Italian giants Juventus. He often becomes the coach’s choice every time the team meets the deadlocked. His swift movement during the game makes Cuadrado much feared by the opponents.
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello, born on May 26, 1988, in Necocli, Colombia. Cuadrado was born to a poor family with all their limitations. Apart from living in a low-class family, he also lived in an area that had a high crime rate.
His father who was a truck driver and his mother who worked as a housemaid really couldn’t afford all of Cuadrado’s needs.
Cuadrado grew to be a kid who played football as his hobby. He often played barefoot on dirty streets. Even so, Cuadrado still enjoyed such a simple hobby. After school, he did not even go home immediately which sometimes made his grandmother furious.
“I drove him to school but he used to go home in dirty clothes because of playing football. I punished and beat him because of the chaos he made,” recalled his grandmother.
Living a difficult life in an area full of drugs dealer made little Cuadrado unhappy.
There was even a terrible experience that he would never forget. It was the miserable death of his own father. Cases of violence between drug gangs were very common at that time. Bad memories approached Cuadrado when he was four.
His father, Guillermo Cuadrado, was killed after being shot by a group of gunmen who visited his house. The incident was right in front of Cuadrado’s eyes before he was finally ordered by his mother to hide under the bed.
Since then, his life was getting harder. Cuadrado must struggle to help his mother to earn money.
His mother also sold bananas with Cuadrado who helped on packing them to get extra money.
His mother said that after the tragedy which happened to Cuadrado’s father, his son grew to be a tough person.
“The death of his father made him grew faster,” said Mrs. Cuadrado, as reported by the Mirror.
Enjoying football since childhood, Cuadrado tried to find his luck through football. Starting his career in the streets with his friends, Cuadrado became the most prominent figure among the others.
Until finally when Cuadrado was 13 years old, the miracle came to him. He joined Athletico Uraba. Having played as an attacker, Cuadrado finally played as a wing as his coach’s recommendation at that time.
With Athletico Uraba, Cuadrado’s talent was growing. His confidence which continuously grew stronger gave him a good result. He became a potential footballer who was considered capable of competing on the world stage.
His impressive performance captivated the Independiente Medellin club which later gave him his professional debut match in the Colombian first division in 2008, against Boyaca Chico. In that match, he managed to score his first goal. He only lasted one year in the club before the Italian Serie A club, Udinese, came to make a contract with him.
After undergoing a season that was not too smooth with Udinese, Cuadrado again found his sharpness at Fiorentina. Cuadrado was able to display his trademark game with his speed and amazing skills. His amazing skill on the match made the Italians nicknamed him La Vespa.
The 2013/14 season might be Cuadrado’s best season as he managed to score 15 goals for La Viola, though he never scored more than five goals in the previous season.
He also performed brilliantly in the 2014 World Cup.
Cuadrado became one of the most shining players in the Colombian national team at the 2014 World Cup. He drove his team through the quarter-finals for the first time in their history of participation in the four-year tournament.
After staying in London with Chelsea at once, Cuadrado was officially wearing a Juventus uniform. Along with the Old Lady, the player who has incredible speed successfully lifted the Serie A and Coppa Italia trophies.
Football really changed the fate of Cuadrado. His mother also admitted to being happy with what her child had achieved.
“When I found out Cuadrado was a successful football player, I felt like I was the happiest mother in the world.”
The tragedy happened to his father had built Cuadrado’s mentality to always be a formidable player who never gives up.
