Óscar Cardozo
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| Óscar Cardozo | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Óscar René Cardozo | |
| Date of birth | May 20, 1983 | |
| Place of birth | Juan Eulogio Estigarribia, Paraguay | |
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 41⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | S.L. Benfica | |
| Number | 7 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007– |
3 de Febrero Club Nacional Newell's Old Boys S.L. Benfica |
2 (1) 67 (29) 33 (21) 29 (13) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2007- | Paraguay | 15 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Óscar René "Tacuara" Cardozo (born May 20, 1983 in Juan Eulogio Estigarribia) is a Paraguayan football striker who currently plays for SL Benfica, of the Portuguese Liga.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Cardozo played for Club 24 de Junio and 3 de Febrero of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay before moving to Club Nacional in 2005 where he quickly established himself as the team's top scorer.
[edit] Newell's Old Boys
Cardozo arrived at Newell's in the second half of 2006 for a transfer fee of $1.2million after scoring 17 goals for Nacional in the Paraguayan first division Apertura tournament. At Newell's, he joined fellow Paraguayans Diego Gavilán, Santiago Salcedo and Justo Villar and became an immediate success hitting 11 goals in 16 games in the Apertura 2006 tournament. As a result of his good performances, Cardozo was voted the 2006 winner of the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year award.
The Paraguayan international started the 2007 season brilliantly. He notched up 10 goals for Newell's and was crucial in the Argentine team's escaping from the cellar of the Clausura. His recent success earned him a spot in the Paraguay national team that took part in the 2007 Copa America.
[edit] Benfica
On June 21st, 2007, Cardozo officially signed for Portuguese giants, SL Benfica, for an approximate amount of 11.1 million euros for 100% of his playing rights.[1]. This made Cardozo the second most expensive signing in the club's history, only surpassed by the former team star and captain, Simão Sabrosa (for whom Benfica paid 13M Euros in 2001).
Cardozo has been influentual for Benfica in the Portuguese Liga scoring 2 goals against CD Nacional Madeira in Funchal scoring the second from 20 meters away to but the ball past Diego Benaglio in a glourious fashion. His exploits in the Liga led to Jose Antonio Camacho to start him in the UEFA Champion's League where in 6 games he scored 3 goals cracking the top 10 list in his first European year. His first goal came against Celtic FC in Lisbon in a game where he alone hit the bar twice but with less than 7 minutes to go a play created by Freddy Adu which then reached Angel Di Maria to be passed overhead to Cardozo rattled Artur Boruc's goal and ended up giving Benfica the lead. He also won man of the match that night. His goal scorer did not stop yet with Benfica playing FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine in cold frigid weather where the players wore Head gear and gloves he managed 2 goals to give Benfica the win, again he was awarded Man of the Match.
On January 19, 2008, Cardozo scored his first Portuguese Cup goal against C.D. Feirense in dramatic fashion in a game where teammate Kostas Katsouranis hit the top of the bar earlier. After scoring the goal he then celebrated by removing his Jersey and offering it to a fan. He was then given a yellow card.
Oscar Cardozo often takes Free-Kicks for Benfica, his first free-kick goal for the club came against Vitoria SC in Guimaraes, Cardozo or Tacuara as he is known by Benfica fans, scored a goal from 35 meters out making headlines not only in Portugal but across Europe[citation needed].
On February 22, 2008 he scored a goal against 1._FC_Nuremberg on the 89th minute, for the UEFA Cup, that was crucial for Benfica to advance to the round of 16.
On March 3,2008 in the Lisbon Derby, Cardozo scored the equalizing goal to give Benfica a 1-1 draw versus their eternal rivals. The goal was off a Rui Costa corner in which Cardozo headed past Rui Patricio to boast Benfica's chance at a direct qualification for the UEFA Champion's League. On April 6, 2008 in a match against Boavista FC, Cardozo completed his promise and scored his twentieth goal in all competitions for Benfica.
| Games(goals) | BWin
League |
European Cups | Portuguese Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/2008 | 29(13) | 11 (4) | 4 (5) | 44 (22) |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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