José Luis Chilavert

José Luis Chilavert

Chilavert in 1985, while playing for Argentine side San Lorenzo.
Personal information
Full name	José Luis Félix Chilavert González
Date of birth	(1965-07-27) 27 July 1965
Place of birth	Luque, Paraguay
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1982–1984	Sportivo Luqueño	67	(4)
1984–1985	Guaraní	19	(1)
1985–1988	San Lorenzo	122	(0)
1988–1991	Real Zaragoza	79	(1)
1991–2001	Vélez Sarsfield	270	(36)
2000–2003	Strasbourg	50	(0)
2003	Peñarol	15	(4)
2003–2004	Vélez Sarsfield	0	(0)
Total		622	(46)
National team
1989–2003	Paraguay	74	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

José Luis Félix Chilavert González (Spanish pronunciation: [xoseˈlwis tʃilaˈβert ɣonˈsales]; born 27 July 1965) is a Paraguayan former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, RC Strasbourg, Peñarol, and the Paraguay national football team.

Chilavert won 12 club titles, including the 1994 Copa Libertadores and the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, while playing for Vélez Sarsfield, and is a three-time IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award winner. An agile shot-stopper,^[1] outside of his goalkeeping position, Chilavert was also known for his skills as a free kick specialist,^[2] and often took penalties.^[3] He scored 67 goals in his professional career, many of them crucial, including eight in international matches. Four of his international goals were scored during Paraguay's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Chilavert is the second-highest goalscoring goalkeeper of all time, surpassed only by Brazilian keeper Rogerio Ceni, and is the only goalkeeper to score a hat-trick.^[4] Chilavert was also known for his eccentricity and his fiery temper, which brought him his fair share of controversies; most notorious among them was his being sent off in 1997 for brawling with Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla.^[5] He was nicknamed "El Buldog" ("The Bulldog")^[6][7] and often wore a cartoon bulldog on his goalkeeper jersey.^[8]

Chilavert appeared for the Paraguay national football team 74 times from 1989 to 2003, scoring 8 goals and representing the team at five major tournaments. Chilavert appeared for Paraguay at two FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998 and 2002), where he served as captain on both occasions, and appeared in three Copa América tournaments (1991, 1993, and 1997). Chilavert was also included in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament.

Early years

Chilavert grew up in Luque, Gran Asunción,^[9] in a poor family, and walked barefoot until the age of seven.^[10] His parents are Catalino Chilavert, who was a state bureaucrat, and Nicolasa González. When he was five, he had three siblings and two responsibilities: to milk the cows and to sell the milk in the neighborhood of Ñu Guazú, a rural suburb of Luque.^[11] One of his siblings, Rolando Chilavert is also a football player.

Club career

Chilavert made his debut as a football player with the team Sportivo Luqueño. He was trained by Modesto Sandoval. In 1989, he played for the Paraguayan national team for the first time.

He later moved to Spain, where he played for Real Zaragoza. In 1988, whilst Chilavert played for Real Zaragoza, he stated that "the fans used to freak out" when he would come out with the ball at his feet and "scream at me to get back in goal. I've never stopped to think about what others are saying. I just rely on my abilities. Later on, I started to practice penalties and free kicks until they gave me the job for real".^[10] Chilavert admitted to staying behind after training to practice 80 to 120 free kicks, which in his opinion was how he got better.^[2]

^[10] After his time at Real Zaragoza, he moved to Argentina, where he played with Vélez Sársfield, helping them win the Primera División four times, as well as the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup, both in 1994. In 1999, he became the first goalkeeper known to score a hat-trick in the history of professional football, while playing for Vélez against Ferro Carril Oeste, scoring all three goals through penalties.^[12] He also scored a free kick from behind the half-way line against River Plate.^[13]

Whilst at Strasbourg, Chilavert played in the 2001 Coupe de France Final, in which his team beat Amiens SC on penalties, and Chilavert scored the winning penalty in the shootout.^[14]

International career

Chilavert was voted World Goalkeeper of the Year by the IFFHS in 1995, 1997, and 1998. He scored in the 1998 World Cup qualification campaign. He participated in the 1998 World Cup, where he became the first goalkeeper ever to take a direct free kick in the World Cup finals, almost scoring against Bulgaria.^[15] With two clean sheets in the first round, he helped take Paraguay to the round of sixteen, where the team lost to France on a golden goal scored by Laurent Blanc.^[16] Chilavert had made boasts about being the Cup's best goalkeeper before the tournament,^[17] and after the tournament, FIFA indeed named Chilavert on the tournament All-Star Squad for his performances, alongside French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.^[18][19]

Chilavert refused to take part in the 1999 Copa América, angering the Paraguayan government, as he claimed funding should be used for education.^[20]

After a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification game, he spat on Brazil's Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give him a four-match suspension (later reduced to three) which forced him to watch the first game, against South Africa, of the 2002 World Cup from the stands.^[17] Chilavert accused Roberto Carlos of racism and of making obscene gestures during the match.^[13] Chilavert later claimed that Roberto Carlos came up to him after the match and said "Indian, we have won 2–0, you are a disaster".^[21] He also justified his action by saying he had been provoked by the Brazilians, who had called him the weakest link of Paraguay before the match, and also claimed the match was like a war and that Brazil should return land to Paraguay lost in the War of the Triple Alliance in the 19th century.^[21]

Before the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Paraguay manager Cesare Maldini had faced criticism in Paraguay, but Chilavert defended Maldini for his experience.^[22] He also expressed great confidence in the ability of the Paraguayan team and downplayed his role on the team.^[23] During the World Cup, Chilavert made an error against Spain on Morientes's 2–1 goal as Paraguay lost 3–1. Chilavert almost redeemed himself later with a good free kick attempt, but the shot was saved by Casillas.^[24] Before the match, Chilavert had vowed to score against Spain if Paraguay got a free kick "within range".^[25] Before the last match in the group stage, Paraguay had to beat Slovenia and Spain had to beat South Africa, with a combined margin of three goals, for Paraguay to go through to the last 16. The match started badly for Paraguay, with Carlos Paredes sent off in the 21st minute, and continued with Milenko Ačimovič taking the lead for the Slovenians right before half-time. But Paraguay – inspired by substitutes Nelson Cuevas and Jorge Campos – recovered to defeat Slovenia 3–1, scoring three times in the last 25 minutes, and when Spain also defeated South Africa 3–2, that victory meant that Paraguay was through to the next round, where they would play Germany.^[26][27] In their second-round match against Germany, despite several saves from Chilavert, Paraguay lost 1–0, courtesy of a late Oliver Neuville goal.^[13][28]

In total, Chilavert earned 74 international caps for Paraguay and achieved a goalkeeper record of eight international goals. He retired from international football in 2003.^[29]

Retirement and post-career

Chilavert announced his retirement from football in December 2003, but decided to come out of retirement to return to Vélez. Chilavert had just won the Uruguayan league with Peñarol when he initially retired. He finally retired permanently in 2004, playing his last match, a farewell testimonial, on November 11 of that year – fittingly, he scored a goal.^[30]

In 2005, Chilavert received a suspended six-month prison sentence in France for the use of false documents related to the compensation for the end of his contract with Strasbourg.^[31]

Chilavert was a commentator for American television network Univision during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, alongside Jorge Pérez-Navarro. Chilavert vowed that if he had gone to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, he would have tried again to become the first goalkeeper to score a goal.^[10]

Personal life and personality

Chilavert is married to Marcela, an English language teacher he met in Buenos Aires while playing for San Lorenzo de Almagro. In 1998, they had a daughter named Anahí.^[32]

Controversies

Chilavert has allegedly thrown punches at Faustino Asprilla and Diego Maradona.^[33]

He once received a suspended prison sentence for attacking a physiotherapist.^[2]

Chilavert was a guest commentator for Univision during the Copa América Centenario but was removed from the broadcasts after CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez told the network to remove Chilavert. Chilavert had criticized Dominguez and called him corrupt on the air during Paraguay's Group A match against Colombia.^[34][35]

Leadership and morality

Chilavert defended Cesare Maldini from the members of the Paraguayan press who criticized Maldini when he was appointed as Paraguay's coach for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Chilavert stated that "About 90% of sports journalists in Paraguay are incompetent" and welcomed criticism following Paraguay's performance in Korea and Japan if they were to perform poorly.^[36]

During his career, Chilavert was being touted as Paraguay's future president.^[33] Chilavert was labelled "a revolutionary the kind of which South America has not seen since the days of Che Guevara."^[33]

Off the field, Chilavert refused to participate at the 1999 Copa América, held in Paraguay, complaining about the incompetence of the local directors. Despite being officially honored by the government, he said that his country should invest money in education rather than football.^[37][38] Chilavert also routinely dismissed his country's politicians as corrupt, incompetent, and responsible for keeping many Paraguayans in poverty. Chilavert claimed that when his playing days were over, he would stand for president and enforce his own brand of law and order.^[38]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Other[nb 1]		Continental[nb 2]		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Paraguay			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1982	Sportivo Luqueño	Primera División	30	0	–		–		–		30	0
1983			37	4	–		–		–		37	4
1984			0	0	–		–		3	0	3	0
1984	Guaraní	Primera División	19	1	–		–		–		19	1
Argentina			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1985	San Lorenzo	Primera División	10	0	–		–		–		10	0
1985–86			38	0	–		–		–		38	0
1986–87			31	0	–		–		–		31	0
1987–88			43	0	–		–		–		43	0
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1988–89	Real Zaragoza	La Liga	37	0	2	0	–		–		39	0
1989–90			34	1	4	0	–		4	0	42	1
1990–91			8	0	1	0	–		–		9	0
Argentina			League		Cup		Intercontinental		South America		Total
1991–92	Vélez Sarsfield	Primera División	221	0	–		–		–		22	0
1992–93			30	1	–		–		0	0	30	1
1993–94			23	0	–		–		13	0	36	0
1994–95			34	1	–		1	0	5	0	40	1
1995–96			34	4	–		2	0	2	0	38	4
1996–97			24	6	–		–		17	5	41	11
1997–98			35	10	–		–		6	2	41	12
1998–99			26	4	–		–		17	2	43	6
1999–2000			34	8	–		–		2	0	36	8
2000–01			8	2	–		–		6	3	14	5
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2000–01	Strasbourg	Division 1	17	0	5	1	0	0	–		22	1
2001–02		Division 2	33	0	4	0	4	0	2	0	43	0
2002–03		Division 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Uruguay			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
2003	Peñarol	Primera División	152	4	–		–		0	0	15	4
Argentina			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
2003–04	Vélez Sarsfield	Primera División	0	0	–		–		6	0	6	0
Total	Paraguay		86	5	—		—		3	0	89	5
	Argentina		392	36	—		3	0	74	12	469	48
	Spain		79	1	7	0	—		4	0	90	1
	France		50	0	9	1	4	0	2	0	65	1
	Uruguay		15	4	—		—		0	0	15	4
Career total			622	46	16	1	7	0	83	12	728	59

¹Includes four 1993 Copa Libertadores playoff (liguilla) matches.

²Includes one Championship Playoff match.

• Also played 1 (2001) Trophée des champions match.

Sources: ^{[39][40][41][42][43][44]}

International

Source: ^[45]

Paraguay national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1989	2	1
1990	0	0
1991	6	0
1992	0	0
1993	10	1
1994	0	0
1995	0	0
1996	7	1
1997	9	1
1998	10	0
1999	3	0
2000	13	2
2001	7	2
2002	5	0
2003	2	0
Total	74	8

International goals

Chilavert – goals for Paraguay
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 August 1989	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Colombia	2–1	2–1	1990 World Cup qualifier
2.	15 August 1993	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Peru	2–0	2–1	1994 World Cup qualifier
3.	1 September 1996	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1–1	1–1	1998 World Cup qualifier
4.	17 June 1997	Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba, Bolivia	Argentina	0–1	1–1	1997 Copa América
5.	7 October 2000	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	0–2	0–2	2002 World Cup qualifier
6.	15 November 2000	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Peru	5–1	5–1	2002 World Cup qualifier
7.	5 September 2001	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Bolivia	3–1	5–1	2002 World Cup qualifier
8.	7 October 2001	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Argentina	1–0	2–2	2002 World Cup qualifier

Honours

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Luis Chilavert.

• José Luis Chilavert – FIFA competition record
• IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year at RSSSF
• The World's most successful goalscoring Goalkeepers of all time at IFFHS