Édgar Benítez

Paraguayan footballer (born 1987)

Édgar Benítez
Personal information
Full name Édgar Milciades Benítez Santander
Date of birth (1987-11-08) 8 November 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth Repatriación, Caaguazú, Paraguay
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Alianza Lima
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Libertad 32 (2)
2008Sol de América (loan) 37 (21)
2009–2013 Pachuca 85 (21)
2011–2012Cerro Porteño (loan) 44 (11)
2012–2013Toluca (loan) 38 (6)
2013–2015 Toluca 71 (15)
2015–2018 Queretaro 71 (8)
2018–2019 Libertad 47 (12)
2020 Guaraní 18 (1)
2021 Sportivo Luqueño 18 (4)
2021– Alianza Lima 33 (2)
International career
2006–2007 Paraguay U20
2008– Paraguay 56 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:18, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 June 2017

Édgar Milciades Benítez Santander (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeðɣaɾ βeˈnites]; born 8 November 1987), nicknamed Pájaro ([ˈpaxaɾo]; bird), is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder for Alianza Lima. He also holds Mexican citizenship. A Paraguayan international on 56 occasions since 2008, he represented for his country FIFA World Cup 2010 and two Copa América tournaments.[1] In 2006, he won the Milk Cup with Paraguay's under-20 team.[2]

Career

Club

Benítez started his career in Club 12 de Octubre of Itaugua before moving to Libertad in 2005, where he won the Paraguayan 1st division tournament although he mostly played as a substitute. In 2008, he was signed by Sol de América and quickly established himself in the club, being one of the team's top goalscorers.[3]

On 1 December 2008, it was announced that Benítez will play in the Mexican League for Pachuca CF. He made his debut with C.F. Pachuca on 2 January in the Interliga 2009, scoring his first goal with the club in the 4–0 win over Tecos UAG. He would end the tournament as the top goalscorer with 4 goals in 4 games, helping Pachuca obtain a spot in the qualifying round for the Copa Libertadores 2009.[4]

Since 2009 he wasn't considered as a starter for Pachuca. He is mainly used as a substitute for every match. He has participated constantly in Pachuca's matches in Bicentenario 2010. On 20 February 2010 he started a match against Chiapas. He scored twice in this game and Pachuca secured a 2–2. In June, 2015, Queretaro announced that Benítez would play for them for the upcoming season.

National team

In the 2006 Milk Cup, he scored in the 60th minute in a 2–0 victory over the USA.[2]

He played first international match in 2008. Due to his good performances with Sol de América he was called for the Paraguay national football team and had a good debut, playing in his first 2010 World Cup qualification match against Peru in which Paraguay won 1–0.[5]

He was included in Paraguay's squad for the 2015 Copa América, scoring the only goal of a 1–0 win against Jamaica in the team's second group match on 16 June 2015.[6]

He scored the second goal for Paraguay in a 2–2 draw against Brazil for the nation's campaign to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

International goals

Updated 29 March 2016

# Date Venue Opponent Score Final Competition
1. 1 October 2008 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay  Peru 1-0 1-0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 1 April 2009 Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador  Ecuador 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 21 December 2011 Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile  Chile 1–1 3–2 Friendly
4. 15 February 2012 Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay  Chile 1–0 2–0 Friendly
5. 22 February 2012 Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay  Guatemala 1–0 2–1 Friendly
6. 22 March 2013 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay  Uruguay 1–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7. 11 October 2013 CTE Cachamay, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela  Venezuela 0–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8. 16 June 2015 Estadio Regional de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile  Jamaica 1–0 1–0 2015 Copa América
9. 29 March 2016 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay  Brazil 2–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Alianza Lima
Libertad
Pachuca
Cerro Porteño
Querétaro

References

  1. ^ "Especial: Crece el número de naturalizados en la Liga MX | Futbol Mexicano | TelevisaDeportes.com". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Milk Cup (Northern Ireland)".
  3. ^ Stats from Paraguayan 1st division
  4. ^ El Tuzo se alzó en un partido vibrante frente al Atlas
  5. ^ Benítez conmigo Archived 18 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  6. ^ "Paraguay 1-0 Jamaica". BBC. 15 June 2015.

External links

  • Édgar Benítez at BDFA (in Spanish)
  • Édgar Benítez at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Édgar Benítez – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archived) (in Spanish)
  • Édgar Benítez at Soccerway
  • v
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Club Guaraní – current squad
Paraguay squads
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Paraguay squad2010 FIFA World Cup
Paraguay
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Paraguay squad2015 Copa América fourth place
Paraguay
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Paraguay squadCopa América Centenario
Paraguay