Popularly known as Principito (Spanish for Little Prince),[4][5] Guardado came through the youth ranks at
Atlas, making his professional debut in 2005 before signing with Spain's
Deportivo two years later, where he spent five seasons. In 2012 he joined
Valencia, with brief loan stints at
Bayer Leverkusen and
PSV, before permanently joining the latter club in 2015 and winning two
Eredivisie titles and two
Johan Cruyff Shield titles. He returned to Spain two years later with
Real Betis, where he won a
Copa del Rey and made 218 appearances before returning to his native Mexico in 2024.
Born in
Guadalajara,
Jalisco, to Andrés Manuel and Teresa (née Hernández),[8] Guardado began playing professionally for local side
Atlas, joining the team's youth system at the age of seven and going on to appear in two full
Primera División seasons. He made his league debut on 20 August 2005, in a 3–2 home win against
C.F. Pachuca,[4] and on 15 October, scored his first goal against
Tigres UANL in a 2–1 away victory.[9][10] At the end of
the tournament, he was voted best rookie.[11]
On 19 August 2006, Guardado scored his first professional brace against
Club América in a 2–0 home victory, both of them being long-range shots from outside the box.[12] His performances in his second season led him to win back-to-back (
Apertura and
Clausura) awards for best full-back.[13]
In the summer of 2006, press speculation linked Guardado to several
Serie A teams[14] as well as
Real Madrid,[15] but
Deportivo de La Coruña moved quickly and made an offer of
€7 million for 75% of his rights. An offer was accepted and the transfer was finalised on 7 July 2007, making him the most expensive ever Mexican player at the time; Atlas retained a 25% sell-on-fee as long as it held the remaining 25% of his rights.[16]
Guardado played his final match at the
Estadio Jalisco in a
friendly against the
Argentine champions
San Lorenzo de Almagro, featuring 30 minutes. At half-time, he was awarded the club's highest honor, the Athletic Excellence Award.[17]
Deportivo
Guardado was officially introduced on 24 July 2007, with the Spanish team giving him the number 18 shirt.[18] He made his
La Liga debut on 26 August in a 3–0 home loss to
UD Almería[19] and on 16 September scored his first goal against
Real Betis, attacking a long throw-in at the back post, in which his attempt was described as "
karate style" finish, in a 1–0 victory.[20][21] He finished
his first season with 26 games and five goals as Depor finished in ninth position, eventually
qualifying to the
UEFA Intertoto Cup – and
the subsequentUEFA Cup, where he scored in a 3–0 group stage home win over
Feyenoord;[22] he was voted by fans as the best player.[23]
Halfway through
his second year, fans chose Guardado as the best player of 2008.[24] Coach
Miguel Ángel Lotina stated that he was a key player for Deportivo, and admired his talent and character.[25] He solidified himself as first choice, providing several
assists and being charged with
set pieces; he was also hampered by several injuries, however.[26][27]
On 20 September 2010, Guardado scored a brace within seven minutes of each other, both
penalties, in a 2–2 draw against
Getafe CF.[28] On 15 May 2011, he made his 100th La Liga appearance in a scoreless draw at
FC Barcelona, the third Mexican to achieve this feat behind
Rafael Márquez and
Hugo Sánchez.[29] He only managed to take part in 20 matches in
2010–11, and the
Galicians were relegated to
Segunda División after 20 years.[30]
In January 2012, Guardado was voted by fans as the best player of the previous year.[31] On 27 March 2012 he confirmed that he would leave the
Estadio Riazor on 30 June,[32] and contributed career-bests of 11 goals and 12 assists as his team returned to the top level as champions.[33][34] At the end of
the campaign he was again voted by fans as best player,[35] and was also named the competition's best
attacking midfielder;[36] additionally, he eventually surpassed
Juan Carlos Valerón as the highest provider of assists.[37]
Guardado scored his first goal for the Che on 12 May 2013, contributing to a 4–0 rout at
Rayo Vallecano,[45] and he featured mostly in the backline the following months. On 30 January 2014,
Bundesliga club
Bayer 04 Leverkusen announced that they had signed him on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to buy afterwards.[46] He made his debut on 2 February in a
1–0 loss against
1. FC Kaiserslautern for the
DFB-Pokal, playing as a left
wing-back.[47]
For
2014–15, still owned by Valencia, Guardado joined
PSV Eindhoven,[51] who had previously attempted purchasing him in 2007.[52] He made his
Eredivisie debut on 31 August 2014 against
Vitesse Arnhem at
Philips Stadion.[53] He managed to wear the
captain's armband within his first months,[54] won the Player of the Month award for November,[55] and on 7 March of the following year he scored his first goal for his new club, contributing to a 3–0 away victory over
Go Ahead Eagles.[56]
On 15 March 2015, prior to the match against
FC Groningen and amidst rumours of a transfer to
AFC Ajax,[57] PSV fans displayed a Mexican flag
tifo and a banner in Spanish which read "Andrés Guardado, our Golden Mexican Eagle. He has to stay in PSV Eindhoven. Our house is your house, Andrés".[58] On 27 March, PSV announced that they had reached a deal with Valencia over a permanent transfer, for an undisclosed fee and three years.[59]
At the start of
the following campaign, Guardado came on as a 74th-minute substitute in the
Johan Cruyff Shield match against Groningen, winning 3–0.[64] He contributed 25 appearances to help the side successfully defend their title,[65] finishing with nine assists as the team's second-highest provider.[49] He played a pivotal part as they qualified to the
Champions League round of 16 for the first time since the
2006–07 edition,[66][67] and was also listed on Football Oranje's team of the season.[68]
On 31 July 2016, Guardado was in the starting eleven against
Feyenoord, who were
defeated 1–0 in the
Johan Cruyff Shield.[69] On 14 May 2017, he made his 100th competitive appearance for the club in a 4–1 victory over
PEC Zwolle.[70]
Real Betis
Despite rumors linking him to a possible move to
Major League Soccer clubs
Atlanta United and
Los Angeles FC,[71] it was announced on 27 July 2017 that Spanish club
Real Betis had signed Guardado for a reported €2.3 million on a three-year deal.[72] The following month he was named their co-captain,[73] and on 20 August he made his competitive debut, playing all 90 minutes in a 2–0 loss to Barcelona.[74] He scored his first goal on 25 November, in a 2–2 home draw against
Girona FC.[75]
In December 2019, the 33-year-old Guardado renewed his contract until 2022.[76] On 4 July 2020 he made his 100th official appearance for the
Andalusians, captaining the side in their 1–1 league draw to
RC Celta de Vigo[77] and becoming the first Mexican to reach that mark for three European clubs in the process.[78] On 11 July, he picked up a hamstring injury in a 1–0 league loss to
Atlético Madrid, causing him to miss the rest of
the season.[79]
Following an absence as a result of the hamstring injury, Guardado played his first match of the
2020–21 season against Valencia on 3 October, coming on as a stoppage time substitute in a 2–0 away league victory,[80][81] marking it as his 14th season in Europe and becoming the Mexican with most seasons in Europe, surpassing
Hugo Sánchez's record of 13.[82] On 17 January 2021, after recovering for nearly two weeks from
COVID-19,[83][84] Guardado returned to the field, coming on as a second-half substitute in the
Copa del Rey round of 32 match against
Sporting de Gijón, winning 2–0.[85]
On 11 January 2022, following his appearance in the league match against
Rayo Vallecano, Guardado became the Mexican player with the most games in Europe with 496, surpassing the record held by Hugo Sánchez.[86] He reached the 500 game mark on 13 February in the 4–2 victory over
Levante.[87] The following month, it was announced that the 35-year-old Guardado had extended his contract with Real Betis for one more season.[88] On 23 April, in the
Spanish Cup final against Valencia, Guardado came on as a substitute in
extra time in a 1–1 draw that went into penalties, successfully converting his shot as his team won the cup.[89]
Following the retirement of
Joaquín, Guardado was named main captain of the team for the
2023–24 season.[90] On 21 October, coming on as a substitute against Getafe FC in a 1–1 draw, he made his 208th appearance for the club, making him the club's top non-European with most appearances, surpassing that of Brazilian footballer
Denílson.[91]
León
On 18 January 2024, Guardado and Real Betis parted ways by mutual agreement.[92] On the same day, Guardado joined
Liga MX club
León, marking his return to México.[93] On 27 January, Guardado made his debut with León coming on as a substitute and being given the captain's armband in a 3–2 victory over
Santos Laguna.[94]
Guardado's first game under the new manager was an exhibition game against the
United States on 7 February 2007, where he came on as a substitute in a 0–2 defeat.[102] On 28 February, in a friendly with
Venezuela, he scored his first international goal in Mexico's 3–1 victory.[103]
In
the final of the
2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup,[104] Guardado scored the opening goal against the United States. During the second half he collided head-on with
Jonathan Spector while both attempted to head the ball, but recovered to play the rest of the match, which ended in a 2–1 loss;[105] he was listed as an Honorable Mention for the competition's All-Tournament Team.[106] He also participated in
that year's
Copa América,[104] scoring the third goal against
Uruguay in the third-place match.[107]
Javier Aguirre included Guardado in the roster for the
2010 World Cup.[108] He assisted
Rafael Márquez in the opening game of the World Cup against hosts
South Africa, in a 1–1 draw.[109] An expected starter, he lacked playing time[110] and appeared in three out of four games, in another last-16 exit at the hands of Argentina.[111]
In May 2011, Guardado was called up by
José Manuel de la Torre for the
2011 Gold Cup.[112] He scored his first brace with the national team during that tournament, in a 4–1 win over
Costa Rica on 12 June.[113] He found the net again in
the final in a 4–2 victory over the United States, as Mexico retained the trophy.[114][115]
Guardado made the squad for the
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.[116] As El Tri failed to progress from the group stage, he played all three matches.[117]
On 5 March 2014, Guardado made his
100th appearance for Mexico in a friendly with
Nigeria.[118][119] Selected by
Miguel Herrera for the
2014 World Cup in Brazil,[120] he started all the games as a left midfielder, and scored in the last group phase fixture, a 3–1 win against
Croatia.[121] Mexico faced the
Netherlands in the
round of 16, being
controversially eliminated after succumbing to a 2–1 defeat.[122] Following the end of the tournament, Herrera declared that Guardado would captain the following September friendlies with
Chile and
Bolivia, in instances when actual captain Rafael Márquez was absent.[123][124]
At the
2015 Gold Cup,[125] Guardado's first tournament as captain,[126] he scored six times en route to the title;[127] the first being a first-half effort in a 6–0 demolition of
Cuba in the group stage,[128] the second in a 4–4 draw against
Trinidad and Tobago,[129] and his third via penalty kick in the last minute of stoppage time in the 1–0 quarter-final victory against Costa Rica.[130] In the semi-finals with
Panama, he scored twice from the penalty spot to help El Tri come from behind and win 2–1[131][132] and, in
the decisive match against
Jamaica, scored the opener in an eventual 3–1 victory,[133] becoming the first player to score in three Gold Cup finals, and subsequently won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament's best player.[134] He was also called up by then interim-manager
Ricardo Ferretti for the subsequent
CONCACAF Cup – a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup – against the United States, which Mexico won 3–2.[135]
Picked for the
Copa América Centenario squad by
Juan Carlos Osorio,[136] Guardado provided a cross in the opening fixture against Uruguay that led to an own goal in an eventual 3–1 victory, but was also sent off for two bookable offences.[137][138] He took part in a further two games, including the team's 7–0 quarter-final defeat to
Chile.[139]
Guardado also made the final list for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia,[140] where he appeared as captain in the group stage fixtures against
Portugal and
Russia, picking up a yellow card on both occasions and thus missing the semi-final match against
Germany.[141] He returned to the lineup in the third-place playoff, a 2–1 loss to Portugal.[142]
Following an injury scare that required medical intervention that was picked up while playing with Betis,[143] Guardado was selected in the final 23-man squad for the
2018 World Cup,[144] his first as captain.[145] In the first match, he played 74 minutes in a 1–0 defeat of Germany,[146] going on to take part in all the fixtures including the round of 16 loss with
Brazil.[147] Following their elimination, it was reported by Mexican sports newspaper Récord that he had played through the tournament with a muscle injury.[148]
Guardado was called up by
Gerardo Martino to participate in the
2019 Gold Cup.[149] In the second
group match against
Canada, he replaced the injured
Érick Gutiérrez at the 37th minute and scored twice, helping to a 3–1 win and being named
Player of the match.[150] He broke various
CONCACAF-based records at the end of that stage, among them the most-capped Mexican player in the Gold Cup and the only from the country to score in four editions of the
CONCACAF Gold Cup,[151] eventually winning the competition and being included in the Best XI.[152]
In November 2022, Guardado was included in Mexico's 26-man squad for the
World Cup.[153] In a friendly match against
Sweden prior to the World Cup, Guardado made his 178th appearance for Mexico as a half-time substitute, and became the most capped player in the history of the national side, surpassing
Claudio Suárez.[154] He made his only appearance in the
group stage match against Argentina appearing as captain, he was brought off before the end of the first half due to a pulled muscle as Mexico lost 2–0.[155]
On 16 May 2023, Guardado officially announced his decision to retire from the national team.[156]
Style of play
Guardado started his career as a
winger at Atlas, occasionally playing as a
left-back.[157] He was mainly deployed in the former position at Deportivo by
Miguel Ángel Lotina,[158] and changed to the latter after moving to Valencia.[43] When played as a winger, he was an incisive and quick footballer, known to play deep into the field, take on defenders one-on-one and provide accurate crosses, managing to score for both club and country.[158][159]
"[H]e will surely be the best footballer I have trained and that I am going to train [...] He is a footballer with many merits. Not only in his conditions, but in what he creates. When everyone else stops, he keeps on going."
A creative player with excellent vision,[164][174] Guardado is also a technically proficient player known for establishing the tempo of his team.[168][175] He also has good passing and
dribbling skills, also being proficient at
free kicks, penalties and holding up the ball. He also possesses a powerful and accurate shot from distance, and is also capable of aiding his team defensively due to his
work rate and stamina;[171][176][177][178] additionally, he was described as playing closer to the "Iberian midfielder archetype," focused on possession in the center of the field, winning the ball back with smart positioning instead of tackles and then pushing it forward.[150]
Guardado has cited his compatriot and national teammate
Rafael Márquez as an influence in his playing style and leadership.[179][180][181][182]
Personal life
Guardado married fellow Guadalajara native Briana Morales in December 2006. Five years later, they divorced.[8]
Guardado is an "honorary associate" of the Asociación Mexicana de Futbolistas (Mexican Footballers Association), created in October 2017. An association that its main goal is, according to him, to "create a dialogue with league, federation and club authorities" with the domestic footballers.[183][184]
Much of Guardado's first year at Betis'
Estadio Benito Villamarín was captured in the
Amazon Prime television documentary series Six Dreams, in which he was one of the stars.[185]
On 1 January 2021, it was reported that Guardado tested positive for
COVID-19.[83] By 13 January, he recovered.[84]
^"Comunicado oficial" [Official announcement] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 28 May 2012. Archived from
the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
^Fernández, Guillermo (14 January 2013).
"Guardado, el lateral perfecto" [Guardado, the perfect full back] (in Spanish). Fútbol Pasión. Archived from
the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
^Siguero, Santiago (12 May 2013).
"Paseo matinal en Vallecas" [Morning walk in Vallecas]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
^
abCarpio, Collin (15 June 2016).
"On the spot: Andrés Guardado". The Center Circle - A Soccerpro Soccer Fan Blog. Soccer Pro. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^Ramos, Rafa (22 July 2015).
"México y Guardado mandan en Copa Oro" [Mexico and Guardado rule the Gold Cup] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
^Medina, Paulo (28 June 2017).
"¿Qué pierde México sin Andrés Guardado?" [What are Mexico missing without Andrés Guardado?] (in Spanish). Goal. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
^Jennings, Patrick (2 July 2018).
"Brazil 2–0 Mexico". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^Ponce de León, Carlos (5 July 2018).
"Andrés Guardado jugó infiltrado el Mundial" [Andrés Guardado played through pain in World Cup]. Récord (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 December 2019.
^Blumrosen Juárez, Daniel (30 May 2014).
"Donde me pongan seré feliz: Guardado" [Wherever they play me I'll be happy: Guardado]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
^
ab"Guardado's mixed memories and enduring dream". FIFA. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019. I used to be more of a box-to-box player, who took people on and got on the end of moves. Now, I'm a central midfielder and hold my position more; I bring balance to the team.
^"Andres GUARDADO". FIFA. Archived from
the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019. The midfielder began his career stationed on the left flank, where he got himself noticed with his speed and long-range shooting skills. As his career developed, he shifted to central midfield and now performs more defensive duties.