'A world away from Old Trafford, in the Entre Ríos region of Argentina, a community has been drawn to a standstill. Not that the pace of life is usually too hectic in Crespo, but on this particular day, a week before Christmas, its most famous son has arrived home and its citizens are preparing to throw a fiesta in his honour.
Self-effacing at the best of times, the hero looks sheepish as he emerges from the house of his brother, Hernán, and walks the 300 metres towards the Plaza Sarmiento, where a crowd has gathered. There, standing before the Argentine flag with his loved ones all around him and his Olympic gold medal glimmering in the sunshine, Gabriel Iván Heinze is appointed an ambassador of the town of Crespo.
It is unlikely that this ceremony merits a mention when he is asked, on his return to the Manchester United dressing-room a few days later, how he spent his mid-season break in Argentina. Heinze is not the demonstrative type and, in any case, the significance of the honour might be lost on his team-mates. But to this 26-year-old, an exiled Argentinian trying to make his way in Europe, it meant the world. After a touching tribute to his father, Jorge, who died in April, he told the crowd that this honour was "more beautiful than anything".
It is here, among his people, that Heinze feels at home. "It’s no different to how it has ever been," he said when asked why he so loves the small town where he will return once his playing days are over. "It’s very quiet, very agricultural, pretty much in the middle of the countryside. Everyone knows everyone and they judge me and treat me as a person, not as a footballer."
Recognition has been a long time coming for Heinze, who also had a spell on loan to Sporting Lisbon before joining United from Paris Saint-Germain in a £6.9 million deal on the eve of the European Championship finals last June. Since then it has been non-stop. The only regret is that his father was not around to see it, having died just hours after watching him represent his country against Paraguay last April.
"Because of everything he taught me, my father was and still is one of the most important people in my life," Heinze said. "When he died, I promised to dedicate the rest of my football career to him, because he loved football and he was an excellent father and a great person, someone who had the most important influence on my life. It’s because of him that I have achieved what I have and that I am where I am today."
After a delayed start to his United career, when Sir Alex Ferguson memorably claimed that he would "have a beard" by the time the defender was free of international commitments, Heinze has been a revelation. "He’s been phenomenal," the United manager said. "He’s a complete winner and he believes in defending, which is a rare thing. A lot of defenders are manufactured, they start off as centre forwards or outside rights, but this guy loves defending. South American defenders tend to be like that."
It is an appraisal that draws a hint of a smile. "I don’t like talking about my qualities," Heinze said. "I just try to be humble and work hard. There are players like (Wayne) Rooney and (Fernando) Torres (the Atlético Madrid and Spain forward) who have incredible innate quality and don’t need to spend years climbing the ladder. Other players have to work at their game and I think it’s nice to have that feeling that you have worked and gone through the various stages that I have in my career."