Darío Anastacio Verón Maldonado (born 26 July 1979) is a former

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an professional footballer that last played 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 also holds Mexican citizenship.

Career

Verón joined Pumas in 2003, on a transfer from the Chilean club

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros del ...

. Verón previously played for

Club Guaraní Club Guaraní is a Paraguayan football team, based in the neighbourhood of Pinozá in outer Asunción. Founded on 12 October 1903, it is one of the oldest and one of the most successful in the country, with eleven Primera División titles, and ...

and

Club 12 de Octubre 12 de Octubre Football Club is a Paraguayan football club from the city of Itauguá that currently plays in the División Intermedia, the second division of Football in Paraguay. Founded in 1914, the club's home venue is Estadio Luis Alberto S ...

, clubs from his native country. A commanding central defender, Verón has also scored more than a dozen goals for UNAM because of his strength in the air. His nickname is "Hechicero" (The Wizard), a play on

Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, ...

's "Brujita" (Little Witch). He has become the most experienced defensive player in the Pumas lineup after Joaquín Beltrán moved to

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

and

Sergio Bernal Sergio Arturo Bernal Hernández also known as "El Puma Mayor" (The Eldest Puma) (born 9 February 1970) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Bernal played as a goalkeeper for Club Universidad Nacion ...

announced his retirement. He has also earned some 50 caps for

, including the Copa América tournaments of 2001, 2007, and 2011, and the

2010 FIFA 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 ...

. Verón was a key part of the rigid defense that carried Paraguay to the final of the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, where he formed a sturdy central core alongside

Paulo Da Silva Paulo César da Silva Barrios (born 1 February 1980) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays for 12 de Octubre in Paraguay, as a centre-back. He has previously played top-flight football in Paraguay, Italy, Argentina, England and S ...

. On occasion, he has also featured for Paraguay at right fullback.

Controversy

Verón has been accused of making

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

insults by

Felipe Baloy Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez (born 24 February 1981) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He scored Panama’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, against England at the 2018 edition. Early life He was the ...

Darwin Quintero Carlos Darwin Quintero Villalba (born 19 September 1987) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Categoría Primera A club América de Cali. Quintero is also known by his nickname of ''El Científico del G ...

and Michael Arroyo.

Honours

Club

;Cobreloa *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera The is a large family car which was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1990 to 2007, for the markets in Japan and Europe. In Japan, it replaced the Auster/Stanza, and was exclusive to '' N ...

(1): 2003 Apertura ;Pumas UNAM * Mexican Primera División (4): 2004 Clausura, 2004 Apertura, 2009 Clausura, 2011 Clausura *Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu: (1) 2004 *

Campeón de Campeones ''Campeón de Campeones'' ( es, Champion of Champions) is an annual Mexican football competition established in 1942. In its current form, the winner of the Apertura season faces the winner of the Clausura season, for both Liga MX and Liga MX Feme ...

(1):

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 60 ...

;Olimpia *

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship reasons Copa de Primera TIGO-Vi ...

(3): 2018 Clausura, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura

Individual

*Best

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 ...

of the tournament: 2011 Clausura

References

External links

* * People from San Ignacio, Paraguay 1979 births Living people Paraguayan emigrants to Mexico Naturalized citizens of Mexico Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers 12 de Octubre Football Club players Club Guaraní players C.D. Cobreloa footballers Club Universidad Nacional footballers Club Olimpia footballers Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Paraguayan Primera División players Chilean Primera División players Liga MX players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players Men's association football central defenders {{Paraguay-footy-defender-stub