Profile of the Legends: José Luis Félix Chilavert of Paraguay
Profile of the Legends: José Luis Félix Chilavert of Paraguay
by Steve Amoia for Keeper Skool
In the following article, Steve Amoia writes about the goalkeeping legend Jose Luis Felix Chilavert of Paraguay. It is an honour to have Steve write here at Keeper Skool, we are a huge fan of his writing and it will be great to see him write some more articles for our readers here at Keeper Skool. Enjoy.
Professional Clubs
He was born in 1965 in Luque, Paraguay. His professional career spanned from 1982 to 2004, and he competed in five different countries. He was a tall man at 1.93 meters or 6' 4".
- Sportivo Luqueño (Paraguay)
- Club Guarani (Paraguay)
- San Lorenzo (Argentina)
- Real Saragoza (Spain)
- Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
- Racing Club de Strasbourg (France)
- Peñarol (Uruguay)
- Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
Career Honors
- He is the only goalkeeper to score three goals in one professional game. (1999 versus Ferrocarril Oeste in the Argentine League).
- IFFHS Best Goalkeeper in the World: 1995, 1997, and 1998.
- Player of the Year in Argentina: 1996.
- South American Footballer of the Year: 1996.
- In 1994, he won the Copa Libertadores Cup, Copa Sudamericana, along with the FIFA Intercontinental Cup with Velez Sarsfield.
- In 1997, he won the Recopa Sudamericana with Velez Sarsfield.
During his long career, he won six domestic league championships.
International Appearances for Paraguay
- 74 caps from 1989 through 2003.
- He played in 24 friendlies, 31 World Cup qualifiers, 7 World Cup games (1998 and 2002), and 12 games at the Copa America (The continental championship of the Americas).
- Record: 32 wins, 20 draws, and 22 losses. Winning percentage of 57%.
- Goals conceded: 78. His goals against ratio was 1.05 per game.
- Goals scored: 8.
Courtesy of and copyrighted by Roberto Mamrud and RSSSF 2003/04.
Source: http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/chilavert-intl.html
Mr. Chilavert Scored 62 Goals in His Stellar Career
- He was an excellent left-footed free kick and penalty kick specialist.
- Until surpassed by Rogerio Ceni in 2006, Mr. Chilavert held the international scoring record for goalkeepers.
- At World Cup 1998 against Bulgaria, he came within centimeters of becoming the first keeper to ever score from a free kick. I recall seeing his bending shot barely miss dipping under the left crossbar.
Controversial Personality
- He was fiery, emotional, and had a commanding presence on the pitch. He could taunt or spit in your face (as he did in a famous incident with Roberto Carlos of Brasil), but could also show genuine sportsmanship. As you will note from the video, he shook hands with some of the keepers when he scored against them.
- He had a notable fight with Faustino Asprilla of Colombia, and was red carded from the game.
- Before World Cup 2002, he announced that he was the best keeper in the tournament.
A Vocal Leader On and Off the Pitch
During preparations for World Cup 1998, Mister Cesare Maldini was selected as the national team manager of Paraguay. The Paraguayan media was not too kind to the Milanese legend and former Azzurri manager. They criticized his infrequent trips to South America. Chilavert took it upon himself to place things into proper perspective during a press conference.
"We should be honored that Professor Maldini decided to coach us. He could manage anywhere, and he is here to help us out."
With that concise statement, the road was paved for Mr. Maldini to lead Paraguay into the round of 16 where they lost to France in extra time. As I mentioned above, Chilavert came tantalizingly close to become the first keeper ever to score from the run of play in World Cup history.
Football Commentator for Univision Television Network
- Univision is the leading Spanish-language television network in North America.
- He was a football commentator and analyst during World Cup 2006 from Germany.
- During the competition, I listened to several of his game commentaries. For someone without much live broadcasting experience, he was excellent. He displayed no superior attitude, and was able, in my opinion, to provide insightful analyses and anecdotes from his own career to educate and entertain the audience.
Steve Amoia is the author and editor of World Football Commentaries, and also writes for Soccerlens.
John Stevanja
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Reader Comments (2)
Mr Chilavert is truly a larger-than-life personality.