He became Colombia’s most capped footballer ever and was idolised for his ability to hit long balls with deadly precision, deliver the most telling short pass and look charismatic in a hairstyle one football writer called an "electrified Afro" .

The Valderrama family matches the Milburn-Charlton family as a football dynasty. Carlos’ father was a defender, while his father’s brother played on the left-wing.

Two more uncles, four cousins and two brothers also played the game professionally. But El Pibe - Argentinian slang for The Kid - caught the eye with his unruly red hair and skill on the ball.

Valderrama turned professional in 1981, the year in which he shone in a South American youth tournament in Ecuador.

He began his club career with Unión Magdalena in the Colombian First Division, and went on to play for Millonarios and Deportivo Cali before joining Montpellier Hérault SC in France in 1988.

He played in Spain, for Real Valladolid among others, before returning to Colombia to join Deportivo Independiente de Medellin and Atletico Junior.

Valderrama then finished his career in the US as one of the first stars of Major League Soccer, playing 175 games, in all, for the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion and Colorado Rapids.

In an interview with the American magazine La Cancha he recalled: "Being part of my country’s national team in the 1994 World Cup, I was surprised by the joy of the American people.

"Because soccer is not the number one sport in America I did not expect to see the stadiums filled the way they were."

Beneath that hair, Valderrama was one of the most talented midfielders football has known, winning 111 caps and scoring eleven goals. In 1987 and 1993 he was voted the best player in South America.

For Diego Maradona, watching Valderrama made him long to play: "He showed all Colombians how to play football. He could still be playing today, he doesn’t need to run anywhere to play."

A 20ft bronze statue, weighing seven tonnes, stands in his honour in his home town of Santa Monica. But his true memorial is the frequency with which, since he left the national side, fans and pundits in Colombia ask, "Who will replace Valderrama in midfield?"