View source for Ariel Ortega

{{short description|Argentine footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Ariel Ortega
| image = Ariel Ortega (cropped).jpg
| upright = 0.9
| caption = Ortega in 2013
| fullname = Arnaldo Ariel Ortega
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|3|4|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Libertador General San Martín, Jujuy|Ledesma]], [[Jujuy Province|Jujuy]], Argentina
| height = {{height|m=1.70}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cariverplate.com.ar/tplen.php?cat=en&url=ficha-jugador.php&id=99|title=Ariel Ortega|publisher=Club Atlético River Plate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124185126/http://www.cariverplate.com.ar/tplen.php?cat=en&url=ficha-jugador.php&id=99|archive-date=24 January 2007}}</ref>
| position = [[Attacking midfielder]], [[Winger (association football)|winger]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = 1988–1990
| youthclubs1 = [[:es:Club Atlético Ledesma|Atlético Ledesma]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ortega said: Gracias a la camiseta de River y a los hinchas|url=http://www.ole.com.ar/river-plate/futbol/titulo_0_608939220.html |publisher=Olé |language=es}}</ref>
| years1 = 1991–1996
| clubs1 = [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]
| caps1 = 134
| goals1 = 30
| years2 = 1997–1998
| clubs2 = [[Valencia CF|Valencia]]
| caps2 = 32
| goals2 = 9
| years3 = 1998–1999
| clubs3 = [[UC Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]
| caps3 = 27
| goals3 = 8
| years4 = 1999–2000
| clubs4 = [[Parma AC|Parma]]
| caps4 = 18
| goals4 = 3
| years5 = 2000–2002
| clubs5 = [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]
| caps5 = 56
| goals5 = 23
| years6 = 2002–2003
| clubs6 = [[Fenerbahçe S.K. (football)|Fenerbahçe]]
| caps6 = 14
| goals6 = 5
| years7 = 2004–2006
| clubs7 = [[Newell's Old Boys]]
| caps7 = 53
| goals7 = 11
| years8 = 2006–2012
| clubs8 = [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]
| caps8 = 82
| goals8 = 12
| years9 = 2008–2009
| clubs9 = → [[Club Sportivo Independiente Rivadavia|Independiente (Riv)]] (loan)
| caps9 = 25
| goals9 = 4
| clubs10 = → [[All Boys]] (loan)
| caps10 = 12
| goals10 = 0
| years10 = 2011
| clubs11 = → [[Defensores de Belgrano|Def. Belgrano]] (loan)
| caps11 = 27
| goals11 = 4
| years11 = 2011–2012
| totalcaps = 480
| totalgoals = 109
| nationalyears1 = 1993–2010
| nationalteam1 = [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]]
| nationalcaps1 = 88
| nationalgoals1 = 17
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|football]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{fb|ARG}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1995 Pan American Games|1995 Mar del Plata]]|[[Football at the 1995 Pan American Games|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta]]|[[Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
}}

'''Arnaldo Ariel Ortega''' (born 4 March 1974) is an Argentine former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as an [[attacking midfielder]]. His nickname is "El Burrito" (''The Little Donkey''), thus he is called '''''Burrito'' Ortega'''.

Ariel Ortega first played for [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]] on 14 December 1991 and until 1996 and returned in 2000–02, 2006–08 and 2009–11.<ref>[[:es:Ariel Ortega#Inicios]]</ref> Ortega also played for Spanish club [[Valencia CF|Valencia]], Turkish club [[Fenerbahçe S.K. (football)|Fenerbahçe]] and Italian clubs [[Parma AC|Parma]] and [[UC Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]. A former [[Argentina national football team|Argentina international]], Ortega played for his country in the [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]], [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]], and [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cups]]. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]].

==Club career==
===Beginnings in Argentina===
Ortega began his professional football career in 1991 with Argentine club [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]. With the club, he won the [[Primera División Argentina|Primera División]] in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1996, as well as the [[1996 Copa Libertadores|Copa Libertadores]] in 1996. He lost out on the [[1996 Intercontinental Cup|1996 Intercontinental Cup final]] to [[Juventus FC|Juventus]].

===Europe===
Ortega left Argentina in 1996. He played {{frac|1|1|2}} seasons for [[Valencia CF|Valencia]] before being signed by Sampdoria in 1998 for 23 billion [[Italian lire]] (£8 million),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1998/luglio/29/Ortega_alla_Samp_per_miliardi_ga_0_980729192.shtml|title=Ortega alla Samp per 23 miliardi, il Betis sonda Cesare Maldini|date=29 July 1998|access-date=4 May 2010|work=La Gazzetta dello Sport|last=Bartolozzi|first=Bruno|language=it}}</ref> replacing [[Juan Sebastián Verón]]. After the club was relegated to Serie B, Ortega joined [[Parma AC|Parma]], rejoining national and former club teammate [[Hernán Crespo]], replacing Verón again who left for Lazio. Parma paid Sampdoria 28 billion lire (£9.4 million).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1999/luglio/04/Ortega_affare_miliardi_co_0_9907041262.shtml|title=Ortega, un affare da 28 miliardi|date=4 July 1999|access-date=4 May 2010|last=Monti|first=Fabio|work=Corriere della Sera|language=it}}</ref> However, in the following season he returned to Argentina with [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]], to compensate the unpaid 12 billion lire transfer fees of Crespo (the 10% of the transfer fees to Lazio). [[Claudio Husaín]] also joined the club.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2000/agosto/10/Ortega_addio_Parma_Torna_River_ga_0_0008105910.shtml|title=Ortega dà l' addio al Parma Torna al River con Husain|date=10 August 2000|access-date=4 May 2010|last=Laudisa|first=Carlo|work=La Gazzetta dello Sport}}</ref> River Plate acquired 50% registration rights of Ortega for a reported 5.5 million dollars.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=28036|title=Ariel Ortega vuelve a River|date=9 August 2000|access-date=7 May 2010|work= La Nación|language=es}}</ref> While, in Parma annual filing to Italian government, Ortega was sold for eleven billion lire.<ref>AC Parma SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011 {{in lang|it}}, [http://www.registroimprese.it/ CCIAA] Archive (require login and purchase)</ref>

===Fenerbahçe and ban===
In May 2002, Fenerbahçe signed Ortega from River Plate for a fee of US$7,500,000 (US$2,500,000 of which was paid to Parma). Fenerbahçe also bought his image rights for a further US$1,500,000. Ortega signed a 4-year contract.<ref name=award>{{cite news|url=http://jurisprudence.tas-cas.org/sites/CaseLaw/Shared%20Documents/482.pdf |title=Arbitration CAS 2003/O/482 Ariel Ortega v/ Fenerbahçe & Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), award of 5 November 2002 |date=5 November 2002 |access-date=7 November 2009 |publisher=The Court of Arbitration for Sport |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728082032/http://jurisprudence.tas-cas.org/sites/CaseLaw/Shared%20Documents/482.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref> He was one of the key players of the team, scoring 5 goals in 14 matches.

Fenerbahçe were forced to file a complaint to FIFA in April 2003 as Ortega had failed to return from international duty since 12 February 2003.<ref name=award/> In June 2003 the FIFA Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) ordered Ortega to pay Fenerbahçe USD 11,000,000 as compensation for breach of an employment contract and suspended him until 30 December 2003.<ref name=award/> Ortega appealed to the [[Court of Arbitration for Sport]] in July 2003 but the case was dismissed on 5 November.<ref name=award/> Ortega served a 4-month suspension from that day.<ref name=award/> After the ban he was without a club.

===Return to Argentina===
In 2004, when he could finally come back to football, he joined [[Newell's Old Boys]] after he was called by his friend [[Américo Gallego]], who at the time was Newell's' coach. Newell paid an unknown sum to Fenerbahçe as part compensation for what Ortega owed the club. They won the [[2004-2005 in Argentine football|Apertura 2004]].

In June 2006, he went back to his first team [[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]], where he played for about half of the ''Apertura'' 2006,<ref>{{cite web|title=Tactical Formation|work=Football-Lineups.com
|url=http://www.football-lineups.com/players/player.php?route=4983 | access-date=26 January 2007}}</ref> before he stopped to begin treatment for [[alcoholism]]. In January 2007, during River's pre-season in [[Mar del Plata]], and one day after playing an excellent game in which he scored, he surprised everyone with another alcoholic episode, after which River Plate's doctors suggested to the coach that Ortega should go back to [[Buenos Aires]] to resume treatment for his problem.

Coach [[Daniel Passarella]] later brought Ortega back, stating he was ready for a comeback. On 15 March 2007, in a [[Copa Libertadores 2007]] match against [[LDU Quito]], Ortega formed part of River's bench but was not given a chance to play. However, three days later, in a league match versus Quilmes, he came on during the second half to help break the opposing team's defense in a tight 0–0 up to that point. Ortega scored a controversial goal with his hand, in the 93rd minute, to give River the victory and himself a great comeback.

Upon the arrival of [[Diego Simeone]] as head coach of River, Ortega allegedly lost some "protections" he was rumoured to have and, despite being an important part of the team that achieved the Clausura 2008 title, Simeone left him out of the squad for the upcoming season, reasoning his decision on Ortega having several times not come to train as well as some episodes of alcoholism.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ortega said: I will leave River|date=23 June 2008 |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/06/23/deportes/d-01401.htm |publisher=Clarín |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Aguilar forced Ortega and Simeone to an agreement|date=5 July 2008 |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/07/05/deportes/d-07501.htm |publisher=Clarín |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ortega is left out of River squad|date=August 2008 |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/08/01/um/m-01727899.htm |publisher=Clarín |language=es}}</ref> After some controversy<ref>{{Cite web|title=New scandal by Ariel Ortega |url=http://www.lanueva.com/edicion_impresa/nota/2/08/2008/882023.html |publisher=La Nueva |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524111803/http://www.lanueva.com/edicion_impresa/nota/2/08/2008/882023.html |archive-date=24 May 2011}}</ref> and rumours<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ariel Ortega is too close to UAE|date= 5 August 2008|url=https://espndeportes.espn.com/news/story?id=707940&s=arg&type=story |publisher=ESPN |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dallas FC aims on Ariel Ortega|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1032102 |publisher=La Nación |language=es}}</ref> in the winter window of Argentine market, he was loaned to Nacional B side [[Independiente Rivadavia]],<ref>{{Cite web |title= Ortega signs for Independiente Rivadavia|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1037038 |publisher=La Nación |language=es}}</ref> signing a one-year contract where a twice a week trip to a Chilean Special Treatment Center for alcoholics<ref>{{Cite news |title= Ortega signs for Independiente Rivadavia|publisher=La Nación |language=es}}</ref> is one of the clauses. On 1 May 2009 he was let go by Independiente officials. The club decided to terminate his contract in advance. Ortega was on loan from River Plate.
On his first game back in River Plate, 25 July 2009, he scored an outstanding chip shot goal to give River a 1–0 victory over [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] of England in Edmonton, Canada during the pre-season. In the 2009 Apertura, Ortega scored a wonder lobbed goal against Chacarita Juniors to give River Plate a 4–3 victory. Later in the tournament, he scored a last minute equalizer against Estudiantes.

In the 2010 Clausura, Ortega started River's first two matches, but suffered another alcoholic relapse and missed the next ten games before returning against Newell's Old Boys in the 13th round of matches.

In 2011, he was loaned to Defensores de Belgrano.

On 8 April 2012, [[Fox Sports|Fox Sports Argentina]] journalist Juan José Buscalia, confirmed that Ortega would join [[Chilean Primera División]] club [[Unión San Felipe]] in June 2012.

==International career==
Ortega was included in the squad for [[1994 FIFA World Cup|the 1994 World Cup]]. His debut in the starting eleven occurred on 3 July 1994 when Argentina was knocked out of the competition by [[Romania national football team|Romania]]. He also reached the final of the [[1995 King Fahd Cup]] with Argentina, and he won a Silver Olympic medal at the [[Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|1996 Olympics]] in Atlanta.

Ortega was handed the number 10 shirt for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]], where he was expected to carry the mantle of the team's [[playmaker]], and it was his first World Cup as an established star. Despite impressing in the early rounds to be considered a favorite as player of the tournament, Ortega was most notable for his sending-off in the quarter-finals against [[Netherlands national football team|the Netherlands]]. Ortega received a second yellow card for head-butting Dutch goalkeeper [[Edwin van der Sar]] when van der Sar confronted him after a dive in the penalty area, for which Ortega was just getting his first yellow card. Shortly after Ortega's sending-off, [[Dennis Bergkamp]] scored the winning goal to make it 2–1, eliminating Argentina.

Ortega was also a member of the squad for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]]. Ortega missed a penalty in the last match against [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]], which was then followed up and converted into the back of the net by Hernan Crespo, nonetheless the result meant that Argentina was knocked out in the first round.

On 24 September 2009, he was recalled to the [[Argentina national football team|Argentina national]] first-team squad,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=679367&sec=worldcup&cc=5901|title=Ortega returns to Argentina squad after six years|date=25 September 2009|publisher=Espnsoccernet.com|access-date=27 September 2009|archive-date=19 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019171823/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=679367&sec=worldcup&cc=5901|url-status=dead}}</ref> but had to miss the friendly match against Ghana due to an injury he picked up during the weekend in the Argentine Domestic League.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10199:maradona-dio-la-lista-para-enfrentar-a-ghana&catid=164:seleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |title=La Selección se entrenará hoy y mañana por la tarde |date=28 September 2009 |publisher=AFA |language=es |access-date=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029074543/http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10199%3Amaradona-dio-la-lista-para-enfrentar-a-ghana&catid=164%3Aseleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2010, 17 years after his Argentina debut, Ortega received a call-up again, this time against [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11625:diego-maradona-dio-la-lista-para-el-amistoso-ante-haiti&catid=164:seleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |title=Diego Maradona dio la lista para el amistoso ante Haití |date=27 April 2010 |access-date=28 April 2010 |work=AFA |language=es |location=Buenos Aires |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513060928/http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11625%3Adiego-maradona-dio-la-lista-para-el-amistoso-ante-haiti&catid=164%3Aseleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |archive-date=13 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> All the players in [[Diego Maradona]]'s squad were from the [[Primera División Argentina]]. He played the match as starting XI on 5 May.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11697:argentina-esta-igualando-con-haiti-0-0&catid=164:seleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |title=La Selección Argentina derrotó a Haití |date=5 May 2010 |access-date=6 May 2010 |location=Buenos Aires |work=AFA |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613220037/http://www.afa.org.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11697%3Aargentina-esta-igualando-con-haiti-0-0&catid=164%3Aseleccion-mayor&Itemid=66 |archive-date=13 June 2010}}</ref>

==Style of play==
A highly creative player with excellent technical ability, Ortega was well known for his pace, mobility, [[Dribbling#Association football|dribbling]], and skills from [[Free kick (association football)|dead ball situations]], as well as his ball trickery, clever body [[Dummy (football)|feints]], and lobbed shots. At his prime he was regarded as one of the best dribblers in the world; primarily deployed as an [[attacking midfielder]], Ortega was an effective [[playmaker]] due to his vision and passing ability, which earned him [[New Maradona|comparisons]] with [[Diego Maradona|Maradona]] as a youth. Along with his skills, Ortega was infamously temperamental, and he was criticised throughout his career for not living up to his potential.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mora|first1=Marcela|title=Ariel Ortega - just an ordinary genius|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/jan/18/europeanfootball.sport|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 January 2007|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Copa Argentina]], [[Copa del Rey]], [[Coppa Italia]]}}
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals !! Apps !! Goals
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[Club Atlético River Plate|River Plate]]
|[[1991–92 in Argentine football|1991–92]]
|rowspan="6"|[[Argentine Primera División|Primera División]]
|14||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||14||1
|-
|[[1992–93 in Argentine football|1992–93]]
|27||5||colspan="2"|–||7||1||colspan="2"|–||34||6
|-
|[[1993–94 in Argentine football|1993–94]]
|29||4||colspan="2"|–||4||0||7{{efn|Appearance in [[Copa Centenario de la AFA]]}}||3{{efn|Goals in [[Copa Centenario de la AFA]]}}||40||8
|-
|[[1994–95 in Argentine football|1994–95]]
|25||7||colspan="2"|–||8||1||colspan="2"|–||33||8
|-
|[[1995–96 in Argentine football|1995–96]]
|23||7||colspan="2"|–||22||3||colspan="2"|–||45||10
|-
|[[1996–97 in Argentine football|1996–97]]
|16||6||colspan="2"|–||3||0||colspan="2"|–||19||6
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!134!!30!!colspan="2"|—!!44!!5!!7!!3!!185!!39
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Valencia CF|Valencia]]
|[[1996–97 Valencia CF season|1996–97]]<ref name="LFP">{{cite web|url=http://www.lfp.es/Default.aspx?tabid=113&Controltype=plan|title=Historical Data|access-date=7 November 2009|publisher=LFP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201033014/http://www.lfp.es/Default.aspx?tabid=113&Controltype=plan|archive-date=1 December 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|rowspan="2"|[[La Liga]]
|12||7||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||12||7
|-
|[[1997–98 Valencia CF season|1997–98]]<ref name=LFP/>
|20||2||3||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||23||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!32!!9!!3!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!35!!9
|-
|[[UC Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]
|[[1998–99 UC Sampdoria season|1998–99]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Serie A]]
|27||8||4||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||31||9
|-
|[[Parma AC|Parma]]
|[[1999–2000 Parma AC season|1999–2000]]
|18||3||1||0||7{{efn|Two appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]], five appearances in [[UEFA Cup]]}}||0||1{{efn|Appearance in [[Supercoppa Italiana]]}}||0||27||3
|-
|rowspan="3"|River Plate
|[[2000–01 in Argentine football|2000–01]]
|rowspan="2"|Primera División
|27||9||colspan="2"|–||12||3||colspan="2"|–||39||12
|-
|[[2001–02 in Argentine football|2001–02]]
|29||14||colspan="2"|–||10||2||colspan="2"|–||39||16
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!56!!23!!colspan="2"|—!!22!!5!!colspan="2"|–!!78!!28
|-
|[[Fenerbahçe S.K. (football)|Fenerbahçe]]
|[[2002–03 Süper Lig|2002–03]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageId=526&kisiId=29895|title=Player Details|publisher=Turkish Football Federation|access-date=7 November 2009}}</ref>
|[[Süper Lig]]
|14||5||colspan="2"|–||6{{efn|Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Cup}}||0||colspan="2"|–||20||5
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Newell's Old Boys]]
|[[2004–05 in Argentine football|2004–05]]
|rowspan="2"|Primera División
|24||5||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||24||5
|-
|[[2005–06 in Argentine football|2005–06]]
|29||6||colspan="2"|—||7<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.conmebol.com/|title=CONMEBOL|website=www.conmebol.com}}</ref>||0||colspan="2"|–||36||6
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!53!!11!!colspan="2"|—!!7!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!60!!11
|-
|rowspan="2"|River Plate
|[[2006–07 in Argentine football|2006–07]]
|rowspan="2"|Primera División
|18||4||colspan="2"|—||3||0||colspan="2"|–||21||4
|-
|[[2007–08 in Argentine football|2007–08]]
|26||4||colspan="2"|—||9||2||colspan="2"|–||35||6
|-
|[[Club Sportivo Independiente Rivadavia|Independiente Rivadavia]] (loan)
|[[2008–09 in Argentine football|2008–09]]
|[[Primera B Nacional Argentina|Primera B Nacional]]
|25||4||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||25||4
|-
|rowspan="3"|River Plate
|[[2009–10 in Argentine football|2009–10]]
|rowspan="2"|Primera División
|22||3||colspan="2"|—||2||0||colspan="2"|–||24||3
|-
|[[2010–11 in Argentine football|2010–11]]
|16||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|—||16||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!82!!12!!colspan="2"|—!!14!!2!!colspan="2"|–!!96!!14
|-
|[[All Boys]] (loan)
|[[2010–11 in Argentine football|2010–11]]
|Primera División
|12||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||12||0
|-
|[[Defensores de Belgrano|Def. Belgrano]] (loan)
|[[2011–12 in Argentine football|2011–12]]
|[[Primera B Metropolitana]]
|27||4||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||28||4
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!480!!109!!9!!1!!100!!12!!8!!3!!597!!126
|}
{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref>{{NFT player|339|accessdate=}}</ref>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="18"|[[Argentina national football team|Argentina]]
|1993||1||0
|-
|1994||10{{efn|Three appearances in [[1994 FIFA World Cup]]}}||1
|-
|1995||16{{efn|Four appearances in [[1995 Copa América]]}}||2
|-
|1996||7||3
|-
|1997||9||1
|-
|1998||13{{efn|Five appearances and 2 goals in [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]}}||5
|-
|1999||8{{efn|One appearance in [[1999 Copa América]]}}||2
|-
|2000||11||3
|-
|2001||7||0
|-
|2002||4{{efn|Three appearances in [[2002 FIFA World Cup]]}}||0
|-
|2003||1||0
|-
|2004||0||0
|-
|2005||0||0
|-
|2006||0||0
|-
|2007||0||0
|-
|2008||0||0
|-
|2009||0||0
|-
|2010||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!88!!17
|}
{{notelist}}

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ortega goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Ariel Ortega
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 27 December 1994 ||[[Buenos Aires]], Argentina || {{fb|Yugoslavia}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|1–0 ||Friendly
|-
| align="center"|2 || 8 January 1995 ||[[Riyadh]], Saudi Arabia || {{fb|Japan}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|5–1 ||[[1995 King Fahd Cup]]
|-
| align="center"|3 || 20 September 1995 || [[Madrid]], Spain || {{fb|Spain}} ||align="center"|1–2 || align="center"|1–2 ||Friendly
|-
| align="center"|4 || rowspan="2"|24 April 1996 || rowspan="2"|[[Buenos Aires]], Argentina || rowspan="2"|{{fb|BOL}} || align="center"|1–0 || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|3–1 || rowspan="2"|[[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|5 || align="center"|2–0
|-
| align="center"|6 || 9 October 1996 || [[San Cristóbal, Táchira|San Cristóbal]], Venezuela || {{fb|Venezuela}} || align="center"|1–1|| align="center"|5–2 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| align="center"|7 || 30 April 1997 ||Buenos Aires, Argentina || {{fb|Ecuador}} || align="center"|1–0|| align="center"|2–1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| align="center"|8 || 22 April 1998 || [[Dublin]], Ireland || {{fb|Republic of Ireland}} ||align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|9 || 14 May 1998 || La Plata, Argentina || {{fb|BIH}} ||align="center"|4–0 || align="center"|5–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|10 || 25 May 1998 || Buenos Aires, Argentina || {{fb|South Africa}} ||align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|11 || rowspan="2"|21 June 1998 || rowspan="2"|[[Paris]], France || rowspan="2"|{{fb|Jamaica}} || align="center"|1–0 || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|5–0 || rowspan="2"|[[1998 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| align="center"|12 || align="center"|2–0
|-
| align="center"|13 || 7 September 1999 || [[Porto Alegre]], Brazil || {{fb|Brazil}} ||align="center"|2–4 || align="center"|2–4 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|14 || 13 October 1999 || La Plata, Argentina || {{fb|Colombia}} ||align="center"|2–1 || align="center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|15 || rowspan="2"|26 April 2000 || rowspan="2"|[[Maracaibo]], Venezuela || rowspan="2"|{{fb|Venezuela}} || align="center"|2–0|| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|4–0 || rowspan="2"|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|16 || align="center"|3–0
|-
| align="center"|17 || 15 November 2000 || Santiago, Chile || {{fb|Chile}} || align="center"|1–0|| align="center"|2–0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|}

==Honours==
'''River Plate'''
*[[Argentine Primera División|Primera División]]: [[1991–92 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura .28.22Opening.22 Tournament.29|1991 Apertura]], [[1993–94 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura|1993 Apertura]], [[1994–95 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura|1994 Apertura]], [[1996–97 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura|1996 Apertura]], [[2001–02 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Clausura .28.22Closing.22 Tournament.29|2002 Clausura]], [[2007–08 Argentine Primera División season#Torneo Clausura|2008 Clausura]]
*[[Copa Libertadores]]: [[1996 Copa Libertadores|1996]]
'''Parma'''
*[[Supercoppa Italiana]]: [[1999 Supercoppa Italiana|1999]]
'''Newell's Old Boys'''
*[[Argentine Primera División|Primera División]]: [[2004–05 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Apertura 2004|2004 Apertura]]

'''Argentina'''
*[[Pan American Games]] Gold Medal: [[Football at the 1995 Pan American Games|1995]]
*[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] Silver Medal: [[Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics|1996]]

'''Individual'''
*South American Team of the Year: 1994, 1996, 2001<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/sam-toy.html |title=South American Team of the Year |date=16 January 2009 |access-date=10 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121064015/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/sam-toy.html |archive-date=21 January 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ariel Ortega}}
*{{FIFA player|78384}}
*{{NFT player|id=339}}
*{{BDFutbol|272}}
*[https://www.cariverplate.com.ar/tpl.php?cat=es&url=ficha-jugador.php&id=99%20River%20Plate%20player%20profile River Plate – Sitio Oficial] {{in lang|es}}

{{1994 South American Team of the Year}}
{{1996 South American Team of the Year}}
{{2001 South American Team of the Year}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Argentina squads
|bg= #6AB5FF
|fg= white
|bordercolor= silver
|list1=
{{Argentina squad 1994 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Argentina squad 1995 King Fahd Cup}}
{{Argentina squad 1995 Copa América}}
{{Argentina men's football squad 1996 Summer Olympics}}
{{Argentina squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Argentina squad 1999 Copa América}}
{{Argentina squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Ariel Arnaldo}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Jujuy Province]]
[[Category:Argentine men's footballers]]
[[Category:Olympic footballers for Argentina]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Argentina]]
[[Category:Argentine Primera División players]]
[[Category:Club Atlético River Plate footballers]]
[[Category:Newell's Old Boys footballers]]
[[Category:All Boys footballers]]
[[Category:Serie A players]]
[[Category:UC Sampdoria players]]
[[Category:Parma Calcio 1913 players]]
[[Category:La Liga players]]
[[Category:Valencia CF players]]
[[Category:Süper Lig players]]
[[Category:Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers]]
[[Category:Independiente Rivadavia footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1995 King Fahd Cup players]]
[[Category:1995 Copa América players]]
[[Category:1999 Copa América players]]
[[Category:Argentina men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Argentine expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy]]
[[Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Turkey]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Spain]]
[[Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain]]
[[Category:Copa Libertadores–winning players]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in football]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina]]
[[Category:Pan American Games footballers for Argentina]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists in football]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century Argentine sportsmen]]