Romerito
- For the Brazilian footballer, see Romero Mendonça Sobrinho.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julio César Romero Insfrán | ||
| Date of birth | 28 August 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Luque, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1979 | Sportivo Luqueño | ? | (?) |
| 1980–1983 | New York Cosmos | 88 | (28) |
| 1983–1988 | Fluminense | 78 | (19) |
| 1988–1989 | FC Barcelona | 7 | (1) |
| 1989–1990 | Puebla | 17 | (2) |
| 1990–1991 | Sportivo Luqueño | ? | (?) |
| 1992 | Olimpia Asunción | ? | (?) |
| 1993–1994 | Sportivo Luqueño | ? | (?) |
| 1995 | Deportes La Serena | 3 | (1) |
| 1995 | Club Cerro Corá | ? | (?) |
| 1996–1998 | Sportivo Luqueño | ? | (?) |
| International career | |||
| 1979–1990 | Paraguay | 32 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 2007 | |||
Julio César Romero Insfrán, nicknamed Romerito (born 28 August 1960 in Luque, Paraguay) is a former football midfielder from Paraguay, considered among the best players in Paraguayan football history. He is the only Paraguayan named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Career
Romero started his career at local club Sportivo Luqueño in 1977, by 1979 Romero's consistent performances had earned him a place in the Paraguay national football team that played in the FIFA World Youth Championship and was considered one of the best players of the tournament along with Diego Maradona. In the same year, Romero played a key role in Paraguay's win in the Copa América, scoring three goals.
In 1980 he joined now defunct New York Cosmos where he played alongside such greats as the Brazilian and German World Cup winning captains of 1970 and 1974 Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer. In the 1980 Soccer Bowl he scored the game-winning goal of a 3–0 victory over Ft. Lauderdale.[1]
Romero moved to Brazil to play for Fluminense where he was selected as the South American Footballer of the Year in 1985. He became a fan favorite after leading the team to a Campeonato Brasileiro.
In 1986 he was a key player in helping the Paraguayan national team return to the FIFA World Cup finals after a 28-year hiatus.[2][3] At the finals in Mexico, he scored against Iraq and the host nation in the first round.
After a short spell with FC Barcelona in Spain [1] and a stint in Mexico with Puebla F.C. Romero returned to South America where he played out his career with Olimpia, Club Cerro Corá and Sportivo Luqueño in Paraguay and La Serena in Chile.
During his career, he scored a little more than 400 goals.
Titles
| Season | Team | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 |  Paraguay |
Copa América |
| 1980 |  New York Cosmos |
NASL Champion |
| 1982 | New York Cosmos |
NASL Champion |
| 1984 |  Fluminense |
Brazilian Championship |
| 1984 | Fluminense |
Campeonato Carioca |
| 1985 | Fluminense |
Campeonato Carioca |
| 1989 |  FC Barcelona [2] |
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup |
| 1989-90 |  Puebla F.C. |
Primera División |
| 1989-90 | Puebla F.C. |
Copa Mexico |
| 1992 | Olimpia |
Torneo República |
Awards
- South American Footballer of the Year in 1985
- Paraguayan 1st Division topscorer in 1990
- FIFA top 125 greatest living footballers
- Historial Spanish Soccer Database
Facts
- Romero is the equal 3rd highest goalscorer in the history of the Paraguay national team with 13 goals.
- Romero is a politician for the Colorado Party in his native city of Luque and works as a city counselor.[4]
- In September 2006 Romero made his debut as a rock singer in the Paraguayan music festival called "Pilsen Rock". He took the stage as a guest of the popular local band Revolber and sang the opening words of the song "Siete hermanos, 1 misil" in front of a crowd of 40,000.[5]
References
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123797/1/index.htm
- ^ World Cup 1986 qualifications by Karel Stokkermans, Sergio Henrique Jarreta and Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- ^ World Cup 1986 finals by Karel Stokkermans, Sergio Henrique Jarreta and Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- ^ Infoluque article
- ^ Marca article
External links
- Template:Es icon Futbol Factory profile (Archived)
- Romero's debut as a rock singer (video)
- Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Romero listed in the top 10
- New York Cosmos stats
- Romerito – FIFA competition record (archived)
Awards | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
Paraguay squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
- Use dmy dates from September 2011
- Paraguayan footballers
- Paraguayan expatriate footballers
- Paraguay under-20 international footballers
- Paraguay international footballers
- FIFA 100
- Association football midfielders
- Sportivo Luqueño players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
- Fluminense Football Club players
- La Liga players
- FC Barcelona players
- Club Olimpia footballers
- Cerro Corá footballers
- North American Soccer League (1968–84) players
- New York Cosmos players
- Liga MX players
- Puebla F.C. players
- 1986 FIFA World Cup players
- Deportes La Serena players
- Expatriate footballers in Brazil
- Expatriate footballers in Chile
- Expatriate footballers in Mexico
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Paraguayan expatriates in Brazil
- Paraguayan expatriates in Chile
- Paraguayan expatriates in Mexico
- Paraguayan expatriates in Spain
- Paraguayan expatriates in the United States
- 1960 births
- Living people
- People from Luque
- 1979 Copa América players
- 1987 Copa América players
- South American Footballer of the Year winners
- Copa América-winning players