Roberto Ovelar

Roberto Andrés Ovelar Maldonado (born 1 December 1985) is a Paraguayan footballer who currently plays as a striker for Colombian club Once Caldas in the Categoría Primera A.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ovelar and the second or maternal family name is Maldonado.
Roberto Ovelar
Personal information
Full name Roberto Andrés Ovelar Maldonado
Date of birth (1985-12-01) 1 December 1985
Place of birth Curuguaty, Paraguay
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Once Caldas
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Cerro Porteño 32 (10)
2008 San Martín de Porres 26 (11)
2009 Cruz Azul 5 (1)
2009–2011 Alianza Lima 54 (24)
2012 Universidad Católica 15 (5)
2013–2014 Juan Aurich 38 (18)
2014–2017 Atlético Junior 107 (30)
2018–2019 Millonarios 42 (7)
2019 Olimpia 4 (0)
2020– Once Caldas 7 (3)
National team
2001 Paraguay U20 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:57, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

He began his football career at amateur club Karende, and was later scouted by Rogelio Rojas to play for Cerro Porteño, one of the most successful Paraguayan teams. His coach at the moment, Gustavo Costas, called him up for the 2006 season, in which the team earned the Primera División. After the 2007 season, Ovelar was loaned to Peruvian side Universidad San Martín de Porres.[1]

In June 2008, he returned to Cerro Porteño after a good season in Peru, winning the Torneo Descentralizado. In January of the next year, Ovelar joined Mexican side Cruz Azul[2]. In June, he returned to Peru and joined Alianza Lima on loan[3], finalizing his transfer later that season. After a good couple of seasons at Alianza, he was dealt to Chilean Primera División club Universidad Católica on December 2011, for a US$1.5 million fee.

Ovelar also represented the Paraguayan national under-20 football team in 2001, aged 16, playing in five games but unable to score at the South American Youth Championship.

Club career

Early career

Roberto Ovelar began his career with Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño, where he was able to play regularly and score 10 goals in the 2006-2007 season. Soon afterwards, in 2007, Ovelar signed on loan with Peruvian side San Martín de Porres at the age of 22. Ovelar had big performances for the Peruvian team during the 2007 Apertura and the 2008 Clausura of the Torneo Descentralizado.

Cruz Azul

Ovelar signed for Mexican side Cruz Azul for the Clausura 2009 tournament after his good stay in San Martín de Porres. Whilst in Mexico, Ovelar saw it as an opportunity to one day play for the Paraguay national football team, as the league featured Paraguayan players who were on the national squad. However, he barely played, and wasn't able to get a starting role, as he just played in 5 matches coming off the bench, scoring 1 goal.

Alianza Lima

After barely playing in Cruz Azul, Ovelar returned to Peru, this time going to Alianza Lima. He had excellent performances which gave him the opportunity to play for the Peruvian national football squad, but he was keen to archive his goal to one day play for Paraguay. His first goal came on December 5th, 2009, in a 2-2 home draw against Cesar Vallejo. His 45th minute go-ahead goal made up for an own-goal he had scored in the 30th minute. Ovelar was subbed off in the 75th minute, replaced by a young André Carrillo.[4]

Universidad Católica

For the summer of 2012, Ovelar signed with Chilean side Universidad Católica. He played 15 matches and scored 5 goals. His debut came on January 28th, 2012, in a 2-1 win at Palestino. He was subbed off in the 67th minute and replaced by Francisco Pizarro.[5] His first league goal came on March 11th, 2012, in a 2-1 win at O'Higgins. He scored a last minute goal to give his team the win.[6]

Atlético Junior

In 2014, Ovelar signed for Colombian side Junior. He made his debut on July 20th, 2014 (on Colombian Independence Day), in a 0–1 defeat against AS Monaco for the 2014 Copa EuroAmericana.

He’s second on the all time list of appearances for the team, with over 140 caps on all competitions.

Millonarios

In January 2018, Ovelar moved to Millonarios in the Categoría Primera A for an undisclosed transfer fee.[7] He made his debut for Millonarios on 11 February 2018 in a 1-0 victory over Patriotas Boyacá. This was also his first start for the club.[8]

References
  1. Cruz Azul: Roberto Ovelar, Un "Bufalo" Azul
  2. Roberto Ovelar se reencontró con Costas
  3. Un martes paraguayo
  4. https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2009/12/05/peru/primera-division/club-alianza-lima/universidad-cesar-vallejo/869440/
  5. https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2012/01/28/chile/primera-division/club-deportivo-palestino/cd-universidad-catolica/1245364/
  6. https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2012/03/11/chile/primera-division/ohiggins/cd-universidad-catolica/1245418/
  7. https://gol.caracoltv.com/liga-aguila/roberto-ovelar-llegaria-bogota-para-firmar-contrato-con-millonarios
  8. https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2018/02/11/colombia/primera-a/club-deportivo-los-millonarios/patriotas-fc/2720685/
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