Ariel Álvarez Leyva (born 9 May 1973) is a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played at international levels, as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Álvarez played his entire career for local side Villa Clara, except for half a season in Germany with

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its former women's football department won the German national championship in 1975. History ''B ...

, when then Cuban leader

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

approved for the whole Cuban team to join the German 4th level side for part of the 1998/99 season.

International career

He played at the

1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship The 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the third edition of the tournament, was held in the Scottish cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Motherwell, Aberdeen, and Dundee between 10 June and 24 June 1989. Players born after 1 August 1972 could participa ...

and made his senior international debut for

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in 1995 and has earned a total of 53 caps, scoring 8 goals. He represented his country in 16 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. His final international was an August 2001 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification match against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Cuba's goal tally first.''

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Álvarez became coach of Villa Clara.Álvarez apuesta por la reafirmación
- Cuba Debate

References

External links

* * 1973 births Living people People from Caibarién Association football midfielders Cuban footballers Cuba international footballers FC Villa Clara players Bonner SC players Cuban expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Germany Cuban football managers 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players {{Cuba-footy-bio-stub