 Cáceres in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julio César Cáceres López[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-10-05)5 October 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | San José de los Arroyos, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sportivo San José | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2004 | Olimpia | 91 | (7) |
| 2004 | Nacional Asunción | ||
| 2004–2007 | Nantes | 12 | (0) |
| 2005 | →Atlético Mineiro (loan) | 20 | (3) |
| 2006 | →River Plate (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Gimnàstic (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2007 | UANL Tigres | 34 | (2) |
| 2008–2009 | Boca Juniors | 54 | (1) |
| 2010 | Atlético Mineiro | 14 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Olimpia | 48 | (2) |
| 2013–2018 | Guaraní | 157 | (8) |
| 2019–2020 | Olimpia | 1 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2000 | Paraguay U23 | ||
| 1999–2010 | Paraguay | 65 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021 | Olimpia (reserves) | ||
| 2021–2023 | Olimpia | ||
| 2023–2024 | Sportivo Luqueño | ||
| 2025 | Sportivo Luqueño | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Julio César Cáceres López (pronounced[ˈxuljoˈsesaɾˈkaseɾesˈlopes]; born 5 October 1979) is a Paraguayanfootballmanager and former player who played as acentre-back.[2]
Cáceres played in theParaguay national team for nearly 11 years, being part of the2002,2006 and2010 FIFA World Cup squads.
Cáceres' first club wasPrimera División de Paraguay club,Olimpia, where he helped the club become Paraguayan champions twice.
On 12 April 1998, Caceres debuted for Olimpia aged 18 in a 1–0 loss against Guaraní.
In 1999, after winning the Apertura tournament, and finishing third in the Clausura tournament they were crowned champions with a 4–2 aggregate win overCerro Porteño in theNational championship game. In the 1999 season, teammates in the Olimpia squad wereDenis Caniza,Ruben Maldonado,Carlos Humberto Paredes,Gustavo Neffa,Roque Santa Cruz andRichart Baez.[citation needed]
In 2000 they again won the Apertura tournament, and also the Clausura tournament, thus were crowned champions.
He was also part of the team that won theCopa Libertadores in2002. Cáceres played in both legs of the2002 Copa Libertadores Final as Olimpia defeated Brazilian clubSão Caetano in July.[3] As Copa Libertadores winners, Olimpia facedReal Madrid inYokohama in the2002 Intercontinental Cup which they lost 2-0 as Caceres played an entire 90 minutes of the match.[4]
Caceres was part of the Olimpia team which then won theRecopa Sudamericana in2003.
On 24 May 2004, Caceres played his last game for Olimpia.
Caceres had played in 91 league games, converting 6 goals. He also played 32 games internationally for the club, which included matches in the Copa Libertadores, Copa Mercosur, the Intercontinental Cup and the Recopa Sudamericana.Caceres earned two Primera División Paraguaya league titles, one Copa Libertadores title and one Recopa Sudamericana title.
In June 2004, Caceres briefly signed for Nacional Asunción prior to transferring to Nantes in France.[5]
In 2004, he signed for FrenchLigue 1 clubNantes. Caceres initially joined Nantes on a one-year provisional transfer issued byFIFA, due to a dispute between Olimpia Asunción and Cáceres at the time of still being in the team roster at Nacional Asunción.[6]
He made his league debut on 14 August 2004 in a 1–1 draw withBastia.[7] However, he later suffered an injury and did not play for several months. By the time he had recovered, Nantes had a new coach who did not play Cáceres.
e was loaned toBrazilianBrasileirão clubAtlético Mineiro for the2005 season. His league debut came on 11 September 2005, a 2–0 defeat toBotafogo.[8] He made fourteen league appearances, scoring two goals. However, the club finished in 20th place and wererelegated toBrasileiro Série B.
In January 2006, he moved toArgentina, signing forRiver Plate on loan, where he quickly became a key player and squadcaptain. He made his league debut in a 5–0 win atTiro Federal on 29 January.[9] He was also a part of the River Plate team that reached the quarter-finals of the2006 Copa Libertadores.[10] In July 2006, River Plate decided not to buy the transfer of Caceres and that he would be sold by his owner club, Nantes, to a Mexican club.[11]
Later in 2006 he spent two months in Spain, from October to December, withCatalan clubGimnàstic de Tarragona inLa Liga where he made eleven league appearances.
In January 2007 Cáceres moved to Mexico when he was signed byTigres, with whom he maintained a regular starting position. He made his league debut in a 2–1 defeat atTecos on 20 January 2007 and scored his first goal for the club on 3 March in a 3–2 win overChiapas.[12] He made a total of 32 league appearances, scoring two goals.
In January 2008 he moved again to Argentina, signing forBoca Juniors.[13] He made his league debut on 10 February 2008 in a 1–1 draw withRosario Central.[14] On 14 May he scored Boca's first goal as they were held to a 2–2 home draw by Mexicanclub Atlas in the quarter-finals of the2008 Copa Libertadores[15]
In October 2008 Cáceres had a very public conflict with Boca teammateJuan Román Riquelme, when in an interview on a Paraguayan radio station inAsunción, where he was training with his national team, Cáceres questioned Riquelme's motivation. He claimed that "In some matches, he is apparently running and in others he is passive. He seems to be mentally saturated. He seems to have more motivation when he plays for his country." However, Riquelme responded in a telephone interview on theFox Sports cable channel, saying "He doesn't know what I feel for the club. I take part in pre-match concentration just like the other players and I didn't have a holiday because I chose to play in the (Olympic) Games. When we won the gold, I ran to the airport so I could play in the (Recopa Sudamericana 2008) final." And adding, "These things should be kept in the dressing-room, he's broken all the codes of football."[16] However, after Boca won theSuperclásicoderby match overBuenos Aires rivalsRiver Plate 1–0 atEl Monumental on 21 October 2008, Cáceres said that the conflict "has been left behind", adding that the relationship between the two players had improved.[17] Caceres scored his first goal for Boca Juniors in a 2–1 win against Lanus 30 August 2009.
In January 2010 Cáceres left Boca Juniors to joinAtlético Mineiro of Brazil.[18]
On 14 January 2011, Cáceres returned to his first professional club Olimpia from Atletico Mineiro when he signed a two-year contract.
In July 2018, Caceres re-joined Olimpia at age 38 after five and a-half seasons with Guaraní, informing that he wanted to be champion with Olimpia and then retire.[19]
During the 2020COVID-19 pandemic, Caceres performed his training routine from home.[20] In October 2020, at 41 years of age, Caceres commented that he wanted to retire during the Torneo Apertura but was unable to, and that he would retire at the end of the year.[21]
In 2000, Caceres represented Paraguay U23 at the2000 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament.[22]
Cáceres made his international debut in April 2002 againstEngland. He currently has 30 caps and has scored four goals for Paraguay. He played in both the2002 FIFA World Cup finals and the2006 FIFA World Cup. On 8 June 2005 he scored Paraguay's third goal as they beatBolivia 4–1 at theEstadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción in aSouth American qualification match for the 2006 World Cup.[23] In 2007, he played in theCopa América[24]
He played in all seven matches for Paraguay of the first rounds in theSouth American qualification for the2010 FIFA World Cup.
In June 2021,Última Hora announced that Cáceres would become reserve-team coach at his last club Olimpia.[2] On 15 October, he was named manager of the club afterÁlvaro Gutiérrez resigned.[25]
On 6 March 2023, Cáceres was sacked by Olimpia.[26] On 31 May, he was named manager of fellow top tier sideSportivo Luqueño, replacingGustavo Florentín.[27]
On 2 September 2024, Cáceres left Sportivo Luqueño by mutual consent.[28] The following 18 May, however, he returned to the club in the place ofGustavo Morínigo,[29] but was dismissed on 4 October 2025.[30]
Olimpia
Boca Juniors
Atlético Mineiro
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