Salvador Cabañas Ortega (born 5 August 1980) is a Paraguayan former 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 lea ...

who played as a striker internationally for the senior Paraguay national team, and earlier for the national U17 and

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA S ...

teams. Cabañas played for Club 12 de Octubre, Guaraní, Audax Italiano,

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

, General Caballero, Tanabi and Independiente F.B.C. His football career saw him play in Paraguay, Chile,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and Brazil. Cabañas was also a member of the

Paraguay national football team The Paraguay national football team (), nicknamed ''La Albirroja,'' represents Paraguay in men's international Association football, football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fút ...

from 2004 to 2010, scoring 10 goals in 44 appearances and participating in the

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

and the 2007 Copa América. Cabañas was the leading goal scorer in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 Copa Libertadores The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Grupo Santander, Santander. As ...

competitions. In 2007, he was awarded both

Paraguayan Footballer of the Year The Paraguayan Footballer of the Year is an award given to the best Paraguayan professional Association football, football player every year. The award began officially in 1997 and it is presented by Paraguayan newspaper ''ABC Color''. Players tha ...

and South American Footballer of the Year. Cabañas had also been a top scorer in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

. He was known for his array of skills on the field such as excellent heading, accurate shooting with either foot, receptions in tight spaces, and a combination of technique, power, and positional sense. Cabañas was shot in the head at a nightclub in January 2010, but survived the attack. Sixteen months after the assault he returned to football and participated in a tribute match for him between Paraguay's national team and Club América.

Club career

Early years

Cabañas started his career at Club 12 de Octubre, where he was promoted to the first division, by then-coach Alicio Solalinde, scoring 17 goals in his first season. He then moved to a different team, Guaraní, where he had a brief stint before moving to Audax Italiano of

. In the 2003 Apertura tournament of the

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División () is a professional association football league in Chile and the highest level of the Chilean football league system. Founded in 1933, it is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). The l ...

, Cabañas was the top scorer with 18 goals.

Years in Mexico

Afterwards, he joined

of Mexico from Audax Italiano before the Mexican 2003 Apertura tournament. That season, Cabañas went on to play in 18 games for the team, scoring five goals. He came into his own in the 2004 Clausura however, as he scored 15 goals in 20 games for the club. He would lead the club in goals again in the 2004 Apertura, with eight in 16 matches. Following the Clausura 2006 season in which Cabañas won his first goal-scoring crown in the Mexican League, he attracted the attention of

, one of the most important clubs in the country, and was signed by the

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

squad prior to the Apertura 2006 season. Cabañas became Club América's most prolific goal scorer for 2007, finishing up the first half of the year with an impressive 19 goals between

2007 Copa Libertadores The 2007 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2007 Copa Toyota Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 48th edition of the Copa Libertadores. It started on January 24, 2007, and finished on June 20, 2007. It was won by ...

(in which he became the top-scorer with 10 goals) and the

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

. He started the second half of the year with a single goal in the

North American SuperLiga The SuperLiga was an annual association football competition in North America between four clubs from the Major League Soccer (United States and Canada) and four clubs from the Primera División (Mexico), the top professional league in each count ...

, then scored 4 more goals in the

2007 Copa Sudamericana The 2007 edition of the Copa Sudamericana was played by 34 teams; 30 teams from the CONMEBOL and 4 teams from the CONCACAF. CONMEBOL organized the tournament and invited three North American clubs which were the best three of the CONCACAF Champio ...

, and has scored 9 more in the Mexican Primera División, bringing his year's total with the club to 33 goals. His top form in 2007 earned him the

and South American Footballer of the Year awards. For 2008, Cabañas has started where he left off in 2007. He scored 3 goals in the 2008 InterLiga, scored 8 in the

(in which, for a consecutive second time, he became the top-scorer), and scored 6 more goals in the Mexican Primera División. He started the second half of the year with 6 goals in the Mexican Primera División, bringing his year's total to 23 goals with the club. Cabañas started 2009 by scoring his first goal in the 2009 InterLiga and scoring 13 more goals in the Mexican Primera División. He then finished the second half of the year with 12 goals in the Mexican Primera División. Taking his tally to 26 goals for the year. On 18 January, against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

, he scored two goals, taking his personal tally to 100 goals in the Mexican Primera División. In 2010, Cabañas again started the year scoring goals in the 2010 InterLiga, scoring four. In the two games he played in the 2010 Bicentenario, he scored two goals. His last game before being shot was on 24 January 2010 in a 2–0 loss against Morelia.

Murder attempt

Cabañas was shot in the head inside the "Bar Bar" nightclub, in Mexico City, on 25 January 2010 at 5:00 a.m. According to the official police reports, the assault was the result of a taunting incident in the bar's bathroom between Cabañas and a mobster of the Beltrán-Leyva Drug-Cartel called José Balderas Garza, alias "JJ", who shot him. According to Cabañas ex-wife, the altercation was a result of Cabañas reacting against a robbery. Cabañas received medical attention during the early hours of 25 January 2010. Later on the day he was submitted to a

craniotomy A craniotomy is a surgery, surgical operation in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the Human skull, skull to access the Human brain, brain. Craniotomies are often critical operations, performed on patients who are suffering from brain ...

but doctors decided that it was too risky to proceed and the bullet was not extracted. Cabañas left

intensive care Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes p ...

in late February and was hoping to fully recover in time for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

but was not selected for the final Paraguay squad. Doctors dealing with Cabañas have described his recovery so far as "tremendous". However, it is announced he does have short-term memory loss and may not recover for another one to three years. He gave his first interview on 12 March 2010 in appreciation to all the people who prayed for him. In 2013, Cabañas gave his version of the incident which stated that in his opinion the attack occurred so that he would not play at the

and that

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 ...

would not be crowned champions of the competition. At that moment, Cabañas challenged the man, asking him 'What are you waiting for', noting to him that he had held the gun towards Cabañas for almost 10 minutes, and after a little bit, the man pulled the trigger on Cabañas shot his forehead. He also stated that right after being shot, he had a

near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death, which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompa ...

, where he felt that he went directly to heaven and spoke with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, who touched him on his forehead where Cabañas had been shot, and told him that a long time remained until he was due to come to heaven and that he should enjoy life and help those in need.

Return to football

Cabañas signed a contract with Paraguayan third-division club 12 de Octubre, on 20 January 2012, two years after the assault. He then made his competitive return to football on 14 April, starting and playing forty minutes, in the club's 2–0 win over Martín Ledesma in the opening round of the Primera B. Salvador's side gained promotion into the Second Division of Paraguay where he will now compete on a regular basis. Cabañas was invited to partake in a half time memorial appearance for

in a

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

match against Pumas. He received a standing ovation from the crowd at halftime. Jaguares later went on to win the match 3–0.

First retirement and return to football

On 26 January 2014, Cabañas announced his retirement from football, after having received an offer from the Mexican second division side Murciélagos FC. However, on 1 February 2014, it was announced that Cabañas had signed with Club 12 de Octubre, who had been promoted to the Paraguayan Primera División for the 2014 season. On 16 February 2014, the day that Cabañas was meant to debut against Cerro Porteño in the Round 1 of the 2014 Paraguayan Primera División season, it was announced by club spokesman, Miguel Soloaga, that Cabañas would not participate in the competition due to his low form. Sologa stated that Cabañas was out of physical form and discarded from the Torneo Apertura but would continue to participate in the club's training sessions.

Tanabi Esporte Clube

On 17 March 2014, it was announced that Cabañas had signed a three-month contract with

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Segunda Divisão : : The Segunda Divisão Portuguesa ( English: ''Portuguese Second Division'') was a football league situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system. The division had previously been the second level of the Portuguese pyrami ...

(equivalent to the state fourth division) outfit Tanabi Esporte Clube. The club's president, Irineu Alves, travelled by car from Brazil to Paraguay in order to finalize the contract, stating that Cabañas was a big financial signing for the club. On 18 May 2014, Cabañas debuted for the club in a friendly against Gremio Barueri, which ended in a 2–2 draw, where Cabañas missed a penalty in the last minute.

Second retirement

On 30 May 2014, Cabañas officially announced that he had retired due to not being able to maintain a rhythm to play since being shot in the head in 2010.

Independiente Fútbol Club PJC

On 27 June 2014, Cabañas came out of retirement and signed with Independiente Fútbol Club of Pedro Juan Caballero. On 29 June 2014, Cabañas debuted for Independiente against former Primera División Paraguaya club Sportivo 2 de Mayo in the Liga Deportiva Amambay of the Paraguayan Cuarta División, entering the field in the 35th minute of the second half.

International career

In 1997, Cabañas represented Paraguay's U17 team at the 1997 South American Under-17 Football Championship held in Paraguay, scoring 3 goals. Two years later, Cabañas was selected in Paraguay's U20 squad to participate at the 1999 South American U-20 Championship, where he scored two goals. Paraguay qualified for the

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams tha ...

as Cabañas was selected in the squad which featured Roque Santa Cruz and

Nelson Cuevas Nelson Rafael Cuevas Amarilla (; born 10 January 1980) is a Paraguayan former footballer and current singer. He represented the Paraguay national football team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and the 1999 and 2007 Copa América tour ...

. Cabañas debuted for the Paraguay national team during the 2006 World Cup qualification campaign. He was selected in the squad for the tournament finals but did not play. He scored three goals in four matches in the 2007 Copa América as Paraguay reached the quarter-finals. He was the team's top scorer in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers with six goals, including one in a 2–0 win over

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 ...

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

Career statistics

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

Honours

Chiapas * Chiapas Cup: 2003, 2005 América * InterLiga:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Serie Mundial de Fútbol:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Individual * South American Footballer of the Year:

: 2007, 2008, 2009 *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

top scorer:

* Balón de Oro: Clausura 2008 * Liga MX Golden Boot (Shared): Clausura 2006 *

Primera División de Chile 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 ...

top scorer: 2003-A * Tecate Premios Deportes Best Forward: 2009 * Tecate Premios Deportes Best XI: 2008, 2009 * InterLiga Top Scorer:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

Salvador Cabañas
at Mediotiempo.com * *
Salvador Cabañas
tactical profile at Football-Lineups.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabanas, Salvador 1980 births Living people Footballers from Asunción Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Paraguay men's under-20 international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players 12 de Octubre Football Club players Club Guaraní players Audax Italiano footballers Jaguares F.C. footballers Club América footballers Tanabi Esporte Clube players Paraguayan Primera División players Chilean Primera División players Liga MX players Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil South American Footballer of the Year winners Men's association football forwards Shooting survivors Copa Libertadores top scorers 21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen