Francisco Arce

For other people named Francisco Arce, see Francisco Arce (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Arce and the second or maternal family name is Rolón.

Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (Latin American Spanish: [fɾanˈsisko xaˈβjeɾ ˈtʃikj ˈaɾse roˈlon]; born 2 April 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player.

Francisco Arce

Arce in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Francisco Javier Arce Rolón
Date of birth	(1971-04-02) 2 April 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth	Paraguari, Paraguay
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1994	Cerro Porteño	162	(26)
1994–1998	Grêmio	134	(25)
1998–2002	Palmeiras	242	(57)
2003	Gamba Osaka	16	(1)
2004–2005	Libertad	6	(0)
2006	12 de Octubre	30	(4)
Total		590	(113)
International career
1995–2004	Paraguay	61	(5)
Managerial career
2007–2011	Rubio Ñu
2011–2012	Paraguay
2013–2014	Cerro Porteño
2015–2016	Olimpia
2016	Guaraní
2016–2017	Paraguay
2018	General Díaz
2018	Ohod
2019	Nacional
2020–2023	Cerro Porteño
2023–2024	Olimpia
2024–2025	Guaraní
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arce played at the right defender position, competing a total of 61 times for the Paraguay national team between 1995 and 2004.^[1] He has the distinction of being chosen seven times as the "Ideal Team of America", thus having been nominated the most times in history. He also holds the distinction of having been selected in history as the coach on two occasions of the Paraguay national team.

Playing career

Arce started his career in Paraguay playing for his natal city club, 15 de Mayo, where he made his professional debut at the age of fifteen. The same year he was recruited by the Cerro Porteño club in the Paraguayan capital (Asuncion), where he won three national championships. Arce then played for Brazilian clubs Grêmio and Palmeiras and won international tournaments including the Copa Libertadores. Arce played for Paraguay in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and has appeared 61 times for his country. He was famous for his free kick shot technique, where he scored goals during the 2002 FIFA World Cup including a free kick against South Africa.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Arce became a coach and managed the Paraguayan second division team Club Rubio Ñú, leading the squad to the 2nd division championship in 2008.^[2]

Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguay national football team in July 2011,^[3] but due to poor results on the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, he was sacked in June 2012.^[4]

In March 2013, Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguayan Cerro Porteño.^[5] He won the Torneo Clausura in 2013 with Cerro Porteño in highly impressive form, as the club went the entire Clausura undefeated. After a 4–1 defeat to Club Guaraní on 24 August 2014 Arce left Cerro Porteño.

On 15 March 2015, Arce was appointed manager of Olimpia, the arch-rivals of his old club Cerro Porteño.

A year later he coached the Guarani club with good results, leading to his position at the Paraguay national team.^[6] In 2018, he was appointed as manager of General Díaz.

Career statistics

Club

Source:^[7]

Club	Season	League
		Division	Apps	Goals
Grêmio	1995	Série A	9	1
	1996		16	2
	1997		16	2
	Total		41	5
Palmeiras	1998	Série A	24	5
	1999		10	0
	2000		17	4
	2001		21	6
	2002		21	9
	Total		93	24
Gamba Osaka	2003	J1 League	16	1
Libertad	2004	Primera División	6	0
Career total			156	30

International

Source:^[8]

Paraguay national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1995	5	0
1996	5	1
1997	12	0
1998	11	2
1999	5	0
2000	4	0
2001	6	1
2002	8	1
2003	4	0
2004	1	0
Total	61	5

International goals for Paraguay

Score and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.^[9]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 June 1996	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2.	8 February 1998	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Poland	2–0	4–0	Friendly
3.	14 March 1998	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	United States	2–2	2–2
4.	8 November 2001	Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela	Venezuela	1–2	1–3	2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5.	2 June 2002	Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea	South Africa	2–0	2–2	2002 FIFA World Cup

Honours

As a player

Cerro Porteño

• Liga Paraguaya: 1991, 1992, 1994

Grêmio

• Copa Libertadores: 1995
• Recopa Sudamericana: 1996
• Rio Grande do Sul State Championship: 1995, 1996
• Brazilian Série A: 1996
• Brazilian Cup: 1997
• Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1995

Palmeiras

• Brazilian Cup: 1998
• Mercosur Cup: 1998
• Copa Libertadores: 1999
• Brazilian Champions Cup: 2000
• Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 2000
• Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999

Individual

• South American Team of the Year^[10]:1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

As a coach

Rubio Ñú

• Paraguayan 2nd division: 2008

Cerro Porteño

• Paraguayan 1st division: 2013 (undefeated), 2020, 2021

Club Olimpia|Olimpia

• Paraguayan 1st division: 2015