Diego Antonio Gavilán Zarate (born 1 March 1980) is a

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an 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 lea ...

and current coach.

Career

Gavilán's nickname '' pampero'' – literally meaning the horse or the man that runs like the wind in the

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

– offers a fair indication of his purposeful and hard-running style. He began his top-flight career at

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

and he became the first-ever Paraguayan to play in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, when he signed for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in 2000.

Newcastle United

Gavilan signed with the club in January 2000. On the eve of playing the 2000 Pre-Olympic CONMEBOL Tournament, was surprised by being transferred to Newcastle United, attending a meeting on one and then signing a contract the next day. Gavilán did not participate in the Pre-Olympic Tournament and went directly to his new club. Upon joining from

, Gavilan was labelled Paraguay's

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

. Gavilán already studied English whilst in High School in Paraguay, but had to take classes twice a week once he was in Newcastle to improve his English. Gavilán cost Newcastle £2m when he left his native Paraguay behind at the age of just 19. He made his Premiership debut in a 2–2 draw at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He struggled however, to stake a real claim for a first team place, making some appearances for the club as a substitute. He scored once in the league, against Coventry in a 2–0 win in April 2000. Gavilan mentioned the difference between English and Paraguayan football and the physicality in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, that he was tackled hardly by

Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of all-time. Stam was part of the Manchester United team that w ...

in his first game against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. In December 2001, it was announced that Newcastle would loan out Gavilan to Mexican club Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara for the remainder of the 2001/02 season. His last first-team appearance fifteen months prior to this was in a League Cup victory over Leyton Orient, and by this time he had played only two further games for the club. In 2003, he joined Internacional of Brazil. Gavilan later revealed that

Gary Speed Gary Andrew Speed (8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011) was a Welsh professional footballer and manager. As manager of Wales, Speed is often credited as being the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the national team and as setting t ...

was like a father to him, praising Speed for helping him settle into life at St. James' Park and for also congratulating Gavilan when he was selected for Paraguay's squad for the

2002 FIFA 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 ...

Newell's Old Boys

In 2006, Gavilán signed with the Argentinian side

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

Gremio

He signed the following year with Grêmio, returning to the city of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Independiente

Gavilán then joined Independiente on loan.

Portuguesa

Then with Portuguesa until November.

Independiente CG

In 2011, the players signs with Independiente CG.

Coaching career

Gavilán coached Cerro Porteño U15 as of 2013. He coached Sergio Díaz. In May 2015, Gavilán was announced as coach of Independiente Campo Grande in Paraguay's Division Intermedia, second division. In July 2023, he was announced as coach of Cerro Porteño Paraguay's Primera Division, the top-tier division of the country.

References

External links

* * at Fútbol XXI {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavilan, Diego 1980 births Living people 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Cerro Porteño players Club Olimpia footballers CR Flamengo footballers Grêmio FBPA players 1999 Copa América players Tecos F.C. footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Newcastle United F.C. players Newell's Old Boys footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Paraguayan expatriates in Italy Paraguayan people of Spanish descent Premier League players SC Internacional players Udinese Calcio players Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Footballers from Asunción Men's association football midfielders Paraguayan football managers Paraguayan expatriates in England Esporte Clube Pelotas managers Club Sol de América managers Club Deportivo Capiatá managers Sportivo Trinidense managers Independiente F.B.C. managers Cerro Porteño managers 21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen