Carlos Gamarra

Carlos Gamarra
	Gamarra in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón
Date of birth	17 February 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	Ypacaraí, Paraguay
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1992	Cerro Porteño
1992–1993	Independiente
1993–1995	Cerro Porteño
1995–1997	Internacional
1997	Benfica
1998–1999	Corinthians
1999–2000	Atlético Madrid
2000–2002	Flamengo
2001–2002	→ AEK Athens (loan)
2002–2005	Internazionale
2005–2006	Palmeiras
2007	Olimpia
Total
International career
1992–2004	Paraguay U23
1993–2006	Paraguay
Medal record
Representing Paraguay
Men's Football
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón (Spanish pronunciation:

centre back. He captained the Paraguay national team at international level and was for a long time the most capped player in Paraguayan football history, having made 110 international appearances and scoring 12 goals.^[2] Throughout his career, Gamarra was known for his leadership, physical strength, ability in the air, heading accuracy, and outstanding tackling skills, which made him one of the most respected defenders in South America.^[3]

Gamarra appeared for the Paraguay national team 110 times, scoring 12 goals, from 1993 to 2006, representing the team at 10 major tournaments and captained the squad during the latter part of his career. He is the second most capped player of the national team, his record being broken by Paulo da Silva in 2013. Gamarra appeared for Paraguay at three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006), five Copa América tournaments (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2004), and twice at the Summer Olympic Games (1992 and 2004, with Paraguay claiming Silver Medals in the latter). Gamarra was named as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and was also included in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament.

Club career

Born in

Ypacarai, Gamarra began his club career playing for Cerro Porteño in his home country in 1991, and went on to win the Paraguayan national championship with Cerro in 1992. He moved to Independiente for the 1992–93 football season

in Argentina, but stayed only briefly before moving back to Cerro Porteño.

In 1995, Gamarra joined

Diario ABC Color (an achievement which Gamarra repeated in 1998). He moved to S.L. Benfica for the Portuguese 1997–1998 season, before returning to Brazil, this time with SC Corinthians

, where he won Serie A Brazilian Championship in 1998.

After finishing the 1999 Brazilian football season with Corinthians, he moved to the

Greek Cup

. He also became a favorite player of the AEK fans.

On the back of his World Cup performance in 2002, he joined

Olimpia

. Gamarra decided to retire after the 2007 season being Olimpia his last professional club

International career

Gamarra's first international cap came against Bolivia on 27 March 1993, a game which Paraguay lost 2–1. He stayed at Cerro Porteño until 1995.

Gamarra made his first big impact in international football during Paraguay's campaign at

World Cup. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup

in South Korea and Japan, Paraguay were once again knocked out in the second round. Gamarra played every single minute of Paraguay's campaign, and again completed his side's participation without conceding a foul.

Gamarra captained the Paraguay side to a

2004 Summer Olympics Olympic Games, losing 1–0 to Argentina in the final. On 4 August, before the Summer Olympics began, he played in a preparation game against the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo in the city of Algarve, resulting in a 5–0 defeat.^[4]

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gamarra was the first player in the tournament to score an own goal, from an incoming free kick from David Beckham in his team's opening match against England, which eventually led to England's 1–0 win. (Scored after just three minutes, this became the fastest World Cup finals own goal in history, until the 2014 FIFA World Cup where Sead Kolašinac scored just after two minutes playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina against Argentina in the group stages.) During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gamarra announced his retirement from the Paraguay national team.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[5]
Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cerro Porteño	1991	Paraguayan Primera División	23	0
	1992	Paraguayan Primera División	21	2
	Total		44	2
Independiente	1992–93	Argentine Primera División	8	0
Cerro Porteño	1993	Primera División	15	0
	1994		24	1
	1995		10	1
	Total		49	2
Internacional	1995	Série A	17	0
	1996		17	1
	1997		0	0
	Total		34	1
Benfica	1997–98	Primeira Divisão	13	0
Corinthians	1998	Série A	31	3
Atlético Madrid	1999–00	La Liga	32	0
Flamengo	2000	Série A	4	1
AEK Athens (loan)	2001–02	Super League	24	0
Inter Milan	2002–03	Serie A	14	0
	2003–04		10	0
	2004–05		3	0
	Total		27	0
Palmeiras	2005	Série A	30	1
	2006	Série A	3	1
	Total		33	2
Olimpia	2007	Paraguayan Primera División	25	1
	2008	Paraguayan Primera División
	Total
Career total			324	12

International

Scores and results list Paraguay U23's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gamarra goal.

List of international goals scored by Carlos Gamarra
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 July 1992	Estadio Luis Casanova, Valencia , Spain	Morocco	3–0	3–1^[6]	1992 Summer Olympics
2	15 August 2004	Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Ghana	1–0	1–2	2004 Summer Olympics

Honours

Cerro Porteño

Paraguayan League
: 1994

Internacional

Campeonato Gaúcho: 1997

Corinthians

Campeonato Brasileiro: 1998
Campeonato Paulista: 1999

Flamengo

Campeonato Carioca: 2001
Copa dos Campeões: 2001

AEK Athens

Greek football Cup
: 2002

Internazionale

Coppa Italia: 2005

Paraguay

Silver medal, Olympic Games: 2004

Individual

El País South America Ideal Team of the Year: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005^[7]
Paraguayan Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1998
FIFA World Cup: All-star team 1998^[3]
1998 Best Defender CONMEBOL
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2005^[8]

Bola de Prata: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005

References

^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
^ "Paraguay – Record International Players". RSSSF.
^ ^a ^b "FIFA Technical Study Group designates MasterCard All-Star Team". FIFA. 10 July 1998. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
^ "Portugal Sub 23 vs Paraguay Sub 23 - Amistosos Selecciones Sub 23 2004: Toda la info, alineaciones y eventos".
^ "カルロス･ガマラ". world-soccer.org.
^ FIFA.com. "Olympic Football Tournament Barcelona 1992 - Paraguay 3:1 (1:0) Morocco - Overview". FIFA.com.
^ "South American Team of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ "Em 2005, melhores do Campeonato Brasileiro recebem prêmio Craque do Brasileirão" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 6 December 2005. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2016.

External links

International statistics at
rsssf
Carlos Gamarra at National-Football-Teams.com

[1] "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.

[2] "Paraguay – Record International Players". RSSSF.

[98_FWC_All-star_team-3] "FIFA Technical Study Group designates MasterCard All-Star Team". FIFA. 10 July 1998. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[4] "Portugal Sub 23 vs Paraguay Sub 23 - Amistosos Selecciones Sub 23 2004: Toda la info, alineaciones y eventos".

[5] "カルロス･ガマラ". world-soccer.org.

[6] FIFA.com. "Olympic Football Tournament Barcelona 1992 - Paraguay 3:1 (1:0) Morocco - Overview". FIFA.com.

[7] "South American Team of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[8] "Em 2005, melhores do Campeonato Brasileiro recebem prêmio Craque do Brasileirão" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 6 December 2005. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2016.

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