Juan Escobar (Paraguayan footballer)

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Juan Escobar
Personal information
Full name Juan Marcelo Escobar Chena
Date of birth (1995-07-03) 3 July 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Luque, Paraguay
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Toluca
(on loan from Cruz Azul)
Number 24
Youth career
2010–2013 Sportivo Luqueño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Sportivo Luqueño 97 (1)
2018–2019 Cerro Porteño 54 (4)
2019– Cruz Azul 141 (11)
2024–Toluca (loan) 0 (0)
International career
2015 Paraguay U20 4 (0)
2015 Paraguay U23 4 (0)
2017– Paraguay 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:52, 05 November 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:46, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

Juan Marcelo Escobar Chena (Spanish pronunciation: [xwam maɾˈselo eskoˈβaɾ ˈtʃena]; born 3 July 1995) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as either a centre-back or right-back for Liga MX club Toluca and the Paraguay national team. He has also been part of Paraguay's U20 and U23 teams.

Club career[edit]

Sportivo Luqueño[edit]

Born in Luque, Escobar started his career with hometown side Sportivo Luqueño. Promoted to the first team ahead of the 2014 season, he made his first team – and Primera División – debut on 16 February of that year, starting in a 3–0 away loss against Nacional Asunción.

Escobar subsequently became a regular starter for the side, and scored his first professional goal on 4 May 2016, netting his team's second in a 2–2 home draw against Sol de América.[1]

Cerro Porteño[edit]

On 28 December 2017, Escobar agreed to a five-year contract with Cerro Porteño,[2] for a rumoured fee of US$ 1 million.[3] He was a regular starter during his first campaign, playing as a central defender and partnering Marcos Cáceres.

Cruz Azul[edit]

In 2019, he joined Mexican club Cruz Azul for a fee of USD$7, 000, 000.00, surpassing a 20-year transfer fee record in Paraguayan football held by Roque Santa Cruz when he joined Bundesliga team Bayern Munich for USD$6, 900, 000.00 in 1999.[4]

Loan to Toluca[edit]

On 31 January 2024, Escobar joined Toluca on a season-long loan.[5]

International career[edit]

After representing Paraguay at under-20 level in the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship,[6] and under-23 level in the 2015 Pan American Games, Escobar was first called up to the full side on 21 June 2017, for a friendly against Mexico.[7] He made his full international debut on 1 July, starting in a 2–1 loss at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle.[8]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of 14 January 2019[9]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sportivo Luqueño 2014 Primera División 21 0 21 0
2015 10 0 2[a] 0 12 0
2016 25 1 1[a] 0 26 1
2017 41 0 2[a] 1 43 1
Total 97 1 5 1 102 2
Cerro Porteño 2018 Primera División 34 0 6[b] 0 40 0
Career total 131 1 0 0 11 1 0 0 142 2
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores

International[edit]

As of 29 January 2022[10]
Paraguay
Year Apps Goals
2017 1 0
2019 5 0
2021 5 0
2022 1 0
Total 12 0

Honours[edit]

Cruz Azul

Individual

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Se mantiene en la penumbra" [The shadows remain] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Juan Escobar llega a Cerro Porteño" [Juan Escobar joins Cerro Porteño]. Fox Sports (in Spanish). 28 December 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ^ ""Es una cifra récord para el fútbol paraguayo"" [It is a record fee for the Paraguayan football] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Juan Escobar sería el más caro del fútbol paraguayo". 23 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Juan Escobar, fuera de Cruz Azul; llega como refuerzo al Toluca" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 31 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Los 23 convocados albirrojos para el Sudamericano Sub 20" [The 23 albirrojos called up for the Under-20 South American Championship] (in Spanish). D10. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Paraguay anuncia convocados para amistoso contra México" [Paraguay announce called up players for friendly against Mexico] (in Spanish). Milenio. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  8. ^ "México venció 2–1 a Paraguay en amistoso en Seattle previo a debut en la Copa Oro 2017" [Mexico defeated Paraguay by 2–1 in Seattle prior to the 2017 Gold Cup] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  9. ^ Juan Escobar at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Juan Escobar". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Liga MX unveils its final roster for the 2021 All-Star game". AS. 19 July 2021.
  12. ^ "LIGA MX announces roster for 2022 MLS All-Star Game at Allianz Field". Major League Soccer. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

External links[edit]