Carlos Gamarra

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Carlos Gamarra
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavon
Date of birth	February 17, 1971 (age 36)
Place of birth	Ypacarai, Paraguay
Height	180 cm
Nickname	Colorado
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1995 1995-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2005 2005-2006 2007-present	Cerro Porteño Independiente Cerro Porteño Internacional SL Benfica Corinthians Atlético Madrid Flamengo AEK Athens Inter Milan Palmeiras Olimpia Asunción	? (?) 8 (0)  ? (?) 34 (0) 13 (0) 31 (3) 32 (0) 30 (1) 24 (0) 27 (1) ? (?) ? (?)
National team2
1993-2006	Paraguay	110 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 June, 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Paraguay
Men's Football
Silver	2004 Athens	Team Competition

Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavon (born February 17, 1971 in Ypacarai, Paraguay) is a football player. He captained the Paraguay national team at international level, playing at centre-half, and is the most capped player in Paraguayan football history, having made 110 international appearances and scoring 12 goals.

Gamarra is known for his leadership, heading and outstanding tackling skills, making him one of the most respected defenders in the world.

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 1992-1993 football season in Argentina, but stayed only briefly before moving back to Cerro Porteño. His first international cap came against Bolivia on March 27, 1993, a game which Paraguay lost 2-1. He stayed at Cerro Porteño until 1995.

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 SL Benfica for the Portuguese 1997-1998 season, before returning to Brazil, this time with SC Corinthians.

Gamarra made his first big impact in international football during Paraguay's campaign at World Cup France 1998, 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.

After finishing the 1999 Brazilian football season with Corinthians, he moved to the Spanish league, playing for Atlético Madrid. Atlético were relegated in 2000, and Gamarra briefly moved back to Brazil, this time joining CR Flamengo. The 2001-2002 season was more successful for Gamarra, as he joined AEK Athens in Greece, playing 24 league games and winning the Greek Cup.

At the 2002 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.

On the back of his World Cup performance, he joined Internazionale in Italy's Serie A Scudetto for the 2002-2003 season. This was undoubtedly the highest-profile club Gamarra had joined. In his first pre-season, he scored the winning goal in the Pirelli Cup final against AS 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 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.

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. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gamarra announced his retirement from the Paraguay national team.

[edit] Titles

• Paraguayan League: 1990, 1992 (with Cerro Porteño)
• South American Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 1992 (with Paraguay)
• Campeonato Gaúcho: 1997 (with Internacional)
• Campeonato Brasileiro: 1998 (with Corinthians)
• Campeonato Paulista: 1999 (with Corinthians)
• Campeonato Carioca: 2001 (with Flamengo)
• Copa dos Campeões: 2001 (with Flamengo)
• Greek football Cup: 2002 (with AEK Athens)
• Silver medal, Olympic Games: 2004 (with Paraguay)
• Coppa Italia: 2005 (with Internazionale)

	Paraguay squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Chilavert | 2 Arce | 3 Rivarola | 4 Gamarra | 5 Ayala | 6 Aguilera | 7 Yegros | 8 A. Rojas | 9 Cardozo | 10 Acuña | 11 Sarabia | 12 Aceval | 13 Paredes | 14 R. Rojas | 15 Benítez | 16 Enciso | 17 Brizuela | 18 Ramírez | 19 Morales | 20 Caniza | 21 Campos | 22 Ruiz Díaz | Coach: Carpegiani

	Paraguay squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Chilavert | 2 Arce | 3 Sarabia | 4 Gamarra | 5 Ayala | 6 Struway | 7 Báez | 8 Alvarenga | 9 Santa Cruz | 10 Acuña | 11 Campos | 12 Villar | 13 Paredes | 14 Gavilán | 15 Bonet | 16 Morínigo | 17 Franco | 18 Cáceres | 19 Sanabria | 20 Cardozo | 21 Caniza | 22 Tavarelli | 23 Cuevas | Coach: Maldini

	Paraguay squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Villar | 2 Núñez | 3 Toledo | 4 Gamarra | 5 Cáceres | 6 Bonet | 7 Cabañas | 8 Barreto | 9 Santa Cruz | 10 Acuña | 11 Gavilán | 12 Gómez | 13 Paredes | 14 da Silva | 15 Manzur | 16 Riveros | 17 Montiel | 18 Valdez | 19 dos Santos | 20 López | 21 Caniza | 22 Bobadilla | 23 Cuevas | Coach: Ruiz