Football in Paraguay

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Football in Paraguay
Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol
National team(s)Paraguay
First played1867
National competitions
Confederations Cup
Copa América
Club competitions
List
    • League:
      Cuarta Division
    • Cups:
      Torneo Republica
      (defunct)
International competitions
Olimpia Asunción v. Cerro Porteño, 1983 (49, 095)[1]

IFFHS.[4]

History

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

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

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.

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

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

Main articles: Paraguay national football team and Paraguay women's national football team
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

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

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

Main article: Paraguayan football league system
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

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

Main article: Seasons in Paraguayan football

Current season: 2021 in Paraguayan football

Women's football

Main article:
Paraguayan women's football championship

The Paraguayan women's football championship is the top level league competition for

Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino, the South American Champions League. The competition is organised by the Paraguayan Football Association
.

Superclásico

Main article: Paraguayan football derby

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

Players and records

Paraguayan Footballer of the Year

Main article: Paraguayan Footballer of the Year

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
Toluca
 [26]
2001 Roberto Acuña Spain Zaragoza [26]
2002 José Cardozo
Toluca
 [26]
2003 José Cardozo
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

Main article: Primera División de Paraguay topscorers

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

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

Foreigner football players

Main article: List of foreign footballers in Paraguay

CONMEBOL foreign football players

For

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

Most non-CONMEBOL or non-South American foreign football players in Paraguay's football leagues have come from

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

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

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

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

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

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

Since 1999,

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

Main article: List of football clubs in Paraguay

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

Main article: List of football stadiums in Paraguay
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

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:

  • Estadio Manuel Ferreira
  • Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz

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

See also

Notes

  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

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External links

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