Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello (born 26 May 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Atalanta and the Colombia national team.
In February 2015, he was signed by Chelsea, but after playing sparingly, was loaned to Juventus for consecutive seasons, where he won successive Serie A and Coppa Italia titles.
[7] Born in Necoclí, Cuadrado first form of football development wasn't until his mother suggested him the idea at the age of 12, joining Manchester F.C.
He later had a brief spell at Colombian second division club Rionegro, where he languished on the bench under coach Víctor González Scott, but his potential was later recognized by manager Juan José Peláez of Independiente Medellín.
On 16 June 2014, amid media speculation of a move to a larger club by the player, Fiorentina agreed a deal to purchase full ownership of Cuadrado's contract from Udinese, for an additional €12 million.
[26] On 3 May, Cuadrado made his only third start since his move to Chelsea, in the London derby match against Crystal Palace, as Ramires was taken ill before the game.
[33] On 31 October, Cuadrado scored his first Juventus goal against Torino to secure a 2–1 win in extra time at the end of the Derby della Mole.
[35] On 21 May, he came off the bench to set-up Álvaro Morata's match-winning goal against Milan in the 110th minute of extra time of the 2016 Coppa Italia final, in Rome's Stadio Olimpico; Juventus' 1–0 victory enabled the club to secure the domestic double for the second consecutive season.
[39] On 22 May 2017, it was announced that Cuadrado had joined Juventus on a permanent deal for a preset price of €20 million until 2020, after a clause in his contract had been triggered (winning the Serie A mathematically in round 37).
[32] On 21 September 2019, Cuadrado made his 100th Serie A appearance with Juventus in a 2–1 home win over Verona, during which he won a penalty which was converted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
[58] After being transferred to Udinese, Cuadrado received his first call-up to the Colombia national team, as well as a spot in the starting XI in a match against Venezuela on 3 September 2010, scoring the opening goal of a 2–0 victory at the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz.
[63] Cuadrado played every minute of Colombia's run to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Copa América in Chile, and scored in their penalty shootout defeat against Argentina.
[64] On 13 October 2015, Cuadrado was sent off at the end of Colombia's 3–0 loss away against Uruguay in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, for elbowing Diego Rolán.
[66] In the FIFA World Cup 2018, Cuadrado played all four games as Colombia reached the knock-out stage, where they lost to England on penalties in the round of 16.
[71] He made his 100th cap for Colombia on 7 July, in the semi-final match against Argentina which his side lost on penalties; he became the fifth Colombian player to enter the FIFA Century Club.
[73] Cuadrado is known for his direct, offensive style of play along the right flank, and is capable of both scoring goals himself, courtesy of his striking ability from distance, as well as creating goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.
He often utilises his speed, flair, and technical skills to beat opponents in one on one situations and create space and time for him to shoot on goal, or deliver crosses to strikers in the area.
Due to his playing style, which frequently involves taking on full-backs on the flank, and subsequently running towards the touch-line to deliver balls into the area, he has been labelled one of the few "traditional" wide midfielders in the current game.
[39][74][75][76][77][78][79][80] Tim Vickery, a reporter on South American football, stated that as Colombia's defensive players played near the goal in order to cover for veteran centre-back Mario Yepes, Cuadrado's pace, agility, creativity and dribbling ability on the right wing moved the team forward at the 2014 World Cup.
[82] A versatile player, he is also capable of playing on the left, a position which allows him to cut into the middle and shoot on goal with his stronger, right foot.
[91] In 2017, Mina Rzouki of ESPN FC noted that "Cuadrado has yet to learn the art of making decisive runs on a consistent basis.
[94] His mother, who solely supported them working at a banana distributor, stated in an interview that Cuadrado had to be a perfect student in order to be able to play football.