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A team across generations. Build your eleven, then explore the careers.
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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of Paraguay.
VS
The 33 of Paraguay.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
01
Arsenio Erico 56 caps (Paraguay) · 26 goals · Club Nacional, Club Atlético IndependienteIndependiente's crowd called him the Saltarín Rojo for the way he rose above defenders, and in 1937 he scored 47 league goals in a single Argentine season, a figure nobody has matched since. Argentina's top scorer in 1937, 1938 and 1939, he won the league with Independiente in 1938 and 1939 and the Paraguayan title with Nacional in 1942, scoring close to 300 goals in Argentina, and Alfredo Di Stéfano rated him among the greatest he ever saw.
ST1933–1934
Arsenio Erico 56 caps (Paraguay) · 26 goals · Club Nacional, Club Atlético IndependienteIndependiente's crowd called him the Saltarín Rojo for the way he rose above defenders, and in 1937 he scored 47 league goals in a single Argentine season, a figure nobody has matched since. Argentina's top scorer in 1937, 1938 and 1939, he won the league with Independiente in 1938 and 1939 and the Paraguayan title with Nacional in 1942, scoring close to 300 goals in Argentina, and Alfredo Di Stéfano rated him among the greatest he ever saw.
ST1933–1934
02
José Luis Chilavert 74 caps (Paraguay) · San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real ZaragozaIn 1999 he stepped up three times for Vélez Sarsfield against Ferro Carril Oeste and converted all three penalties, the first goalkeeper in professional football to score a hat-trick.
GK1989–2003
José Luis Chilavert 74 caps (Paraguay) · San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real ZaragozaIn 1999 he stepped up three times for Vélez Sarsfield against Ferro Carril Oeste and converted all three penalties, the first goalkeeper in professional football to score a hat-trick.
GK1989–2003
03
CG
Carlos Gamarra 110 caps (Paraguay) · Cerro Porteño, S.C. InternacionalAt France 98 Paraguay played four matches, conceded two goals, and went out only when Laurent Blanc's golden goal beat them in the 114th minute; FIFA named Gamarra in its team of the tournament.
CB1993–2006
04
JS
José Saturnino Cardozo 82 caps (Paraguay) · 25 goals · Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, Club OlimpiaToluca have never had another like him: 249 goals in 332 games, a club record nobody has come near.
CAM1991–2006
05
JC
Julio César Romero 34 caps (Paraguay) · 13 goals · Sportivo Luqueño, New York CosmosTwo goals in the group stage of the 1986 World Cup, against Iraq on 4 June and the hosts at the Azteca three days later, carried Paraguay into the second round.
CM1979–1989
06
EH
Ever Hugo Almeida 22 caps (Paraguay) · C.A. Cerro, Club GuaraníOlimpia's goalkeeper scored a Copa Libertadores penalty against Estudiantes de La Plata on 27 April 1984, the only goal of his 113 matches in the competition between 1973 and 1990.
GK1973–1985
07
Roque Santa Cruz 112 caps (Paraguay) · 32 goals · FC Bayern Munich, Blackburn RoversBlackburn signed him in 2007 and he gave them 19 goals in 37 league games, fourth in the Premier League that season behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Emmanuel Adebayor.
SS1999–2016
Roque Santa Cruz 112 caps (Paraguay) · 32 goals · FC Bayern Munich, Blackburn RoversBlackburn signed him in 2007 and he gave them 19 goals in 37 league games, fourth in the Premier League that season behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Emmanuel Adebayor.
SS1999–2016
08
SC
Salvador Cabañas 44 caps (Paraguay) · 10 goals · Audax Italiano, ChiapasTop scorer of the Copa Libertadores in two consecutive years for Club América, ten goals in 2007 and eight in 2008, he scored 66 times in 115 games for the club.
SS2004–2009
09
AG
Aurelio González El Gran Capitán was the name that stuck, and at the 1929 South American Championship he finished as top scorer while his side came second to Argentina; when San Lorenzo came with money in the early 1930s he turned it down to fight in the Chaco War.About the editorial selection
ST
10
CA
Celso Ayala 85 caps (Paraguay) · Club Atlético River Plate, Real Betis BalompiéInside a minute in Toulouse on 24 June 1998, the centre-half put Paraguay ahead against Nigeria, and that 3-1 win carried them into the second round.
CB1993–2003
12
Óscar Cardozo 58 caps (Paraguay) · 12 goals · Club Nacional, S.L. BenficaYuichi Komano had just struck the bar in Pretoria on 29 June 2010 when Cardozo placed Paraguay's fifth penalty past Kawashima, and his country reached a World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
ST2006–2023
Óscar Cardozo 58 caps (Paraguay) · 12 goals · Club Nacional, S.L. BenficaYuichi Komano had just struck the bar in Pretoria on 29 June 2010 when Cardozo placed Paraguay's fifth penalty past Kawashima, and his country reached a World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
ST2006–2023
13
EM
Eugenio Morel 14 caps (Paraguay) · 6 goals · Racing Club, Club Atlético Talleres de Remedios de EscaladaAn overhead kick against Brazil in 1979 carried his name across the continent, and the left-footed winger opened the scoring in Asunción on 24 October as Paraguay beat the Brazilians 2-1 on the way to the final.
CM1979–1981
14
RF
Roberto Fernández Paraguayans still bring up 7 June 1986 at the Azteca, when Hugo Sánchez stepped up against the goalkeeper everyone called Gato and put his penalty against the post in a 1-1 draw.About the editorial selection
GK
17
Pd
Paulo da Silva Atlántida Sport Club, TolucaSpain needed 83 minutes to break the line he anchored in Johannesburg on 3 July 2010, and even then David Villa's shot went in off the post.
CB2000–
18
Claudio Morel Rodríguez San Lorenzo de Almagro, Deportivo de A CoruñaParaguay played 480 minutes at the 2010 World Cup, right through extra time against Japan to the quarter-final loss to Spain, and Morel was on the pitch for every one of them.
LB1999–
Claudio Morel Rodríguez San Lorenzo de Almagro, Deportivo de A CoruñaParaguay played 480 minutes at the 2010 World Cup, right through extra time against Japan to the quarter-final loss to Spain, and Morel was on the pitch for every one of them.
LB1999–
20
DC
Denis Caniza 100 caps (Paraguay) · Club Olimpia, Club Atlético LanúsOnly one Paraguayan has been named in four World Cup squads, and he did it across twelve years, from France in 1998 to South Africa in 2010, arriving at the last of them aged 35.
RB1996–2010
21
ÉB
Édgar Barreto 60 caps (Paraguay) · N.E.C., AS Reggina 1914Four Italian clubs kept him in Serie A for thirteen straight seasons, Reggina and Atalanta and Palermo and Sampdoria from 2007 to 2020, more than 260 appearances built on being picked every week.
CDM2004–2011
22
Nelson Haedo Valdez 77 caps (Paraguay) · 13 goals · SV Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund
ST2004–2017
Nelson Haedo Valdez 77 caps (Paraguay) · 13 goals · SV Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund
ST2004–2017
24
MÁ
Miguel Ángel Benítez In Toulouse on 24 June 1998 the man Paraguay knew as Peque scored just before the hour against Nigeria, and the 3-1 win carried his country into the last sixteen against France.About the editorial selection
CM
25
Néstor Ortigoza 31 caps (Paraguay) · 1 goals · San Lorenzo de Almagro, Emirates ClubHe stepped up first in the shootout against Venezuela on 20 July 2011 and scored, and Paraguay went through 5-3 to a Copa América final they reached without winning a single match.
CM2009–2017
Néstor Ortigoza 31 caps (Paraguay) · 1 goals · San Lorenzo de Almagro, Emirates ClubHe stepped up first in the shootout against Venezuela on 20 July 2011 and scored, and Paraguay went through 5-3 to a Copa América final they reached without winning a single match.
CM2009–2017
26
VC
Víctor Cáceres Club Libertad, Clube de Regatas do FlamengoBrazil went out of the 2015 Copa América on penalties on 27 June, and he was among the Paraguayans who walked the length of the pitch and scored.
CDM2007–
27
AA
Antolín Alcaraz 23 caps (Paraguay) · S.C. Beira-Mar, Club LibertadHis header in the 39th minute at Cape Town on 14 June 2010 put Paraguay in front of the defending champions Italy, who got out of the group opener with a 1-1 draw.
CB2008–2012
28
CB
Carlos Bonet Club Libertad, Cruz AzulParaguay picked him for three World Cup squads across eight years, and in South Africa in 2010 he played three times as the country reached its first quarter-final.
CM2002–
29
DG
Derlis González 50 caps (Paraguay) · 9 goals · Rubio Ñu, BenficaConcepción, 27 June 2015: Thiago Silva handled in his own box, González levelled from the spot on 71 minutes, and when the quarter-final went to kicks he took Paraguay's fifth and put Brazil out 4-3.
RM2014–2022
30
Osvaldo Martínez 32 caps (Paraguay) · 1 goals · Club Libertad, Club de Fútbol MonterreyMonterrey signed him from Libertad in 2008 and he repaid them inside sixty seconds, scoring in the first minute of his first league match, a 4-0 win over Puebla.
LM2008–2015
Osvaldo Martínez 32 caps (Paraguay) · 1 goals · Club Libertad, Club de Fútbol MonterreyMonterrey signed him from Libertad in 2008 and he repaid them inside sixty seconds, scoring in the first minute of his first league match, a 4-0 win over Puebla.
LM2008–2015
32
HB
Hugo Brizuela 15 caps (Paraguay) · 3 goals · Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, CF PachucaThree times he signed for O'Higgins, 33 goals across those spells, and the last came at 36 in 2005 as Rancagua beat Deportes Melipilla to climb back into the Primera División.
LM1998–2002
33
JE
Julio Enciso On 24 May 2023, aged nineteen, he struck from twenty-five yards against Manchester City at the Amex, a goal that sealed Brighton's first qualification for European football.About the editorial selection
CAM
About this XI
At the head of Paraguay's pool stand Arsenio Erico, José Luis Chilavert and Carlos Gamarra. The 33 covers 4 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 13 midfielders and 6 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1930s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Left out, and why
A 33 is a set of decisions, and these are the players who lost their place in the last revision of Paraguay's list. Every one of them has a case.
- Alejandro Romero GamarraThe place went to Eugenio Morel.
- Juan IturbeThe place went to Ever Hugo Almeida.
Disagree? That is the point. Settle it in the duels above.
Who is the greatest Paraguay footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Arsenio Erico. Its first five careers: Arsenio Erico, José Luis Chilavert, Carlos Gamarra, José Saturnino Cardozo, Julio César Romero. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 Paraguay players chosen?
The collection covers every position across Paraguay's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own Paraguay all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.