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Celso Ayala
River Plate · Central defender (líbero) · b. 20 August 1970, Asunción (Paraguay)
BIO STUB — NOT GRADED
Height / Weight1.88m / 74kg
NationalityParaguay
PositionCentral defender (líbero)
Signed fromRosario Central, 1995
Source seasonClausura 1997

Profile

A right-footed central defender, per the source, strong defensively but rarely bringing the ball forward himself. A genuine threat in the air on set pieces, which has produced several goals in Argentine football.

Career to date (as of mid-1997)

Arrived in Argentina in 1994 from Olimpia of Paraguay, joining Rosario Central and debuting in Primera División on 11 September that year, playing as líbero. River signed him for Clausura '95 to replace Roberto Ayala, who had just been sold to Italy — took time to win the fans over but became a fixture. A regular for the Paraguay national team as cover for Catalino Rivarola and Carlos Gamarra, capped at the 1993, 1995 and 1997 Copa América tournaments and a key part of Paraguay's 1998 World Cup qualification campaign.

Trajectory (PC Fútbol database)

SeasonClubDivisionMatchesGoals
Clausura '95River Plate190
Apertura '95River Plate1111
Clausura '96River Plate1160
Apertura '96River Plate1162
Clausura '97River Plate1162

16 matches, 2 goals in Clausura '97 as River won the domestic bicampeonato, per the source. Titles per the source: 1993 Paraguayan championship (Olimpia), Apertura '96 and Clausura '97 (River Plate), 1996 Copa Libertadores.

Source

PC Fútbol — Base de Datos Apertura 97, (C) 1997 Dinamic Multimedia. Uploaded by Jim Totime. Cross-reference against a modern source (Transfermarkt / RSSSF) recommended before this is used for anything client-facing — this stub has not been independently verified against a second source.