Roberto Fabián Ayala (; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed ''El Ratón'' ("The Mouse"), is an Argentine former

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 as a centre back for the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...

, as well as

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

in Spain,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and Napoli in Italy, and Ferro Carril, River Plate and

Racing Club Racing Club may refer to: Football * Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast * K.R.C. Genk, Belgium * Racing Club Bafoussam, Cameroon * Racing Club Beirut, Lebanon * Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentina * Racing Club Haïtien, Haiti * Racing Club Port ...

in his native Argentina. 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 in spite of his small stature as a centre back. Ayala captained Argentina in a record 63 matches. He played in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s and made a total of 115 international appearances, behind only Javier Mascherano,

Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...

and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

in terms of international appearances.

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 side

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

brought the Argentine defender to Europe. However, the club, having already used their quota of three non- EU players, loaned him to Napoli, who purchased 50% of his rights on a co-ownership deal. Ayala was bought by

at the end of the 1997–98 season and played there for two seasons until

purchased him for £6.25 million.

Valencia

After signing with Valencia in the summer of 2000, Ayala made 275 appearances during a seven-year spell at the club. On 24 September 2000, Ayala made his debut for Valencia in a 3–0

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

win over Numancia. He soon established himself as a first choice central defender for ''Los Che'' and started alongside compatriot

Mauricio Pellegrino Mauricio Andrés Pellegrino Luna (; born 5 October 1971) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, currently the manager of Chilean club Universidad de Chile. After nearly one decade with Vélez Sarsfield, Pe ...

in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, where Valencia lost 5–4 to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

after a penalty shootout. He was later named best defender for the 2000–01 tournament. The following season, Ayala was part of the Valencia team that won the

2001–02 La Liga The 2001–02 La Liga season, the 71st since its establishment, started on 25 August 2001 and finished on 11 May 2002. As of 2022, this is the last season that neither Barcelona or Real Madrid placed among the top two in the league table. Team ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

. He scored the opening goal of a 2–0 defeat of

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

which secured the championship on 5 May 2002. In 2003–04, Valencia again won the

title and beat

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

2–0 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

to win the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

. During the 2004–05 season, injuries kept Ayala from much of the La Liga campaign as well as the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

victory over

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. 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.

Villarreal and Real Zaragoza

In August 2006, Ayala was not offered a new contract by sporting director

Amedeo Carboni Amedeo Carboni (; born 6 April 1965) is an Italian former footballer who played as a left-back. In a professional career which spanned 22 years and saw him appear in nearly 700 official games, he played mainly for Roma (seven seasons) and Valen ...

. On 7 February 2007, he announced he would join regional rivals Villarreal at the end of the season, however before having played for Villarreal, he joined

on a three-year deal on 14 July 2007. The buy-out clause in his contract with Villarreal was

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

6 million (£4.8 million) which was paid in full by

. On 3 May 2008, Ayala scored his first goal for Real Zaragoza in the 94th minute against Deportivo de La Coruña to lead Zaragoza to a 1–0 victory. Zaragoza, however, were relegated to the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

. On 22 November 2008, Ayala scored his second goal for Zaragoza, in the 73rd of a 3–0 win over Eibar. On 29 February 2009, he scored his third goal coming in the 54th minute against Real Murcia as Zaragoza won the match 4–1. In January 2010, Ayala's contract with Zaragoza was terminated by mutual consent.

Racing Avellaneda

On 2 February 2010, Argentine side

signed Ayala on a free transfer.

International career

Ayala made his debut for Argentina on 16 November 1994 against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

under coach Daniel Passarella. Ayala played for Argentina U23 at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, winning the silver medal. He played for Argentina in the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

and was a non-playing squad member in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

competition due to a last-minute injury moments before their first match against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He was selected as one of the three overage players then Argentina U23 won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Ayala played an integral part in the Argentine 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 played brilliantly throughout the tournament and was picked as a member of the All Star Team. In the quarter-final against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he scored a header that gave Argentina the 1–0 lead, although his side lost the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, with Ayala's spot kick being saved by Jens Lehmann. On 30 May 2006, In a friendly match against

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, Ayala earned his 100th cap for Argentina. One of the best defenders in Argentina's history, on 7 February 2007 Ayala became the most capped player of the national team (most as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

), beating his friend Diego Simeone, in a friendly victory 1–0 against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

played in the

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

in Paris. On 5 June 2007, in a friendly against

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, Ayala captained Argentina for a record 58th international, having equalled

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

's mark of 57 in the 1–1 draw against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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on 2 June. On 17 July 2007, two days after playing in the

2007 Copa América Final 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, which ended in a 3–0 defeat to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and during which he scored an own goal, Ayala announced his retirement from international football. Ayala stated, "it has nothing to do with what happened in the final of the Copa América."

took over from him as captain.

After retiring

Racing Club

On 30 December, Ayala retired from professional football. On 21 December 2011, Ayala was hired as a football coordinator at

. In September 2013, a new management arrived, and Ayala was released on 19 September 2013.

Valencia CF

In December 2013, Ayala was hired as a technical director / sport director for

, where he was going to be the responsible for the whole South American area. The role also involved him scouting in that area to find young talents. He left the club in the middle of 2015.

Argentina

On 10 January 2019, Ayala joined the technical staff of the

as a field assistant of manager

Lionel Scaloni Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (; born 16 May 1978) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who currently coaches the Argentina national team. A versatile player, he operated as a right-back or right midfielder. Born in Puj ...

.Roberto Ayala se sumará al cuerpo técnico de la Selección Argentina
theguardian.com, 10 January 2019

Style of play

Regarded as one of the best and most accomplished defenders of all time, Ayala was mainly known for his ability in the air and tenacious tackling, and also stood out for his leadership and consistency throughout his career. A complete defender, he was also noted for his speed, ability on the ball, and passing accuracy as a centre-back.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ayala goal''.

Honours

As an assistant manager *

: Winner

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* Copa America: Winner

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, third-place

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2022 Finalissima The 2022 Finalissima ( es, Finalísima; ) will be the third edition of the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, a football match between the winners of the previous South American and European championships. The match will feature Italy, winners of U ...

River Plate *

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

: 1994 Apertura Milan *

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

: 1998–99 Valencia *

: 2001–02, 2003–04 *

: 2003–04 Argentina U23 *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Individual * South American Team of the Year: 1994 * UEFA Club Best Defender of the Year: 2000–01 * European Sports Media Team of the Year: 2003–04 *

2006 FIFA 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 ...

All-Star Team

References

External links

Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Roberto Argentine footballers Argentina international footballers Association football central defenders Association football sweepers A.C. Milan players Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers S.S.C. Napoli players Valencia CF players UEFA Cup winning players Real Zaragoza players Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers La Liga players Serie A players Olympic footballers of Argentina Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Olympic silver medalists for Argentina Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1995 King Fahd Cup players 1995 Copa América players 1999 Copa América players 2004 Copa América players 2007 Copa América players People from Paraná, Entre Ríos 1973 births Living people Argentine people of Basque descent FIFA Century Club Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine Primera División players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Pan American Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Entre Ríos Province