Ariel Ortega

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Silver medal	1996 Atlanta	Football Men's Team Competition

Ariel Arnaldo Ortega (born March 4, 1974 in Libertador General San Martín, Jujuy) is an Argentinian footballer, who currently plays for Club Atlético River Plate. His nickname is El Burrito ("The Little Donkey"), thus called Burrito Ortega.

Ortega's previous clubs have included Fenerbahçe, Parma A.C., U.C. Sampdoria, Valencia C.F., and River Plate. He has been capped 89 times for the Argentinian national team, scoring 17 goals (as of the end of 2004). Ortega played for his country in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cups. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He is widely recognised for his blinding pace and outstanding ability from dead ball situations, but most of all for his incredible dribbling ability. At his prime he was one of the best dribblers in the world, gaining comparisons with the likes of Denilson and Luis Figo.

Along with his skills, Ortega is infamously temperamental. During the 1998 World Cup, in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, Ortega received a red card for headbutting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after van der Sar confronted him on the his play-acting attempt to draw a penalty[link]. Shortly after Ortega's sending off, Dennis Bergkamp scored the winning goal to make it 2-1, eliminating Argentina.

Due to his volatility, Ortega never remained at one club for an extended period of time. After he resigned his contract with Fenerbahce on 2003, he was suspended by the FIFA, and not allowed to step on a soccer field for about one year and a half. While he was trying to deal with the situation he asked many times about the possibility of playing for free in River Plate. However, his petition was denied, and in 2004, when he finally could come back to soccer, he went to Newell's Old Boys, as he was called by his friend Américo Gallego, who at that time was Newell's' coach. Together, they won the Apertura 2004. As of the 26 of June he will play again for his first team River Plate

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