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

Sportivo Luqueño

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

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

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

On 31 January 2024, Escobar joined Toluca on a season-long loan. Cruz Azul head coach Martín Anselmi had previously deemed Escobar as surplus.[5]

International career

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

Club

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

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

Cruz Azul

Individual

See also

References

  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

Deportivo Toluca F.C. – current squad
Paraguay squad – 2019 Copa América
Authority control databases: Artists
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