Roberto Ayala

For the Mexican footballer, see Roberto Hernández Ayala.
Roberto Ayala

Ayala with Argentina in 2007
Personal information
Full name Roberto Fabián Ayala
Date of birth (1973-04-14) 14 April 1973
Place of birth Paraná, Argentina
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Youth career
Ferro Carril Oeste
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1993 Ferro Carril Oeste 72 (1)
1994–1995 River Plate 40 (0)
1995–1998 Napoli 87 (1)
1998–2000 Milan 24 (0)
2000–2007 Valencia 188 (9)
2007 Villarreal 0 (0)
2007–2010 Zaragoza 72 (4)
2010–2011 Racing Club 16 (0)
Total 499 (15)
National team
1994–2007 Argentina 115 (7)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Roberto Fabián Ayala (locally: [roˈβeɾto faˈβjan aˈʒala]; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed el Ratón (in English: "the Mouse"), is a former Argentine footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentine National Football Team, as well as the Spanish giant Valencia and prominent Spanish side Zaragoza, the Italian giants Milan and Napoli, and the Argentine powerhouse River Plate.

Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, he stood out for his leadership and ability in the air throughout his career.[1] Ayala captained the Argentine national team in a record 63 matches.[2] He played in three World Cups and made a total of 115 international appearances, with only Javier Zanetti getting more caps for Argentina. He inherited the nickname of Ratón from the Argentine 1974 World Cup player Rubén Ayala, although they are not related.

Club career

Early Career in Argentina

Ayala began his career in his native Argentina, playing for Ferro Carril Oeste. After three seasons, he moved to River Plate where his good form attracted the attention of clubs in Europe.

Move to Europe

Parma, Napoli and Milan

Italian club Parma FC brought the Argentine defender to Europe. However the club, having already used their quota of three non-EU players, loaned him to Napoli, who bought up half of his contract on a co-ownership deal. Ayala was bought by AC Milan at the end of the 1997–98 season and played there for two seasons until Valencia CF bought him for £6.25 Million.

Valencia

After signing for Valencia CF in the summer of 2000, Ayala made 275 appearances during a seven-year spell at the club.[3]

On 24 September 2000, Ayala made his debut for Valencia in a 3–0 La Liga win over CD Numancia.[4] He soon established himself as a first choice central defender for Los Che and started alongside compatriot Mauricio Pellegrino in the 2001 UEFA Champions League Final, where Valencia lost 5–4 to FC Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout.[5] He was later named best defender for the 2000–01 tournament.[6]

The following season, Ayala was part of the Valencia team that won the 2001–02 La Liga title. He scored the opening goal of a 2–0 defeat of Málaga CF which secured the championship on 5 May 2002.[7] In 2003–04, Valencia again won the La Liga title and beat Olympique de Marseille 2–0 in Gothenburg to win the UEFA Cup.[4]

During the 2004–05 season, injuries kept Ayala from much of the La Liga campaign as well as the UEFA Super Cup victory over FC Porto.

During his time with Valencia, he was widely regarded as one of the finest central defenders in the world and is considered to be one of the club's all-time legends.[4]

Villarreal and Real Zaragoza

In August 2006, he was not offered a new contract by sporting director Amedeo Carboni. On 7 February 2007 Ayala announced he would join regional rivals Villarreal CF at the end of the season. However, before having played for Villarreal, he joined Real Zaragoza on a three-year deal on 14 July 2007.[8] The buy-out clause in his contract with Villarreal was €6 million (£4.8 million) which was paid in full by Real Zaragoza.

On 3 May 2008, Ayala scored his first goal for Real Zaragoza in the 94th minute versus Deportivo La Coruña to lead Zaragoza to a 1–0 victory.[9] Zaragoza however were relegated to the Spanish 2nd Division. On 22 November 2008, Ayala scored his second goal for Real Zaragoza, in the 73rd of a 3-0 win over SD Eibar. On 29 February 2009, he scored his third goal, in the 54th minute against Real Murcia as Zaragoza won the match 4–1.

In January 2010, Ayala's contract with Real Zaragoza was terminated by mutual consent.

Racing Avellaneda

On 2 February 2010, Racing Club de Avellaneda signed Ayala on a free transfer.[10]

International career

He made his debut for Argentina on 16 November 1994, against Chile, under coach Daniel Passarella.

Ayala played for Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal. He played for Argentina in the 1998 World Cup and was a non-playing squad member in the 2002 competition due to a last minute injury moments before their first match against Nigeria. He was then selected as an over-age player as Argentina won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Ayala played an integral part in the Argentine squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played brilliantly throughout the tournament, and was picked as a member of the All Star Team. In the quarterfinal against Germany he scored a header that gave Argentina the 1–0 lead. Argentina lost the penalty shootout after the 1–1 tie, with Ayala's spot kick being saved by Jens Lehmann.

On 30 May 2006, In a friendly match against Angola, Ayala completed 100 caps for Argentina.[11]

One of the best defenders in Argentina's history, on 7 February 2007, Ayala became the most capped player of the National team (most of the times as captain), beating his friend Diego Simeone, in a friendly victory 1–0 against France played in the Stade de France, Paris.

On 5 June 2007, in a friendly against Algeria, Roberto Ayala captained Argentina for a record 58th international, having equalled Diego Maradona's mark of 57 in the 1–1 draw against Switzerland in Basel on Saturday 2 June.[12]

On 17 July 2007, after playing in the Copa América 2007 final against Brazil, during which he scored an own goal, Ayala announced his retirement from international football.[13] Ayala stated, "it has nothing to do with what happened in the final of the Copa America."[14] Javier Zanetti took over from him as captain.

Managerial career

On 30 December, Ayala retired from professional football, and he became Racing Avellaneda's manager.[15]

Personal life

Ayala is married to Veronica, and has four children: Francisco, Sofía, Pilar and Martina.

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1991–92Ferro Carril OestePrimera División180
1992–93360
1993–94181
1993–94River PlatePrimera División160
1994–95240
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1995–96NapoliSerie A290
1996–97301
1997–98280
1998–99MilanSerie A110
1999–00130
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2000–01ValenciaLa Liga281
2001–02302
2002–03311
2003–04301
2004–05170
2005–06232
2006–07292
2007–08Real ZaragozaLa Liga331
2008–09Segunda División263
2009–10La Liga130
Total Argentina 1121
Italy 1111
Spain 26013
Career total 46815

Correct as of 14 June 2009

[16]

Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
199430
1995140
199660
199770
1998131
1999121
2000111
200180
200210
200360
2004101
200582
200671
200790
Total1157

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 19 February 1998 Mendoza, Argentina Romania Romanian League 2–1 Unofficial Friendly[17]
2 7 September 1999 Porto Alegre, Brazil  Brazil 2–4 Friendly
3 26 April 2000 Maracaibo, Venezuela  Venezuela 4–0 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
4 13 July 2004 Piura, Peru  Uruguay 4–2 Copa América 2004
5 12 November 2005 Geneva, Switzerland  England 2–3 Friendly
6 16 November 2005 Doha, Qatar  Qatar 3–0 Friendly
7 30 June 2006 Berlin, Germany  Germany 1 – 1 (2–4 PS) 2006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

International honours

Winner

Club honours

River Plate

Winner

Milan

Winner

Valencia

Winner

Individual

Winner

References

  1. ↑ "Ultime notizie su Roberto Ayala" (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. 6 June 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria". Chinadaily.com.cn. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "Ayala". Valencia CF. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "15 years of Ayala's debut with VCF". Valencia CF. 24 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bayern Munich 1 - 1 Valencia". The Guardian. 24 May 2001.
  6. ↑ "Champions League final runners-up XI: The best players never to win it". Sky Sports. 6 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Rafa Benítez: 10 key wins in new Newcastle United manager's career". The Guardian. 12 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ayala será jugador del Real Zaragoza". www.realzaragoza.com. 14 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "Zaragoza put an end to Ayala saga". www.uefa.com. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  10. ↑ "Roberto Ayala llegó a Argentina para incorporarse a Racing Club".
  11. ↑ "Centurion Ayala eyes main prize". www.fifa.com. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  12. ↑ "Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria". China Daily. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "Ayala: "Mi ciclo en la Selección está terminado"".
  14. ↑ "Ayala: "Mi ciclo en la Selección está terminado"".
  15. ↑ 26, Diario. "Roberto Ayala se retiró del fútbol".
  16. ↑ "Roberto Fabi�n Ayala � Century of International Appearances". replacement character in |title= at position 13 (help)
  17. ↑ International Matches 1998 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  18. ↑ "South American Team of the Year". RSSSF. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "UEFA Club Football Awards". UEFA.com. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  20. ↑ Karel Stokkermans (14 March 2007). "ESM XI". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "France, Italy dominate World Cup all-star squad". CBC. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.