Miguel Ángel Benítez
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Ángel Benítez Pavón | ||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Santísima Trinidad, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1991 | Villa Elisa | ||
| 1992–1993 | Calpe | ||
| 1993–1995 | Atlético Madrid | 10 | (0) |
| 1994 | → Almería (loan) | ||
| 1995 | → Mérida (loan) | 23 | (10) |
| 1995–2001 | Espanyol | 147 | (28) |
| 2002–2003 | Olimpia | 41 | (8) |
| 2003–2004 | Almería | 9 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Universitario | 7 | (0) |
| 2006 | Sportivo Luqueño | 24 | (2) |
| 2006 | Olimpia | 9 | (1) |
| 2007 | Guaraní | ||
| National team | |||
| 1996–1999 | Paraguay | 30 | (11) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2009 | Silvio Pettirossi | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Miguel Ángel Benítez Pavón, also known as Peque Benítez (born 19 May 1970), is a Paraguayan retired footballer who played as a forward.
He is best known for his spell with Spain's Espanyol, where he played for seven years. Altogether he spent one full decade in that country, representing three other teams and appearing in more than 200 official games overall.
A Paraguayan international in the late 1990s, Benítez represented the nation at the 1998 World Cup.
Club career
Benítez was born in Santísima Trinidad. After playing for modest teams in his country he arrived in Spain at the age of 23, purchased by Atlético Madrid, but appeared very rarely for the Colchoneros, being often demoted to its reserves and also being loaned twice, notably to CP Mérida, which he helped promote from the second division by scoring a team-best 10 goals in only five months.
Released by Atlético in the 1995 summer, Benítez signed with fellow La Liga side RCD Espanyol, and went on to make nearly 200 official appearances for the Catalan team, helping them to the 2000 Copa del Rey.
Benítez left Espanyol in January 2002 to return to Paraguay, and signed for Asunción's Club Olimpia. In the years until his retirement he appeared for several other clubs, and also returned to Spain, playing with second division UD Almería.
In 2008, Benítez started his coaching career, taking charge of lowly Club Silvio Pettirossi as it was experiencing his first season in Paraguay's Primera División.
International career
Benítez won 30 caps for Paraguay. He was selected for the 1998 World Cup, playing in all four matches as the national side reached the second round, and netting in the 3–1 group stage win over Nigeria.[1]
Benítez was also selected for the 1999 Copa América, played on home soil, scoring three times: this included one in Paraguay's 1–1 quarter-final clash against Uruguay, where he also missed the decisive kick in the penalty shoot-out.
Honours
Club
- Espanyol
- Spanish Cup: 1999–2000
- Olimpia
- Libertadores Cup: 2002
- South American Supercup: 2003
References
- ↑ Nigeria - Paraguay 1-3 (1-1); Planet World Cup, 24 June 1998
External links
- BDFutbol profile
- Miguel Ángel Benítez at National-Football-Teams.com
- Miguel Ángel Benítez – FIFA competition record
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