Roberto Acuña Explained

Roberto Miguel Acuña Cabello (pronounced as /es/; born 25 March 1972) is a Paraguayan former footballer.

Nicknamed "El Toro" (The Bull) due to his strength and dominating presence, he operated mainly as a central midfielder. He spent several years as a professional in Spain at Zaragoza and Deportivo, appearing rarely for the latter club.

Acuña played 100 times for Paraguay, representing the nation in three World Cups and four Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Acuña was born in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina, emigrating to Paraguay (his father's origin country)[1] at a young age and starting playing for Club Nacional in 1989. After five years, he decided to acquire the country's citizenship to play for the national team, eventually becoming the second most capped player in Paraguay's history, second only to Carlos Gamarra.

Afterwards, Acuña played four seasons back in Argentina, with Argentinos Juniors, Spanish; Castilian: [[Club Atlético Independiente]]|italic=no and Boca Juniors, before moving to Europe in 1997 where he signed with Spain's Real Zaragoza. With the Aragonese he was an ever present midfield fixture, helping the side to the 2001 conquest of the Copa del Rey.[2] [3] In 2001, he won the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year award.[4]

Roberto Acuña
Fullname:Roberto Miguel Acuña Cabello[5]
Birth Date:25 March 1972
Birth Place:Avellaneda, Argentina
Height:1.75 m
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1989–1993
Years2:1993–1994
Years3:1994–1995
Years4:1995–1997
Years5:1997–2002
Years6:2002–2006
Years7:2003–2004
Years8:2004
Years9:2007
Years10:2007
Years11:2009–2012
Years12:2013–2014
Years13:2015
Years14:2016–2017
Clubs1:Nacional
Clubs2:Argentinos Juniors
Clubs3:Boca Juniors
Clubs4:Indepediente
Clubs5:Zaragoza
Clubs6:Deportivo La Coruña
Clubs7:Elche (loan)
Clubs8:Al Ain (loan)
Clubs9:Rosario Central
Clubs10:Olimpia
Clubs11:Rubio Ñu
Clubs12:12 de Octubre
Clubs13:Deportivo Recoleta
Clubs14:Rubio Ñu
Caps2:33
Caps3:31
Caps4:65
Caps5:153
Caps6:14
Caps7:26
Caps8:4
Caps9:4
Caps10:16
Caps11:97
Caps12:8
Caps13:11
Caps14:23
Totalcaps:485
Goals2:4
Goals3:3
Goals4:3
Goals5:20
Goals6:0
Goals7:2
Goals8:0
Goals9:0
Goals10:3
Goals11:15
Goals12:1
Goals13:2
Goals14:0
Totalgoals:53
Nationalyears1:1993–2011
Nationalteam1:Paraguay
Nationalcaps1:100
Nationalgoals1:5

Consequently, Acuña attracted attention from Deportivo de La Coruña, which bought the player for five years and 11 million even though he was still due a five-match suspension from the previous season, where Zaragoza was relegated.[6] With the Galicians, however, he never appeared more than seven times in the league during his spell, also struggling with injuries[7] and being often loaned.[8]

Acuña first retired in 2007, finishing his career in Paraguay with Olimpia Asunción. However, in 2009, he came out of inactivity, signing with lowly Club Rubio Ñu; in 2012, the 40-year-old joined Club 12 de Octubre.

In 2015, aged 43, Acuña helped Deportivo Recoleta gain promotion to the Paraguayan Primera División B.[9] [10] In December of that year, he re-joined former club Rubio Ñu.[11] [12]

International career

Like central defender Gamarra, Acuña appeared in three FIFA World Cup1998, 2002 and 2006 – and collected 100 caps in total, scoring five goals.[13] [14] He played all the matches for the national team in all three editions, and was the first Paraguayan to be sent off in a World Cup when he elbowed Germany's Michael Ballack in the last minute of the 0–1 round-of-16 loss on 15 June 2002 (for a second bookable offense).[15]

In the build-up to the 2006 World Cup, Acuña made headlines in Sweden after reportedly having asked a FIFA employee to phone and try to arrange a date with a female photographer.[16] He retired from international competition on 11 June 2011 at the age of 39, captaining Paraguay in a friendly with Romania.[17]

Acuña also represented the nation in the beach soccer variety.[18]

International goals

Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.[19] [20] [21] [22]

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 30 June 1995 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay align=center 1–0 align=center 1–0 Friendly
2. 11 June 1997 Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba, Bolivia align=center 1–0 align=center 1–0 1997 Copa América
3. 6 July 1997 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay align=center 1–2 align=center 1–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 3 June 1998 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania align=center 2–2 align=center 2–3 Friendly
5. 16 August 2000 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina align=center 1–0 align=center 1–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Independiente

1995[23]

Zaragoza

2000–01[3]

Individual

2001[4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Los argentinos que han jugado para Paraguay en los últimos años. es. 26 December 2021.
  2. http://hemeroteca.abc.es/nav/Navigate.exe/hemeroteca/madrid/abc/2001/06/21/059.html Llegó el Frente y se fue el Atlético (The Front arrived and Atlético left)
  3. News: Zaragoza, no hay quinta Copa mala. Zaragoza, no such thing as a bad fifth Cup. ABC. es. 1 July 2001. 6 July 2014.
  4. http://www.abc.com.py/fotos/2008/12/29/081229230443963.jpg El historial del galardón (Award's history)
  5. Web site: 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players . FIFA . 20 . 21 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190610174527/https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf . 10 June 2019.
  6. http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=27920.html Deportivo swoop for Acuña
  7. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=64938.html Acuña despair for Deportivo
  8. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=276452.html Deportivo return for 'Toro'
  9. News: La edad no para al Toro y seguirá en actividad. Age cannot stop the Bull and he will remain active. Hoy. es. 28 July 2015. 16 October 2015.
  10. Web site: El Toro, interminable, suma otro título en su carrera con Recoleta. The Bull, endless, adds another career title with Recoleta. D10. es. 28 September 2015. 16 October 2015.
  11. News: La vuelta al ruedo del "Toro" Acuña. The "Bull" Acuña returns to the arena. ABC Color. es. 23 December 2015. 24 January 2016.
  12. News: "En nuestra época nadie se sacaba selfies". In our time no one took selfies. Hoy. es. 13 June 2016. 5 July 2016.
  13. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/acuna-intl.html Roberto Miguel Acuña – Century of International Appearances
  14. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/para-recintlp.html Paraguay – Record International Players
  15. Web site: Germany edge out Paraguay. BBC Sport. 15 June 2002. 15 September 2011.
  16. News: Paraguayan football star Acuña was behind the invite. Dagens Nyheter. 1 June 2006. 17 May 2018.
  17. News: Paraguay vence a Rumania en despedida del "Toro" Acuña. Paraguay beat Romania in farewell of "Toro" Acuña. ABC Color. es. 11 June 2011. 11 October 2017.
  18. Web site: Paraguay 2019 draw: Everything you need to know. https://web.archive.org/web/20190913003024/https://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/news/paraguay-2019-draw-everything-you-need-to-know. dead. 13 September 2019. FIFA. 12 September 2019. 13 September 2019.
  19. Web site: 1995 Matches. RSSSF. 22 May 2017.
  20. Web site: 1997 Matches. RSSSF. 22 May 2017.
  21. Web site: 1998 Matches. RSSSF. 22 May 2017.
  22. Web site: 2000 Matches. RSSSF. 22 May 2017.
  23. Web site: Supercopa Libertadores 1995 – Full Details. RSSSF. 11 October 2017.