Óscar Cardozo

Óscar Cardozo

Personal information
Full name	Óscar René Cardozo Marín
Date of birth	20 May 1983 (1983-05-20)
Place of birth	Juan Eulogio Estigarribia, Paraguay
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Benfica
Number	7
Youth career
	Club 24 de Junio
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	3 Febrero	34	(20)
2004–2006	Nacional Asunción	63	(29)
2006–2007	Newell's Old Boys	33	(21)
2007–	Benfica	124	(83)
National team‡
2007–	Paraguay	41	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 November 2011

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Cardozo and the second or maternal family name is Marín.

Óscar René Cardozo Marín (born 20 May 1983) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a striker.

Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills, he first gained notoriety whilst playing for Newell's Old Boys, which led to a move to Benfica, where he scored more than 100 official goals and won four major titles, namely the 2010 national championship, where he also was the top scorer.

Nicknamed "Tacuara" (Big cane in Guarani), Cardozo gained more than 50 caps for Paraguay, representing the nation at the 2010 World Cup.

Club career

Beginnings / Newell's

Born in Juan Eulogio Estigarribia, Cardozo started his senior career with modest Club Atlético 3 de Febrero of Ciudad del Este, helping it to the second division championship. In 2004, he moved to the top level with Asunción's Club Nacional, where he quickly established himself as the team's top scorer, netting 17 overall goals in his last season.

Cardozo arrived at Argentina and Newell's Old Boys in the second half of the 2006–07 season for a transfer fee of $1.2 million, joining compatriots Diego Gavilán, Santiago Salcedo and Justo Villar. He scored 11 goals in only 16 games in the Apertura, but his team could only finish 18th in the tournament, and 13th overall; as a result of his performances, he was voted the 2006 Paraguayan Footballer of the Year.

Benfica

On 21 June 2007, Cardozo officially signed for Portuguese giants S.L. Benfica, after being bought for an approximate amount of €9.2 million for 80% of his playing rights. This made him the second most expensive signing in the club's history, only surpassed by Simão Sabrosa, for whom the club paid €12 million in 2001. He finished his first season with 22 official goals, but the Reds came out empty in silverware; on 22 February 2008, he netted a last-minute goal against 1. FC Nuremberg for the season's UEFA Cup (2–2 away draw, 3–2 aggregate win): thus, he kept his promise of surpassing the 20-goal mark.

In 2008–09, Cardozo scored 17 goals, all in the league, including the equalizer against F.C. Porto on 30 August 2008. He finished second in the Bola de Prata race, losing only to Liédson of Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Cardozo had a very positive 2009–10 pre-season, scoring eight goals in ten games. On 31 August 2009, in the third league game, he scored a hat-trick in a 8–1 home demolition of Vitória de Setúbal. On 22 October, in the Europa League group stage match against Everton, Tacuara netted twice in two minutes, in an eventual 5–0 thrashing at the Estádio da Luz, and added a further three in the league against C.D. Nacional (6–1, at home), and with Académica de Coimbra (4–0, home).

In the Europa League quarter-finals against Liverpool, Cardozo scored two penalties for a 2–1 home win. He also found the net in the second leg at Anfield with a free kick, but in a 1–4 loss and subsequent elimination; as Benfica won the national championship, adding the year's domestic League Cup, he finished with a career-high 38 goals in 47 matches (26 in the domestic league, leading Porto's Radamel Falcao by only one), partnering well with Argentine Javier Saviola.

International career

On 5 June 2007, Cardozo made his international debut for Paraguay, in a friendly with Mexico, scoring the game's only goal, and being selected for the squad that appeared in that year's Copa América. The tournament in Venezuela ended in the quarterfinals, and the player netted once, in a 3–1 group stage win against the United States.

Cardozo scored two goals in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, as Paraguay qualified for the finals in South Africa. On 29 June 2010, he scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Japan (5–3 victory), as La Albirroja qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever. In the following game, however, with the score at 0–0, he missed a 59th-minute penalty against Spain, in a 0–1 defeat against the eventual champions.

Cardozo was overlooked by coach Gerardo Martino for the 2011 Copa América squad, in spite of scoring 23 official goals for Benfica.

International goals

Óscar Cardozo: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 June 2007	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico	0–1	0–1	Friendly
2	28 June 2007	Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela	United States	1–2	1–3	2007 Copa América
3	15 October 2008	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Peru	1–0	1–0	2010 World Cup qualification
4	10 October 2009	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Venezuela	0–2	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
5	29 March 2011	LP Field, Nashville, United States	United States	0–1	0–1	Friendly
6	2 September 2011	Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama	Panama	0–1	0–2	Friendly
7	6 September 2011	Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	0–2	0–3	Friendly
8	6 September 2011	Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	0–3	0–3	Friendly

Club statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
3 de Febrero	2003	*	*	*	*	-	-	0	0	*	*
	2004	*	*	*	*	-	-	0	0	*	*
Total		34	20	*	*	-	-	0	0	34	20
Nacional	2004	14	3	*	*	-	-	0	0	14	3
	2005	29	9	*	*	-	-	0	0	29	9
	2006	20	10	*	*	-	-	0	0	20	10
Total		63	29	*	*	-	-	0	0	63	29
Newell's Old Boys	2006–07	33	21	*	*	-	-	*	*	33	21
Total		33	21	*	*	-	-	*	*	33	21
Benfica	2007–08	29	13	5	5	0	0	11	4	45	22
	2008–09	26	17	2	0	4	0	3	0	35	17
	2009–10	29	26	0	0	5	2	13	10	47	38
	2010–11	22	12	5	5	2	1	12	5	42*	23
	2011–12	17	14	0	0	1	2	8	4	27	20
Total		123	82	12	10	12	5	47	23	195	120
Career total		253	152	12	10	12	5	47	23	324	190

• Last updated on 08/01/2012

*Includes one match in the Portuguese Supercup

Honours

Club

3 de Febrero

• Second Division: 2004

Benfica

• Portuguese League: 2009–10
• Portuguese League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Individual

• Paraguayan Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2009
• Portuguese League: Top scorer 2009–10; Player of the Month May 2009
• UEFA Europa League: Top scorer 2009–10; Goal.com Team of the Year 2009–10

Personal

Cardozo's younger brother, Ramón, is also a footballer and a forward. He represented mainly Tacuary, and also played abroad in Portugal, appearing in one season with F.C. Penafiel.

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• Óscar Cardozo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Óscar Cardozo – FIFA competition record
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• ESPN stats