Raúl Basilio Román Garay (born 25 October 1977) 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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker who played for clubs in his homeland, Argentina, China, Chile and Ecuador.

Club career

On 28 November 1997, he signed a contract for more than a million dollars with the

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

, making him the highest-paid player in China, but he did not play well in China. He was sent out in the

Asian Cup Winners Cup 1998 Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from As ...

Semifinals, then he was loaned back to Paraguay for two seasons. Román returned to Beijing in 2000 but found it hard to play in the Chinese football league, then moved back to Paraguay in the summer. Abroad, Román also played for

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

in Argentina (1997), Deportes Concepción in Chile (2007) and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in Ecuador (2009). In his last years as a footballer, Román played for

Deportivo Capiatá ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

, 12 de Octubre, Olimpia de Itá,

Sportivo Trinidense Sportivo Trinidense is a Paraguayan football club based in the barrio of Santísima Trinidad, in Asunción. The club was founded on 11 August 1935. Their home games are played at the Estadio Martín Torres. Their traditional rival is Rubio Ñu ...

and General Caballero de Zeballos Cué.

International career

Román was the member of Paraguay U-20 National football team in 1997 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final.FIFA.com
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Personal life

Román is nicknamed ''Ratón'' (Mouse).

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Raul 1977 births Living people Footballers from San Lorenzo, Paraguay Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Paraguay men's under-20 international footballers Club Nacional footballers Cerro Porteño players Sportivo Luqueño players Club Libertad footballers 12 de Octubre Football Club players Club Sol de América footballers Tacuary footballers Club Olimpia footballers Club Deportivo Capiatá players Club Olimpia (Itá) players Sportivo Trinidense footballers General Caballero Sport Club footballers Paraguayan Primera División players Paraguayan División Intermedia players Paraguayan Tercera División players Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Argentine Primera División players Beijing Guoan F.C. players China League One players Deportes Concepción (Chile) footballers Chilean Primera División players Barcelona S.C. footballers Ecuadorian Serie A players Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in China Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Men's association football forwards