Carlos Gamarra
![]() Gamarra in 2019 | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Full name | Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón[1] | |||||||||||||
Date of birth | 17 February 1971 | |||||||||||||
Place of birth | Ypacaraí, Paraguay | |||||||||||||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre back | |||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
1991–1992 | Cerro Porteño | 35 | (2) | |||||||||||
1992–1993 | Independiente | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
1993–1995 | Cerro Porteño | 49 | (2) | |||||||||||
1995–1997 | Internacional | 59 | (5) | |||||||||||
1997–1998 | Benfica | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||
1998–1999 | Corinthians | 31 | (3) | |||||||||||
1999–2000 | Atlético Madrid | 32 | (0) | |||||||||||
2000–2002 | Flamengo | 4 | (1) | |||||||||||
2001–2002 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 24 | (0) | |||||||||||
2002–2005 | Internazionale | 27 | (0) | |||||||||||
2005–2006 | Palmeiras | 33 | (2) | |||||||||||
2007 | Olimpia | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||
Total | 340 | (16) | ||||||||||||
International career | ||||||||||||||
1992–2004 | Paraguay U23 | 18 | (6) | |||||||||||
1993–2006 | Paraguay | 110 | (12) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos alˈβeɾto ɣaˈmara paˈβon]) (born 17 February 1971) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a 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
[edit]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 Internacional in Brazil, where his profile grew, eventually resulting in the naming of him as Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 by the Paraguayan newspaper 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 Spanish league, after the Brazilian club agreed with Atlético Madrid for 9 million USD in June 1999. Atlético were surprisingly relegated in 2000, and Gamarra briefly moved back to Brazil, this time joining Flamengo. In the 2001–02 season Gamarra returned to Europe and played on loan for AEK Athens in Greece. There he played in 24 league games and won the Greek Cup.
On the back of his World Cup performance in 2002, he joined Internazionale in Italy's Serie A for the 2002–03 season. In his first pre-season, he scored the winning goal in the Pirelli Cup final against Roma. Inter finished the season as runners-up in the league, with Gamarra making 14 appearances. His next season at the club was less successful, as Inter finished fourth in the league, and Gamarra made only 10 appearances. He remained at Inter for the 2004–2005 season, but after another season largely spent on the bench he joined the Brazilian side Palmeiras in July 2005. In 2007, Gamarra decided to return to Paraguay to end his football career and signed for Olimpia. Gamarra decided to retire after the 2007 season.
International career
[edit]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 1998 FIFA World Cup, in the second round of which Paraguay were knocked out by France (the eventual winners). Gamarra played in all four of Paraguay's games, garnering great respect for his defensive skills, and did not concede a single foul in any of his side's matches. FIFA named him as part of the All-Star team of the 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 silver medal in the football tournament at the 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
[edit]Club
[edit]Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Cerro Porteño | 1991 | Paraguayan Primera División | 23 | 0 | ||||||||
1992 | Paraguayan Primera División | 12 | 2 | |||||||||
Total | 35 | 2 | ||||||||||
Independiente | 1993 | Argentine Primera División | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
Cerro Porteño | 1993 | Paraguayan Primera División | 15 | 0 | ||||||||
1994 | Paraguayan Primera División | 24 | 1 | |||||||||
1995 | Paraguayan Primera División | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
Total | 49 | 2 | ||||||||||
Internacional | 1995 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 17 | 0 | ||||||||
1996 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 22 | 2 | |||||||||
1997 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 20 | 3 | |||||||||
Total | 59 | 5 | ||||||||||
Benfica | 1997–98 | Primeira Divisão | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
Corinthians | 1998 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 31 | 3 | ||||||||
1999 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||||
Total | 31 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||||||
Atlético Madrid | 1999–2000 | La Liga | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 43 | 1 | |
Flamengo | 2000 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||||
2001 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
Total | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||||||
AEK Athens (loan) | 2001–02 | Alpha Ethniki | 24 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 40 | 1 | |
Inter Milan | 2002–03 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
2003–04 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
2004–05 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
Total | 27 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
Palmeiras | 2005 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 30 | 1 | 30 | 1 | ||||||
2006 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 2 | |||||
Total | 33 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 3 | ||||||
Olimpia | 2007 | Paraguayan Primera División | 25 | 1 | ||||||||
Career total | 340 | 16 |
International
[edit]- Scores and results list Paraguay U23's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gamarra goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 30 July 1992 | Estadio Luis Casanova, Valencia, Spain | ![]() |
3–0 | 3–1[6] | 1992 Summer Olympics |
2 | 15 August 2004 | Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2004 Summer Olympics |
Honours
[edit]Cerro Porteño
- Paraguayan League: 1992, 1994
- Torneo República: 1991
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
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
See also
[edit]- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- Players and Records in Paraguayan Football
References
[edit]- ^ "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".
- ^ Carlos Gamarra at WorldFootball.net
- ^ 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
[edit]- International statistics at rsssf
- Carlos Gamarra at BDFutbol
- Carlos Gamarra at National-Football-Teams.com
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Central Department
- Paraguayan men's footballers
- Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers for Paraguay
- Olympic silver medalists for Paraguay
- Club Atlético Independiente footballers
- Argentine Primera División players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina
- Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
- Inter Milan players
- Serie A players
- Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players
- CR Flamengo footballers
- SC Internacional players
- SE Palmeiras players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
- Atlético Madrid footballers
- La Liga players
- S.L. Benfica footballers
- Primeira Liga players
- AEK Athens F.C. players
- Super League Greece players
- Club Olimpia footballers
- Cerro Porteño players
- Paraguayan Primera División players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- 1993 Copa América players
- 1995 Copa América players
- 1997 Copa América players
- 1999 Copa América players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- 2004 Copa América players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- Men's association football central defenders
- Paraguay men's international footballers
- Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Greece
- Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- FIFA Men's Century Club
- Olympic medalists in football
- Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics