The world’s dirtiest footballer!
Carl Worswick, an experienced football journalist and TV presenter, living in Bogota, Colombia, is no stranger to the legacy of Gerardo Bedoya, who is listed as being the world’s dirtiest footballer of all-time! Joking perhaps, it is said that when Carl appears on TV, he usually has a red card in his pocket and wears a pair of shin pads due to Bedoya's reputation.
During his career which started in 1993 and ended five years ago, 44 year-old Bedoya received 46 red cards, more than any other player in football history.
And since retiring he has received two more whilst sitting on the bench as a coach and then as an assistant-manager. His longest ban as player lasted for 15 matches.
Known as 'The General' and 'The Beast', Bedoya, in fact, was a decent footballer. He simply had an explosive personality and when he saw ‘red’ he couldn't control himself. He didn’t just take a breather or a step back, he often piled in gave his opponent something else to think about.
Born in Ebejico in 1975, he played for no less than 13 different clubs in Central and South America, and in 2001 helped Racing Club Argentina win the Apertura League title for the first time in 35 years. In this same season he also helped Colombia
win the Copa America. Indeed, he scored a brilliant goal from outside the penalty area in the semi-final win over Honduras before playing a blinder in the final when Mexico were defeated 1-0. In 2012, he won the Colombian League championship with Independiente Santa Fe, ending a 37-year wait for the title. The fans of Racing Club and Santa Fe loved Bedoya because he was a player who would always go full-blooded into a tackles, giving 100 per-cent everytime.
Bedoya, who made over 650 club appearances and gained 49 caps for Colombia (5 goals scored), won three League titles with Deportivo Cali and received no less than 14 red cards when Cali lifted the trophy in 1997-98.
He was also shown five ‘reds’ playing for Racing, seven with FC Millonarios and eight with Santa Fe.
For many outside of Colombia, Bedoya will always be the football statistic, one backed up by internet clips of tough tackles and reckless off-the-ball incidents.
However, for the fans of Racing and Santa Fe especially, along with his former team-mates, he will be thought of well beyond those moments. Millonarios winger Omar Vasquez often roomed with his compatriot before matchdays and he said: "Gerardo was a winner, a history maker who played for and won titles with the best teams in Argentina as well as Colombia.” Vasquez, who had the privilege of sharing a dressing room with Bedoya, added: “With somebody who achieved great things in his career. I enjoyed being in his company a lot and I have loads of good memories.
"He was a strong leader and somebody who fought for every ball. He would command the team.
"He was a sensitive guy who would always help others. It might seem contradictory, but off the pitch he's a friendly guy, a person with a big, noble heart."
NB: Not a single player in the game today realistically has a chance of eclipsing Bedoya’s unwanted record of 46 red cards. The closest is the Real Madrid and Spanish defender Sergio Ramos who so far has seen ‘red’ 26 times and his career, in truth, is nearing an end.