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Football in Paraguay

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Football in Paraguay
Paraguay's national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
CountryParaguay
Governing bodyAsociación Paraguaya de Fútbol
National team(s)Paraguay
First played1867
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions
Audience records
Single matchOlimpia Asunción v. Cerro Porteño, 1983 (49, 095)[1]

Football is by far the most popular sport in Paraguay. Paraguay's national team has played at eight FIFA World Cup competitions and has won two Copa América tournaments. Olimpia Asunción is the country's most successful club in domestic and international competitions.[2][3] Paraguay's football leagues are divided into four divisions. In 2020, Paraguay's top-tier was ranked 8th in the world by the IFFHS.[4]

History

[edit]
Paraguay's biggest star,[5] José Luís Chilavert was chosen by the IFFHS as the best goalkeeper in the world on three occasions, namely in 1995, 1997 and 1998, and figures amongst 48 legendary players by the IFFHS[6][7]

Football arrived to Paraguay in the late 1800s. There are differing versions as to how this happened. The most commonly held account is that of William Paats. This account has much primary source documentation (newspaper articles) As this version goes, football was first introduced in Paraguay by Dutchman William Paats, who moved from the Netherlands to Asunción (the capital of Paraguay) in 1888. During a trip to Buenos Aires Paats bought a football and brought it back to Asunción in order to teach the sport, which was unknown among Paraguayans.[8] At first, football was only practiced by the "elite" (upper class) but it soon became very popular and spread quickly throughout the whole country to people of all social classes.

Another version brings the genesis of football in Paraguay a bit further back, to 1886 and in the area around Borja. Miguel Angel Bestard, in his authoritative volume "Paraguay: One Century of Football" recounts a story about how English railroad workers organized games against the local Paraguayans. The English team was named "Everton", as a clear homage to the club from Liverpool, England, in the United Kingdom.

In 1900, small tournaments were held at the Plaza de Armas, a plaza located in downtown Asunción. Because of the huge success of the tournaments and the large attendances for the games, Paats decided to found the first Paraguayan football club, which he named Olimpia Football Club (later renamed Club Olimpia) in 1902. By 1906 the number of football clubs in Paraguay had increased and the Paraguayan Football Association (governing body of football in Paraguay) was founded. In 1910, Paraguay formed its first national squad to play against the squad from Corrientes, Argentina, but it would have to wait till 1919 for the Argentine national team to take a boat upriver on the Parana River and visit Asuncion for the first official international games Paraguay would ever play.

The Paraguayan Football Association joined CONMEBOL in 1921, and FIFA in 1925.

Paraguay against England at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Football has grown enormously since then, and there are over 1600 teams spread throughout Paraguay participating in bla leagues.[9] Each of those teams try to make their way to the first division by clearing the different levels of lower divisions. The growth and evolution of Paraguayan football can be seen in the achievements made in the club level and by the Paraguay national football team. The national team has participated in eight FIFA World Cups, won two Copa América tournaments, and earned a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 2004. All these accomplishments established Paraguay as the fourth most successful football nation in South America behind Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. At the club level, Olimpia Asunción has won a total of eight international tournaments, including three Copa Libertadores and one Intercontinental Cup.

Among the most important and successful football players in Paraguayan history are Arsenio Erico, Aurelio González, Romerito and José Luis Chilavert.[10]

In 2016, Roque Santa Cruz was regarded as one of the best players in the nation's history.[11]

National team

[edit]
Roque Santa Cruz is the national team's highest goal scorer with 32 goals

Paraguay's men's national team, nicknamed the Albirroja, is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol). The team has qualified for eight FIFA World Cup competitions, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals. Paraguay has been crowned champions of the Copa América on two occasions (in 1953 and 1979). Their highest FIFA World Rankings was 8th (March 2001) and their lowest was 103 (May 1995). Paraguay was awarded second place with Best Move of the Year in 1996 for their rise in the FIFA Rankings. The team's most successful period was under the coaching of Argentine Gerardo Martino, who was awarded with the South American Coach of the Year in 2007 and took Paraguay to the quarter-finals stage of the FIFA World Cup competition for the first time in history (in 2010) and also to the final of the 2011 Copa América, where Paraguay finished as runners-up. In Paraguay's entire history at the FIFA World Cup, only Carlos Gamarra and José Luis Chilavert have both been selected as part of the All-Star Team, being for the 1998 edition. Paulo da Silva holds the most appearances for the team with 148 matches and Roque Santa Cruz is the all-time leading goal scorer with 32 goals.

The women's team of Paraguay, also known as Albirroja, has lesser success, having never qualified for a single FIFA Women's World Cup, but has seen its recent rise in fortune. In the 2022 Copa América Femenina, Paraguay reached the semi-finals for only the second time after 2006, though this means Paraguay is now certain to have a potential spot for the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup or at least going to the playoff stage.

Television and Media

[edit]

Television coverage of Paraguay's top-tier league, the Copa Paraguay and most of the second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier leagues are televisionally transmitted by:

Internet coverage of Paraguayan football was accessible online until 2015 by football writer and Guinness World Records Latin American representative Ralph Hannah.[12][13][14]

League system

[edit]
Former national team player Enrique Vera started his career in Paraguay's lower leagues

Paraguay's Football League System is divided into four divisions:

Promotion to the top-tier, second-tier and third-tier leagues begins from the country's fourth-tier leagues, regional and metroplitana. A club is disaffiliated from the fourth division if it finishes the season in the last position of the table.

Past Paraguay national team players, including Enrique Vera, Oscar Cardozo, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Antolín Alcaraz, Elvis Marecos, Pablo Zeballos, Paulo da Silva, Cristian Riveros and Victor Caceres all began their careers in Paraguay's lower leagues.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

As of the 2021 season, the winner of the División Intermedia would qualify directly for the Copa Sudamericana competition of the following season.[24][25]

Seasons

[edit]

Current season: 2021 in Paraguayan football

Women's football

[edit]

The Paraguayan women's football championship is the top level league competition for women's football in Paraguay. The winner qualifies for the Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino, the South American Champions League. The competition is organised by the Paraguayan Football Association.

Superclásico

[edit]

The Paraguayan derby or superclásico is between Club Olimpia Asunción and Club Cerro Porteño.

Players and records

[edit]

Paraguayan Footballer of the Year

[edit]

The Paraguayan Footballer of the Year is an award given to the best Paraguayan professional football player every year. The award began officially in 1997 and it is presented by Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color.

Year Player Club(s) Ref.
1997 Carlos Gamarra Portugal Benfica [26]
1998 Carlos Gamarra Brazil Corinthians [26]
1999 Roque Santa Cruz Paraguay Olimpia
Germany Bayern Munich[a]
[26]
2000 José Cardozo Mexico Toluca [26]
2001 Roberto Acuña Spain Zaragoza [26]
2002 José Cardozo Mexico Toluca [26]
2003 José Cardozo Mexico Toluca [26]
2004 Justo Villar Argentina Newell's Old Boys [26]
2005 Julio dos Santos Paraguay Cerro Porteño [26]
2006 Óscar Cardozo Paraguay Nacional
Argentina Newell's Old Boys[b]
[26]
2007 Salvador Cabañas Mexico América [26]
2008 Claudio Morel Rodríguez Argentina Boca Juniors [26]
2009 Óscar Cardozo Portugal Benfica [26]
2010 Lucas Barrios Germany Borussia Dortmund [26]
2011 Pablo Zeballos Paraguay Olimpia [26]
2012 Pablo Aguilar Paraguay Sportivo Luqueño
Mexico Tijuana[c]
[26]
2013 Ángel Romero Paraguay Cerro Porteño [26]
2014 Fernando Fernández Paraguay Guaraní [26]
2015 Derlis González Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv [26]
2016 Rodrigo Rojas Paraguay Cerro Porteño [26]
2017 Miguel Almirón United States Atlanta United [26]
2018 Miguel Almirón United States Atlanta United [26]
2019 Roque Santa Cruz Paraguay Olimpia [27]

Primera División Paraguaya Topscorers

[edit]

The following list only comprises the professional era and is missing data from 1906 to 1934 (amateur era).[28] A Top 10 table follows.

Nationality Player Goals Season
Paraguay Paraguay Flaminio Silva 34 1936
Paraguay Paraguay Fernando Fernández 31 2014
Paraguay Paraguay Santiago Salcedo 30 2015
Paraguay Paraguay José Vinsac 30 1940
Paraguay Paraguay Teófilo Salinas 28 1939
Uruguay Uruguay Hernán Rodrigo López 27 2006
Argentina Argentina Héctor Núñez 27 1994
Paraguay Paraguay Leocadio Marín 27 1947
Paraguay Paraguay Atilio Mellone 27 1943
Paraguay Paraguay Roque Santa Cruz 26 2019

Players who have played for both clubs in the Superclásico

[edit]

Players who have played for Cerro Porteño and Olimpia Asunción. An Incomplete List follows.

Foreigner football players

[edit]

CONMEBOL foreign football players

[edit]

For CONMEBOL or South American foreign football players in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are the countries that have contributed most players to Paraguayan football.[42] Argentine football players, such as Roberto Acuña and Ricardo Ismael Rojas, played in for several years in Paraguay's leagues and even naturalized themselves to play for the national team.[43] Argentine Héctor Núñez,[44] Uruguayan Hernan Rodrigo Lopez and Brazilian Gauchinho are the only non-Paraguayan football players to be leading goalscorers of the Primera División Paraguaya in a single season, including the Apertura and Clausura. Héctor Núñez is the only foreign player to win the goalscoring title back-to-back (1994–1995), playing for Cerro Porteño. A Top 10 table follows.

Nationality Player Seasons Period
Argentina Argentina Sergio Escalante 13 2009–
Uruguay Uruguay Hernan Rodrigo Lopez 12 2002–2004
2005–2007
2012–2017
Colombia Colombia Vladimir Marin 11 2007–2010
2011–2012
2016–2019
2021–
Argentina Argentina Alfredo Virginio Cano 11 2007–2017
Uruguay Uruguay Juan Manuel Salgueiro 10 2012–2013
2014–2016
2017–
Uruguay Uruguay Diego Ciz 10 2007–2010
2011–2016
Argentina Argentina Fabian Caballero 10 1997–1998
1999–2000
2005–2006
2010
2012
2012–2014
Argentina Argentina Guido Di Vanni 9 2012–2014
2014–2016
2016–2019
2020
Argentina Argentina Dario Ocampo 9 2011–2019

Non-CONMEBOL foreign football players

[edit]

Most non-CONMEBOL or non-South American foreign football players in Paraguay's football leagues have come from African (CAF) countries, especially Cameroon, and from Asian (AFC) countries, especially Japan. Amongst the non-CONMEBOL foreign football players in Paraguay, the most iconic signing in Paraguayan football and the highest paid player in the country's history was the Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor, when he joined Olimpia Asunción in 2020.[45] Between 2008 and 2011, 30 under-15 footballers from Indonesia, including Zikri Akbar and Rahmanuddin played at diverse clubs in Paraguay's Football League.[46] In 2016, Trinidad and Tobago women's national team players Kennya Cordner and Kimika Forbes became the first CONCACAF players in to win a trophy in the CONMEBOL, being crowned champions of the Copa Libertadores Femenina with Paraguayan club Sportivo Limpeño.[47][48][49] A Top 10 table follows.

Nationality Player Seasons Period
United States United States of America Bryan Lopez 8 2007–2014
Japan Japan Riki Kitawaki 8 2005–2012
Cameroon Cameroon Kenneth Nkweta Nju 7 2000–2005
2007–2008
Cameroon Cameroon Tobie Mimboe 6 1993–1996
2002
2004
Cameroon Cameroon Arsenne Maffo 5 2010–2014
Australia Australia Victor Cristaldo 5 1993–1997
South Korea South Korea Hee-Mang Jang 4 2017–2020
Japan Japan Takuma Sugano 4 2002–2005
Cameroon Cameroon Celestine Romed Ngah Kebe 3 2006–2008

Youngest debutants

[edit]

An Top 5 list follows of the youngest players to debut in Paraguayan football.[50]

Nationality Player Age Date
Paraguay Paraguay Kevin Pereira 14 years
7 months
21 days
5 September 2018[50]
Paraguay Paraguay Fernando Ovelar 14 years
9 months
22 days
28 October 2018 [51][52][50]
Paraguay Paraguay Pedro Benítez 15 years
1 day
24 March 1996[50]
Paraguay Paraguay Ariel Galeano 15 years
19 days
10 September 2016[50]
Paraguay Paraguay Jesus Medina 15 years
2 months
7 days
7 July 2012[50]

Youngest goal scorers

[edit]

An incomplete list follows of the youngest goal scoring players in Paraguayan football.

Nationality Player Age Date
Paraguay Paraguay Fernando Ovelar 14 years
9 months
22 days
28 October 2018[53]

Highest goal scorers

[edit]

An incomplete list follows of the highest goal scoring players in Paraguayan football.

Nationality Player Goals
Paraguay Paraguay Santiago Salcedo 152[54]
Uruguay Uruguay Hernan Rodrigo Lopez 127[54]
Paraguay Paraguay Juan Eduardo Samudio 119[54]
Paraguay Paraguay Fredy Bareiro 112[54]

Highest paid players

[edit]

An incomplete list follows of the highest paid players in Paraguayan football. Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor became the highest paid player in the history of Paraguayan football when he joined Olimpia Asunción in 2020.[55][56]

Nationality Player Season Salary per month
Togo Togo Emmanuel Adebayor 2020 USD$125, 000.00
(rounding off)[57]

Highest transfer

[edit]

Since 1999, Roque Santa Cruz held the highest transfer fee from Olimpia Asunción to Bayern Munich for USD$6, 900, 000.00 before Juan Escobar was sold from Cerro Porteño to Mexican team Cruz Azul for USD$7, 000, 000.00 in 2019.[58] In January 2022, Julio Enciso was sold to FA Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion from Libertad for USD$9, 500, 000.00, a new record of highest transfer in Paraguayan football.[59]

Nationality Player Season Moving from Moving to Fee
Paraguay Paraguay Julio Enciso 2022 Libertad England Brighton & Hove Albion USD$9, 600, 000.00[59]

Clubs

[edit]

Mostly, football clubs in Paraguay count with the structure of several categories for all ages.

Categories for over-age players follow:

  • First teams
  • Substitutes
  • Reserve teams[60]

Categories for under-age players follow:

Stadiums

[edit]
Cerro Porteño's Estadio General Pablo Rojas is Paraguay's most increased stadium in capacity

The country's most important stadiums are:

The mentioned were venues for the 1999 Copa América.[65][66] The Estadio Defensores del Chaco has more than 100 years as a stadium,[1] and it is one of the places with most history in Paraguayan football.[1] In 2015, the Estadio General Pablo Rojas which belongs to Club Cerro Porteño, began undergoing expansion and remodeling to become the most increased stadium in the country with a 51, 237 capacity.[67][68][69][70]

Other stadiums include:

The mentioned stadiums are venues of the Primera Division Paraguaya and have seating.[67]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Santa Cruz played the first half of 1999 for Olimpia, before being transferred to Bayern Munich in August 1999.
  2. ^ Cardozo played the first half of 2006 for the Nacional, before being transferred to Newell's Old Boys in the second half of 2006.
  3. ^ Aguilar played the first half of 2012 on loan to Sportivo Luqueño, and the second half of 2012 on loan to Tijuana.

References

[edit]
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[edit]