Paulo César da Silva Barrios (born 1 February 1980) is a Paraguayan professional

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 plays for Independiente in Paraguay, as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He has previously played top-flight football in Paraguay, Italy, Argentina, England and Spain. He played for the Paraguay national team from 2000 to 2017, and is their most-capped player of all time, earning over 100 caps. He played at two World Cups and three

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

tournaments, helping his country finish as runners-up in the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

. In 2015, da Silva became a naturalized Mexican citizen.

Club career

Early career

Born in Asunción, Da Silva started his career in the youth divisions of

Atlántida Sport Club Atlántida Sport Club is a Paraguayan football club from the neighbourhood of Obrero, in Asunción. The club was founded on December 23, 1906 and plays in the Primera División B Metropolitana of the Tercera División since the 2013 season. T ...

, arriving at the club at the age of 13. In 1996, da Silva reached the

Primera División Paraguaya Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

with Asunción team Presidente Hayes at the age of 16.

Mexico

Before joining Toluca, da Silva played for Perugia and Venezia of Italy, and Lanús of Argentina. He joined Toluca from Paraguayan

Club Libertad Club Libertad is a professional association football, football club based in Asunción, Paraguay that currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División. The club plays its home games at Estadio Tigo La Huerta; which holds 10,100 people. Fo ...

for the 2003 Apertura. After making his debut, da Silva was a mainstay in Toluca's defence, starting all but one game that he has played and eventually becoming the team's captain due to his leadership on the field. In 2007, he was chosen for the "Ideal Eleven" squad of South America and in 2008 he led Toluca to the

Apertura 2008 The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divi ...

title, being chosen as the best overall player of the tournament by the Mexican media.

Sunderland

On 13 July 2009, Da Silva joined English club

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

on a three-year deal. Manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

said "I'm delighted to have signed a player of Paulo's experience. He is captain of his country and has played at the highest level in South America, so will bring leadership qualities to our side." His arrival at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...

was followed by a long and confusing period in regards to his visa application. Da Silva was granted a work permit to play in England almost immediately, but had to wait for over a month to get his visa before it was eventually granted on 12 August. He made his debut on 24 August against Norwich City in the League Cup second round, playing the whole 90 minutes of a 4–1 away win. On 12 September he made his first Premier League appearance, replacing Steed Malbranque for the final ten minutes of a 4–1 home win over Hull City. Da Silva was rotated throughout his first season at the club, but performed consistently when required. Manager

cited 'settlement' as the reason behind playing Da Silva in phases, stating he needed time to adjust to the English game and lifestyle. He was joined at the club by his international teammate Cristian Riveros in May 2010. Da Silva's second season at Sunderland saw him make just three appearances, only one as a starter. His last appearance for Sunderland came in their home defeat to Notts County in the FA Cup on 8 January 2011.

Real Zaragoza

Da Silva joined Real Zaragoza from Sunderland on 31 January 2011 for an undisclosed fee, with his new club in 15th in La Liga at the time. They finished the season in 13th.

Toluca

Da Silva re-joined Toluca on 31 May 2013 in a two-year loan deal from Pachuca. On 11 May 2015, Toluca announced they had signed da Silva permanently. In December 2015, da Silva received a Mexican naturalization to disoccupy a foreign place in Toluca's team.

Return to Paraguay

On 26 June 2017, Da Silva returned to Paraguay to play for

In March 2020, da Silva stated that he wanted to retire at Atlántida Asunción. In December 2021, the 41-year-old da Silva announced that the 2022 season would be his last. However, in 2023 he is still playing with 12 de Junio in Nacional B.

International career

In 1994, da Silva was selected for the Paraguay U17 national team barely aged 14. In 2000, da Silva represented Paraguay U23 at the

2000 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament The 2000 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament began on 19 January 2000 and was the 11th CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. This was the 3rd tournament open to players under the age of 23 without any other restriction. There was no qualification stage and ...

. He played for Paraguay in 1997 and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, but missed the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Korea and Japan. However, he was named in the 23-man squad for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

in Germany. He also played at the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa, featuring in all five of Paraguay's games in their run to the quarter-finals, and provided an assist for Sunderland teammate Cristian Riveros in their 2–0 win against Slovakia in the group stages.

Personal life

In December 2015, da Silva became a Mexican citizen.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each da Silva goal.''

Honours

Libertad *

Primera División de Paraguay Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: 2002, 2003 Toluca *

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

: 2005 Apertura, 2008 Apertura * Campeón de Campeones: 2003, 2006 *

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Individual *Chosen on the

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...

Best Eleven team: 2007 *Best player of the

Primera División de México The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional Association football, football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and amo ...

: 2008

References

External links

Real Zaragoza official profile
* * *

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Paulo da 1980 births Living people Footballers from Asunción Paraguayan men's footballers Men's association football defenders Paraguayan Primera División players Cerro Porteño players Club Libertad footballers Serie A players Serie B players AC Perugia Calcio players Venezia FC players Cosenza Calcio 1914 players Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético Lanús footballers Liga MX players Deportivo Toluca F.C. players Premier League players Sunderland A.F.C. players La Liga players Real Zaragoza players C.F. Pachuca players 12 de Octubre Football Club players Paraguay men's under-20 international footballers Paraguay men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain FIFA Men's Century Club Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Atlántida Sport Club players