Cerro Porteño (Paraguay), Independiente (Argentina), Cerro
Porteño (Paraguay), Internacional (Brazil), SL Benfica
(Portugal), Corinthians (Brazil), Atletico Madrid (Spain),
Flamengo (Brazil), AEK Athens (Greece), Inter Milan (Italy)
Honours
???
Biography
Carlos Gamarra (born February 17, 1971 in
Ypacarai, Paraguay) is a football player. He captains the
Paraguay national team at international level, playing at
centre-half, and is the most capped player in Paraguayan
football history, having made 97 international appearances and
scoring 10 goals. He presently plays domestically at
Internazionale in Italy.
Gamarra began his club career playing for Cerro Porteño in his
home country in 1991, and went on to win the Paraguayan national
championship with Cerro in 1992. He moved to Independiente for
the 1992-1993 football season in Argentina, but stayed only
briefly before moving back to Cerro Porteño. His first
international cap came against Bolivia on March 27, 1993, a game
which Paraguay lost 2-1. He stayed at Cerro Porteño until 1995.
In 1995, Gamarra joined Internacional in Brazil, where his
profile grew, eventually resulting in the naming of him as
Paraguayan Player of the Year in 1997 by the Paraguayan
newspaper ABC Color (an achievement which Gamarra repeated in
1998). He moved to SL Benfica for the Portuguese 1997-1998
season, before returning to Brazil, this time with SC
Corinthians.
Gamarra made his first big impact in international football
during Paraguay's campaign at World Cup France 1998, in the
second round of which Paraguay were knocked out by France (the
eventual winners). Gamarra played in all four of Paraguay's
games, garnering great respect for his defensive skills, and did
not concede a single foul in any of his side's matches. FIFA
named him as part of the All-Star team of the World Cup.
After finishing the 1999 Brazilian football season with
Corinthians, he moved to the Spanish league, playing for
Atlético de Madrid. Atlético were relegated in 2000, and Gamarra
briefly moved back to Brazil, this time joining CR Flamengo. The
2001-2002 season was more successful for Gamarra, as he joined
AEK Athens in Greece, playing 24 league games and winning the
Greek Cup.
At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Paraguay were
once again knocked out in the second round. Gamarra played every
single minute of Paraguay's campaign, and again completed his
side's participation without conceding a foul.
On the back of his World Cup performance, he joined
Internazionale in Italy's Serie A Scudetto for the 2002-2003
season. This was undoubtedly the highest-profile club Gamarra
had joined. In his first pre-season, he scored the winning goal
in the Pirelli Cup final against AS Roma. Inter finished the
season as runners-up in the league, with Gamarra making 14
appearances. His next season at the club was less successful, as
Inter finished fourth in the league, and Gamarra made only 10
appearances. He has remained at Inter going into the 2004-2005
season.
Gamarra captained the Paraguay side to a silver medal in the
football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic Games,
losing 1-0 to Argentina in the final.
