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José Cardozo
Paraguayan footballer and manager (born 1971) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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José Saturnino Cardozo Otazú (locally [xoˈse satuɾˈnino kaɾˈðoso otaˈsu]; born 19 March 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former footballer who played as a striker. Known for his prolific scoring ability, Cardozo spent most of his playing career with the Mexican club Deportivo Toluca, where he became the club's all-time leading scorer, with 249 goals in 332 appearances. Cardozo stands as the fourth-highest scorer in the history of Liga MX and is widely regarded as one of the greatest foreign players ever to compete in the league. He was a key figure in Toluca's "golden era," spanning from 1998 to 2002, during which the club won four league titles and cemented one of the most dominant periods in Liga MX history.
Cardozo was awarded Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In the latter year, he also was awarded the World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer by the IFFHS for scoring 58 goals in a season. On the international stage, Cardozo made 82 appearances for Paraguay over a fifteen-year period, scoring 25 goals to become the country's second-highest scorer. He represented the national team in three Copa América tournaments, two FIFA World Cups and the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won a silver medal.
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Early life
José Saturnino Cardozo Otazú was born on 19 March 1971 in Nueva Italia, Central Department, Paraguay, as the eighth of ten siblings. His father, Juan, worked at a refinery and was often absent for long periods to financially support the large family, while his mother, Constanza, managed the household. From an early age, Cardozo expressed a desire to become a professional football player. His mother recalled that he spent most of his time after school playing football, often brought a ball to class, and occasionally skipped school to play.[1]
At twelve years old, Cardozo tried out for Unión Pacífico, a youth club. When asked about his position, he said he played as a "10," the traditional playmaker role associated with creativity and passing. However, he was assigned the position of "9," the classic striker or center forward, responsible for scoring goals—a role he would maintain throughout his professional career.[1] On 27 March 1985, at the age of fourteen, he began playing regularly for Unión Pacífico.[2][3]
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Club career
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Early career: 1988–1995
Cardozo began his professional career in 1988, making his debut for Paraguay's River Plate Asunción, where he scored 10 goals in 26 appearances.[4] In 1990, he joined the Swiss club FC St. Gallen, his first international experience, where he played until 1992 and scored 12 goals in 30 appearances. He returned to South America in 1993, joining Chile's Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, where he scored 11 goals in 35 appearances.[5] During his time with the club, he competed in the 1992 edition of the Copa Libertadores, where he scored one goal against Chile's Coquimbo Unido in group stage where his team won 5–1. Universidad Católica advanced to Round of 16 but were eliminated by Colombia's América de Cali 0–1.[6] Cardozo also played for the team in the 1993 edition, scoring one goal against Bolivia's Deportivo San José in group stage where his team won 2–5.[7] Universidad Católica finished as runners-up in the 1993 edition, losing the final 5–1 to São Paulo.[8]
In 1993, Cardozo returned to Paraguay to play for Club Olimpia, scoring 27 goals in 41 appearances during his time with the club.[5] In his first year he won the Paraguayan Primera División championship, scoring 7 goals in 10 games during that season.[5][8] Internationally, he represented Olimpia twice in the 1993 Supercopa Libertadores, scoring one goal against Flamengo in the group stage, although the team did not advance to the knockout phase.[8][9] In 1994, Cardozo again played for Olimpia, finishing as runner-up in the Paraguayan Primera División after losing the final to Cerro Porteño.[10] During the league he played 22 games and scored 16 goals.[8] Internationally, he participated in the 1994 Supercopa Libertadores, playing two matches but scoring no goals, and in the 1994 Copa Libertadores, where he appeared in nine games and scored three goals: two in a 3–1 aggregate victory over Barcelona de Guayaquil in the round of 16, and another in the semifinals against São Paulo, where Olimpia drew 2–2.[8][11] Cardozo's team was ultimately eliminated in a penalty shootout.[11]
Toluca: 1995–2005
In December 1994, at 23 years old, Cardozo signed with the Mexican club Deportivo Toluca.[12] He made his debut in the 1994–95 Mexican Primera División season on 8 January 1995 in an away match against Tampico Madero, which Toluca lost 2–0.[12][13] At the time of his arrival, the team was in crisis, having not won a league title since the 1974–75 season and facing the threat of relegation.[12][14] In his first season, Cardozo appeared in eight matches and made three goals,[15][16] but was sidelined for nearly a year and a half[citation needed] due to a knee injury sustained while playing for the Paraguay national team, which worsened during the Mexican league season.[17] Although doctors assured him he would recover, the injury was severe enough for Cardozo to fear he might never play professionally again or at least not at the same level.[18] During that period, Toluca was managed by Miguel Ángel López, who did not include Cardozo in the main squad. However, following López's departure in 1996, the club's management gave Cardozo a vote of confidence and assigned him for the upcoming season under the new manager Enrique Meza. Cardozo made his return in Invierno 1997, the first short tournament of the 1997–98 season,[12][18] where he scored 7 goals in 13 games.
In his ten years with the team, he has scored a record 249 goals for the club, including 36 goals in 25 matches in the 2002 Apertura. Cardozo was top scorer of the league four times (Verano 1998, Verano 1999, Apertura 2002, and Clausura 2003). He moved to the 4th spot in the list of all-time top scorers in the Mexico Primera Division after Jared Borgetti scored his 250th goal with Monarcas Morelia.
Cardozo was a key figure in Toluca's "golden era," spanning from 1998 to 2002, during which the club won four league titles and cemented one of the most dominant periods in Liga MX history.[19][20] Under the coaches Meza (1997–2000) and Ricardo La Volpe (2001–2002), the team was known for its precise, attack-minded style of play and frequently won by large goal margins, with Cardozo serving as the central figure.[14]
Due to his work at Toluca, Cardozo was elected as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in the years 2000, 2002 and 2003; and the South American Footballer of the Year in 2002. While playing for Toluca, Cardozo struggled through the 1997 campaign with hamstring problems and then played through much of the 2001 season despite suffering a broken wrist in the season opener. Cardozo is the all-time leading scorer for Toluca, with 249 goals in 332 appearances.[21][22] He is widely regarded as one of the best foreign players to ever compete in Mexico's Liga MX.[23][24] During his time with Toluca, he earned the nicknames El Diablo Mayor (The Master Devil), a reference to the club’s devil mascot, and El Príncipe Guaraní (The Guaraní Prince), in homage to his Guaraní heritage.[25]
On 26 June 2001, shortly after the Copa Libertadores Final, Cardozo’s representative, Alejandro Mancuso, confirmed that the player was being pursued by Argentina's River Plate, amid rumors of an US$8 million offer. Cardozo remained in Buenos Aires after the final to consider the proposal and stated that he was interested in joining either River Plate or Boca Juniors, the latter having shown interest in him several years earlier. He commented, "If I make a change, it’s not because they might pay me more or anything like that. I'm coming because I want to play for a big club here, and that's all."[26]
Later career, retirement: 2005–2006
Cardozo left Toluca in July 2005 to join San Lorenzo de Almagro on a contract worth US$400,000. He stated that he had received offers from clubs in Mexico, Qatar and Japan but chose San Lorenzo for its reputation as one of Argentina's Big Five football clubs, for the challenge of competing at that level, and to be closer to his family in Paraguay. During negotiations, club manager Gustavo Alfaro and president Rafael Savino (es) traveled from Argentina to Mexico to meet with Cardozo and persuade him to join the team. At 34 years old, Cardozo expressed happiness and optimism about continuing his career with the team.[27][28] Cardozo was San Lorenzo's fifth player signing of the 2005–06 Argentine Primera División season and made his debut against Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield.[a][30][31]
However, his career with San Lorenzo was plagued with injuries.[32] In August, he suffered a muscle injury on his left calf in the first half of a match against Club Estudiantes de La Plata and was out for three weeks.[33] Despite not being fully recovered, he scored his first two goals in September for the club in an away game against Rosario Central, which San Lorenzo won 0–4; Cardozo entered the match in the second half and scored both goals.[34] In November, he scored two more goals in a 4–2 victory against Newell's Old Boys, though he noted that he was not in peak form and still had lingering injuries.[35] He scored his last goal with San Lorenzo in February 2006 against Club Olimpo in a 2–0 victory.[36] Cardozo spent less than twelve months in San Lorenzo, where he played 22 matches and scored 5 goals.[37]
In July 2006,[38] at age 35, Cardozo reached a verbal agreement to play for Uruguay's Peñarol for the remainder of the calendar year.[39] The deal reportedly included a monthly salary of about US$20,000, along with a house in Carrasco, Montevideo, and a vehicle. However, the agreement was delayed and never finalized. Cardozo later revealed that he had also received a US$1 million offer from a Major League Soccer (MLS) team in the United States but declined it.[40] He then attempted to return to Paraguay to play for Olimpia before retiring, but the league's transfer deadline had already passed, preventing the move.[41][42] As a result, Cardozo decided to retire from professional football and became the Olimpia's club manager in November.[42]
In June 2008 a farewell match was organized in the city of Toluca to honor his career and contributions to football. Cardozo scored two goals in the match which had a sellout crowd.[43]
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Paraguay national team
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Cardozo was called up to the Paraguay national football team in 1991 while playing for FC St. Gallen.[10] He made his international debut on 14 June 1991 in a Copa Paz del Chaco friendly match against Bolivia, which Paraguay won 1–0. On 12 July 1991,[44] Cardozo scored his first international goal with the national football team in a 1991 Copa América match against Argentina, in which Paraguay lost 4–1.[10][45] In his tenth cap with the team, Cardozo scored his second international goal on 22 June 1995 against New Zealand in the Copa Centenario del Fútbol Chileno (es), a match Paraguay won 3–2 to claim the tournament title.[44][46] Cardozo again represented Paraguay in the 1995 Copa América, where he scored a goal against Mexico, securing a 2–1 victory, and another against Venezuela in a 3–2 win, both in group stage. Paraguay were ultimately eliminated by Colombia in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout.[47] In the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Cardozo represented Paraguay in five matches, scoring one goal from a penalty against Uruguay to secure a 3–1 home victory.[48] Paraguay qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, finishing second in the CONMEBOL standings behind Argentina.[49]
Cardozo was the all-time leading scorer for the Paraguay national team, with 25 goals, until 2013, with the record being broken by Roque Santa Cruz.[50] He played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and was named in the original 2006 World Cup squad but he was injured during training sessions and replaced by Dante López. Cardozo was also an over-age player at the 2004 Summer Olympics, when Paraguay finished second. On 4 August, before the Summer Olympics began, he played in a preparation game against the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo in the city of Algarve, resulting in a 5–0 defeat.[51] He scored a hat-trick against Uruguay in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, with the final result being 4–1.
International goals
Paraguay U23
- Score and Result list Paraguay's goal tally first.
Paraguay
Goals in Deportivo Toluca F.C.
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Goals per rival in Liga MX
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Coaching career
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Club Olimpia
In November 2006, Club Olimpia's coach Oscar Paulin was fired due to poor performances by the team and Cardozo was named as the interim coach of the Paraguayan club, this being his first experience as a coach. He coached for the remainder of the year and for the 2007 Apertura tournament.
Indios
In October 2009 he was hired to be an assistant coach for the team of Indios de Juarez for the Apertura 2009.[58]
Club Olimpia (Return)
Cardozo returned to Olimpia Asunción in November 2009 following coach Carlos Kiese's resignation.
Querétaro FC
In 2011, he was hired as coach Querétaro FC where he led the team into their first liguilla and the team's all team highest place (8th) and points (26) in Primera División regular season. He managed to eliminate Guadalajara in the Quarter Finals and advance to a surprising semi-final where they lost to champions Tigres UANL 1–0. The following season however, Querétaro began the season with poor results, which once again emerged relegation problems against rivals Atlas and Estudiantes Tecos (relegated) which led to Cardozo's resignation.
Club Olimpia (Return)
After spending the 2011 and 2012 seasons at Querétaro, he was appointed to manage Olimpia once again on 25 September 2012 after the departure of Gregorio Perez.
Toluca
On 7 May 2013, Cardozo was announced as the new manager for Club Deportivo Toluca of Mexico where he played for 10 years (1995–2005). On 1 May 2016, during the 2016 Clausura, Cardozo confirmed that he would no longer coach Toluca beyond the end of the season despite still having a year left on his contract. He stated that since he did not meet his objective of reaching the Liga MX playoffs with the club, he had nothing more to do with the club, citing that Toluca was a big club with directors and fans that expected a lot more of the team than he could continue to offer. He stated that when a team can no longer accomplish what is asked of it, that the first change that must come is the manager, no questions about it.[59]
Chiapas
Cardozo had a turbulent season at Chiapas during the Apertura 2016, being sacked in September and then brought back due to the petition of the chiapas players.[60] He was ultimately sacked one week later after two more defeats.[61]
Puebla
Cardozo took over Club Puebla early in the Clausura 2017 season.
Guadalajara
On 12 June 2018, Cardozo was appointed manager of Liga MX club Guadalajara.[62]
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Honours
Olimpia
- Paraguayan League: 1993
Toluca
- Mexican Primera División: Verano 1998, Verano 1999, Verano 2000, Apertura 2002
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2003
Cruz Azul
- Copa Libertadores runner-up: 2001
Paraguay
Individual
- Mexican Primera División Golden Ball: Apertura 2002
- Mexican Primera División Golden Boot: Verano 1998, Verano 1999, Apertura 2002, Clausura 2003
- IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer: 2003 (58 goals)[5]
- Paraguayan Footballer of the Year: 2000, 2002, 2003
- South American Footballer of the Year: 2002
- South American Team of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004[63]
- All-time scorer for Deportivo Toluca (249 goals)
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See also
Notes
- The San Lorenzo players signed that year were the goalkeeper Sebastián Saja, defenders Juan Fernández and Raúl Saavedra, and Colombian midfielders Andrés Pérez and Mauricio Molina.[29]
References
External links
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