By Alejandro Guevara Onofre
The Road to South Africa 2010!
From an Olympic perspective, Paraguay is a unique nation in the Western Hemisphere. Why? This landlocked nation is famous for its competitive athletes. Against all odds, by 1987, the Paraguayan tennis team made world headlines when they, led by Victor Manuel Pecci, defeated the United States 3-2. That day was very special for the South American country. But Paraguay has had other greatest performances in sport. Without the economic power of many Olympic nations, the FIFA 2010 World Cup will be the fourth appearance in the World Cup for Paraguay, a record in the world's developing countries. Since then this Spanish-speaking nation has been home to many top soccer players, including Casimiro Avalos, Jose Luis Chilavert, Roberto Cabanas and Julio Cesar Romero.
Country Profile: Paraguay
Paraguay is a Spanish-speaking nation located in the heart of South America. This landlocked country has an area of 157,000 square miles (406,752 km) and surrounded by Bolivia to the north, by Brazil to the west, by Argentina to the east. With more than six million people, Paraguay - about the size of California-- is among the most sparsely populated countries in the Western Hemisphere. At the same time, it is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the region. Meanwhile, Asuncion is home to the country's capital city. By the early 1810s, Paraguay became one of the first independent nations of the world. Historically, the Latin American republic was a dictatorship until 1989 when the nation's ruler Alfredo Stroessner was overthrown by Andres Rodriguez.
World Cup Tradition
The FIFA recognized Paraguay as a member in 1925. In 1922 and 1929, Paraguay was runner up in the South American Tournaments in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). In the next year, by mid-1930, Paraguay was one of 13 countries to make its World Cup debut in Montevideo, Uruguay's capital. In this event, it finished eight, outpacing Romania, Belgium and Mexico. In the latter part of the 20th century, the men's football team competed at the IV World Cup in Brazil. Meanwhile, it became South American champion in 1953. Between June 3 and June 29, 1958, Paraguay ranked 12th in the global tournament in Stockholm (Sweden).
On July 27, 1965 in Luque (Paraguay), was born Jose Luis Chilavert, one of Latin America's top athletes in the 1990s. During that period of time, he had a great career as goalkeeper. He played for Velez Sarfield (Argentina), Zaragoza (Spain) and other foreign teams. Under the leadership of Chilavert, one of the nation's three most popular idols, along with Pecci and Augusto Roa Bastos (novelist), Velez Sarfield won many international titles, including the Copa Libertadores (1994), the Copa Interamericana (1994), the Intercontinental Cup (1994), and the Supercopa Sudamericana (1996). In 1995, 1997 and 1998, he was named as the world's best goalkeeper by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
By the late 1970s, the men's soccer team placed second in the Youth South American Tournament. Subsequently, it ranked among the top seven teams in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. This team was the nucleus of the country's team for the Mexico 1986 FIFA World Cup.
At the FIFA 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the men's football squad qualified for the semi-finals and was one of the thirteen best teams on Earth. In the years that followed, by 1992, the men's soccer team qualified for the Barcelona Summer Olympics, where it finished eighth, ahead of America, Kuwait, Colombia, among other teams. In Spain, Paraguay was one of two teams that made its Olympic debut.
By the end of the 20th century, the men's football team took part in the global tournament and placed 14th. During that event in France, they beat Nigeria (3-1) and tied with Bulgaria (0-0) and Spain (0-0). In the next round, the hosts beat Paraguay 1-0.
By the early 2000s, the country, with a team that had been together over the years, picked up the ticket for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. During the course of the decade, it finished a surprise second at the 28th Summer Olympics in Greece, the nation's first Olympic medal. Subsequently, the South American nation qualified for the 2006 global tournament in Germany and placed 18th, ahead of Poland and Croatia. In 2009, the men's football squad, won the right to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Alejandro Guevara Onofre: Freelance writer. Alejandro is author of a host of articles/essays about over 220 countries and dependencies (and American States as well), from ecology, history, tourism and national heroes to Olympic sports, foreign relations, and wildlife. In addition, he has published some books on women's rights, among them "History of the Women in America" and "Famous Americans."
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