| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nelson Rafael Cuevas Amarilla[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-01-10)10 January 1980 (age 45) | ||
| Place of birth | Asunción, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997 | Sport Colombia | ||
| 1997–1998 | Tembetary | ||
| 1998–2004 | River Plate | 74 | (10) |
| 2003 | →Shanghai COSCO Sanlin (loan) | 24 | (6) |
| 2005–2006 | Pachuca | 47 | (16) |
| 2006–2007 | Club América | 23 | (0) |
| 2008 | Libertad | 8 | (0) |
| 2008 | Santos | 17 | (2) |
| 2009 | Universidad de Chile | 12 | (2) |
| 2009–2010 | Olimpia Asunción | 41 | (12) |
| 2010 | Albacete | 11 | (1) |
| 2011 | Puebla | 9 | (0) |
| 2011 | Cerro Porteño | 2 | (0) |
| 2012 | Sportivo Luqueño | 1 | (0) |
| 2012 | Sportivo Carapeguá | 7 | (1) |
| Total | 276 | (50) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | Paraguay U20 | ||
| 2000 | Paraguay U23 | ||
| 1999–2007 | Paraguay | 41 | (6) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nelson Rafael Cuevas Amarilla (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈnelsonrafaˈelˈkweβasamaˈɾiʎa]; born 10 January 1980) is a Paraguayan formerfootballer and current singer.
He represented theParaguay national football team at the2002 and2006FIFA World Cups and the1999 and2007Copa América tournaments.
In addition to playing club football in his native Paraguay, Cuevas played forSantos in Brazil,River Plate in Argentina,Universidad de Chile in Chile,Albacete in Spain,Inter Shanghai in China, and three clubs in Mexico.
Born inAsunción, Paraguay, Cuevas started his career atClub Atlético Tembetary, a lower division club from Paraguay, before moving toRiver Plate of Argentina in 1998. He will forever be remembered by River fans for his memorable goals against Racing and Boca, the first resulting in River's championship win. In the 2004–05 season he was transferred toClub América of Mexico, who loaned him out toPachuca where he was champion in the year 2006. He then returned to Club América.
Cuevas was released by Club América, and trained for brief period withPremier League clubPortsmouth. Portsmouth andBlackburn Rovers were strongly linked to him, with the player stating that a move to England was a possibility.[2] However, Cuevas would end up playing the first half of 2008 forLibertad in his native country and was later signed by Brazilian clubSantos in July 2008.[3] On 15 January 2009, he was released from his contract with Santos.
On 9 February, Cuevas signed a six-month deal withUniversidad de Chile, one of the most popular teams in that country. On 7 July he won the2009 Apertura tournament with Universidad de Chile ending with 18 match played and 3 goals. At the end of the tournament he announced that he will not renew with the Chilean club.[4]
During the 2009 off-season Cuevas had trials atFC Twente (making his debut in a friendly match played in the Netherlands, which ended in victory againstBorussia Mönchengladbach)[5] andHannover 96. Cuevas did not finalize his contract with the aforementioned European clubs and returned to Paraguay to play forOlimpia Asunción, where he is trying to return to the top form he once had during his River Plate years. On 16 December 2010 he signed with Mexican football clubPuebla F.C.[6]
On 14 July 2011, Cuevas signed a contract withCerro Porteño.[7][8][9]
Cuevas scored his first goal for Deportivo Carapeguá in a 2–0 home victory againstClub Libertad on 28 August 2012, Cuevas was substituted onto the field in the 69th minute and scored Carapeguá's second goal in the 88th minute.[10]
Cuevas represented Paraguay U23 at the2000 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament.[11]
Cuevas representedParaguay at the2002 World Cup, scoring two goals in Paraguay's final group match, a 3–1 win overSlovenia. Without the two goals,South Africa would have progressed to the second round at Paraguay's expense on goal difference. Cuevas was also in the National team in the Germany2006 World Cup, and scored the second goal in the 2–0 Paraguay victory overTrinidad & Tobago after an assist by teammateRoque Santa Cruz. Despite the win, Paraguay failed to advance to the second round.
His mother, Nidia Amarilla, is also his manager, which is a rarity in the football world. He currently is married to Alicia Ramirez and the couple have one son: Enzo Rafeal born in 2008.
In 2013, Cuevas became a singer, after retiring from football with knee injuries. While making success with music, Cuevas dreams of a comeback to sport.[12]
River Plate
Pachuca
Club Libertad
Universidad de Chile
Paraguay squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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