Roberto Ayala
Ayala with Argentina in 2007 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Roberto Fabián Ayala | ||
Date of birth | 14 April 1973 | ||
Place of birth | Paraná, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
Playing position | Centre Back | ||
Youth career | |||
Ferro Carril Oeste | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1991–1993 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 72 | (1) |
1994–1995 | River Plate | 40 | (0) |
1995–1998 | Napoli | 87 | (1) |
1998–2000 | Milan | 24 | (0) |
2000–2007 | Valencia | 188 | (9) |
2007 | Villarreal | 0 | (0) |
2007–2010 | Zaragoza | 72 | (4) |
2010–2011 | Racing Club | 16 | (0) |
Total | 499 | (15) | |
National team | |||
1994–2007 | Argentina | 115 | (7) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Roberto Fabián Ayala (locally: [roˈβ̞erto faˈβ̞jan aˈʒala]; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed el Ratón (in English: "the Mouse"), is a former Argentine footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentine National Football Team, as well as the Spanish giant Valencia and prominent Spanish side Zaragoza, the Italian giants Milan and Napoli, and the Argentine powerhouse River Plate.
Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, Ayala captained the Argentine national team in a record 63 matches.[1] He played in three World Cups and made a total of 115 international appearances, with only Javier Zanetti getting more caps for Argentina. He inherited the nickname of Ratón from the Argentine 1974 World Cup player Rubén Ayala, although they are not related.
Football career
Early Career in Argentina
Ayala began his career in his native Argentina, playing for Ferro Carril Oeste. After three seasons, he moved to River Plate where his good form atrracted the attention of clubs in Europe.
Move to Europe
Parma, Napoli and Milan
Italian club Parma FC brought the Argentine defender to Europe. However the club, having already used their quota of three non-EU players, loaned him to Napoli, who bought up half of his contract on a co-ownership deal. Ayala was bought by AC Milan at the end of the 1997–98 season and played there for two seasons until Valencia CF bought him for £6.25 Million.
Valencia
During his seven years at Valencia CF, he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League final in 2001. However, his team lost to Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw, although he was nonetheless voted the Best Defender of the tournament season. The following year, Valencia won the 2001–02 Spanish La Liga. In 2003–04, Valencia again won the Spanish La Liga and added the UEFA Cup.
In the 2004–05 season, injuries kept Ayala from much of the La Liga campaign and he missed the UEFA Super Cup 2004 victory over Porto.
During his time with Valencia, he was widely regarded as one of the finest central defenders in the world.
Villarreal and Real Zaragoza
In August 2006, he was not offered a new contract by sporting director Amedeo Carboni. On 7 February 2007 Ayala announced he would join regional rivals Villarreal CF at the end of the season. However, before having played for Villarreal, he joined Real Zaragoza on a three-year deal on 14 July 2007.[2] The buy-out clause in his contract with Villarreal was €6 million (£4.8 million) which was paid in full by Real Zaragoza.
On 3 May 2008, Ayala scored his first goal for Real Zaragoza in the 94th minute versus Deportivo La Coruña to lead Zaragoza to a 1–0 victory.[3] Zaragoza however were relegated to the Spanish 2nd Division. On 22 November 2008, Ayala scored his second goal for Real Zaragoza, in the 73rd of a 3-0 win over SD Eibar. On 29 February 2009, he scored his third goal, in the 54th minute against Real Murcia as Zaragoza won the match 4–1.
In January 2010, Ayala's contract with Real Zaragoza was terminated by mutual consent.
Racing Avellaneda
On 2 February 2010, Racing Club de Avellaneda signed Ayala on a free transfer.[4]
Managerial career
On 30 December, he retired from professional football, and became Racing Avellaneda's manager.[5]
International career
He made his debut for Argentina on 16 November 1994, against Chile, under coach Daniel Passarella.
Ayala played for Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal. He played for Argentina in the 1998 World Cup and was a non-playing squad member in the 2002 competition due to a last minute injury moments before their first match against Nigeria. He was then selected as an over-age player as Argentina won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Ayala played an integral part in the Argentine squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played brilliantly throughout the tournament, and was picked as a member of the All Star Team. In the quarterfinal against Germany he scored a header that gave Argentina the 1–0 lead. Argentina lost the penalty shootout after the 1–1 tie, with Ayala's spot kick being saved by Jens Lehmann.
On 30 May 2006, In a friendly match against Angola, Ayala completed 100 caps for Argentina.[6]
One of the best defenders in Argentina's history, on 7 February 2007, Ayala became the most capped player of the National team (most of the times as captain), beating his friend Diego Simeone, in a friendly victory 1–0 against France played in the Stade de France, Paris.
On 5 June 2007, in a friendly against Algeria, Roberto Ayala captained Argentina for a record 58th international, having equalled Diego Maradona's mark of 57 in the 1–1 draw against Switzerland in Basel on Saturday 2 June.[7]
On 17 July 2007, after playing in the Copa América 2007 final against Brazil, during which he scored an own goal, Ayala announced his retirement from international football.[8] Ayala stated, "it has nothing to do with what happened in the final of the Copa America."[9] Javier Zanetti took over from him as captain.
Personal life
Ayala is married to Veronica, and has four children: Francisco, Sofía, Pilar and Martina.
Career statistics
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
Argentina | League | Cup | League Cup | South America | Total | |||||||
1991–92 | Ferro Carril Oeste | Primera División | 18 | 0 | ||||||||
1992–93 | 36 | 0 | ||||||||||
1993–94 | 18 | 1 | ||||||||||
1993–94 | River Plate | Primera División | 16 | 0 | ||||||||
1994–95 | 24 | 0 | ||||||||||
Italy | League | Coppa Italia | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
1995–96 | Napoli | Serie A | 29 | 0 | ||||||||
1996–97 | 30 | 1 | ||||||||||
1997–98 | 28 | 0 | ||||||||||
1998–99 | Milan | Serie A | 11 | 0 | ||||||||
1999–00 | 13 | 0 | ||||||||||
Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Supercopa de España | Europe | Total | |||||||
2000–01 | Valencia | La Liga | 28 | 1 | ||||||||
2001–02 | 30 | 2 | ||||||||||
2002–03 | 31 | 1 | ||||||||||
2003–04 | 30 | 1 | ||||||||||
2004–05 | 17 | 0 | ||||||||||
2005–06 | 23 | 2 | ||||||||||
2006–07 | 29 | 2 | ||||||||||
2007–08 | Real Zaragoza | La Liga | 33 | 1 | ||||||||
2008–09 | Segunda División | 26 | 3 | |||||||||
2009–10 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | |||||||||
Total | Argentina | 112 | 1 | |||||||||
Italy | 111 | 1 | ||||||||||
Spain | 260 | 13 | ||||||||||
Career total | 468 | 15 |
Correct as of 14 June 2009
Argentina national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1994 | 3 | 0 |
1995 | 14 | 0 |
1996 | 6 | 0 |
1997 | 7 | 0 |
1998 | 13 | 1 |
1999 | 12 | 1 |
2000 | 11 | 1 |
2001 | 8 | 0 |
2002 | 1 | 0 |
2003 | 6 | 0 |
2004 | 10 | 1 |
2005 | 8 | 2 |
2006 | 7 | 1 |
2007 | 9 | 0 |
Total | 115 | 7 |
International goals
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 February 1998 | Mendoza, Argentina | Romanian League | 2–1 | Unofficial Friendly[11] |
2 | 7 September 1999 | Porto Alegre, Brazil | Brazil | 2–4 | Friendly |
3 | 26 April 2000 | Maracaibo, Venezuela | Venezuela | 4–0 | World Cup 2002 Qualifying |
4 | 13 July 2004 | Piura, Peru | Uruguay | 4–2 | Copa América 2004 |
5 | 12 November 2005 | Geneva, Switzerland | England | 2–3 | Friendly |
6 | 16 November 2005 | Doha, Qatar | Qatar | 3–0 | Friendly |
7 | 30 June 2006 | Berlin, Germany | Germany | 1 – 1 (2–4 PS) | 2006 FIFA World Cup |
Honours
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Competitor for Argentina | ||
Men's Football | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1996 Atlanta | Team Competition | |
2004 Athens | Team Competition | |
Pan American Games | ||
1995 Mar del Plata | Team Competition |
International honours
Winner
- 2004 Olympic Games
Club honours
River Plate
Winner
- 1994 Apertura
Milan
Winner
- 1998–99 Serie A
Valencia
Winner
- 2001–02, 2003–04 La Liga
- 2003–04 UEFA Cup
- 2004 UEFA Super Cup
Individual
Winner
- South American Team of the Year: 1994[12]
- UEFA Club Best Defender of the Year: 2000-01
- European Sports Media Team of the Year: 2003-04
- 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
References
- ↑ "Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria". Chinadaily.com.cn. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ↑ "Ayala será jugador del Real Zaragoza". www.realzaragoza.com. 14 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ↑ "Zaragoza put an end to Ayala saga". www.uefa.com. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
- ↑ Roberto Ayala llegó a Argentina para incorporarse a Racing Club
- ↑ 26noticias.com.ar
- ↑ "Centurion Ayala eyes main prize". www.fifa.com. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
- ↑ "Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria". China Daily. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ↑ Clarin newspaper Ayala: "Mi ciclo en la Selección está terminado" (Spanish)
- ↑ Ayala: "Mi ciclo en la Selección está terminado"
- ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/rayala-intl.html
- ↑ International Matches 1998 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
- ↑ "South American Team of the Year". 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
External links
- Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (Spanish)
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Roberto Bordin |
Napoli captain 1997-1998 |
Succeeded by Giuseppe Taglialatela |
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