Adrián Paz

{{For|the Mexican paralympian javelin thrower|Adrián Paz Velázquez}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Adrián Paz

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Adrián Gustavo Paz Charquero

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|9|9|df=y}}

| birth_place = Montevideo, Uruguay

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| position =Attacking Midfielder, Striker

| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1986–1987 | clubs1 = Bella Vista | caps1 = | goals1 =

| years2 = 1987–1988 | clubs2 = Vélez Sársfield | caps2 = 28 | goals2 = 3

| years3 = 1988–1991 | clubs3 = Bella Vista | caps3 = | goals3 =

| years4 = 1991–1992 | clubs4 = Peñarol | caps4 = | goals4 =

| years5 = 1992–1994 | clubs5 = Estudiantes de La Plata | caps5 = 48 | goals5 = 6

| years6 = 1994–1995 | clubs6 = Ipswich Town | caps6 = 18 | goals6 = 1

| years7 = 1995 | clubs7 = Shanghai Pudong | caps7 = | goals7 =

| years8 = 1996 | clubs8 = Columbus Crew | caps8 = 27 | goals8 = 6

| years9 = 1997–1998 | clubs9 = Colorado Rapids | caps9 = 53 | goals9 = 6

| years10 = 1999 | clubs10 = Tianjin Teda | caps10 = 1 | goals10 = 0

| years11 = 2000 | clubs11 = Bella Vista | caps11 = 15 | goals11 = 2

| years12 = 2000 | clubs12 = Qingdao Etsong | caps12 = 4 | goals12 = 1

| nationalyears1 = 1992–2000 | nationalteam1 = Uruguay | nationalcaps1 = 10 | nationalgoals1 = 3

| totalcaps = 194 | totalgoals = 25

| manageryears1 = | managerclubs1 =

| pcupdate =

| ntupdate =

}}

Adrián Gustavo Paz Charquero (born 9 September 1966) is a Uruguayan football coach and former professional footballer.

He played as a midfielder, notably in the Premier League for Ipswich Town who were his only team in European football. He also had notable spells across North and South America for Vélez Sársfield, Estudiantes de La Plata, Columbus Crew and Colorado Rapids. He also had spells in China with Shanghai Pudong, Tianjin Teda and Qingdao Etsong and had brief spells with Bella Vista and Peñarol. He was capped 10 times by Uruguay, scoring once.

Club career

After playing in Uruguay and Argentina, Paz moved to Ipswich Town during the 1994–95 season in a joint transfer with the Argentinian defender Mauricio Taricco. He became the first Uruguayan to play in the English Premier League.{{Cite web

| url = http://www.tmwmtt.com/sql/players/profile.phtml?fullname=Adrian%20Paz

| title = Adrian Paz profile

| publisher = Pride of Anglia

| accessdate = 2008-01-09

| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071215155415/http://www.tmwmtt.com/sql/players/profile.phtml?fullname=Adrian%20Paz| archivedate= 15 December 2007 | url-status= live}}

In January 1996, Major League Soccer began allocating players to its newly established teams. Paz was sent to the Columbus Crew where he played 27 games. On February 1, 1997, the Crew sent Paz to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for the first-round selection in the 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft.[http://www.intermark.com/rapids/rp020197.html RAPIDS ACQUIRE URUGUAYAN STAR MIDFIELDER ADRIAN PAZ IN TRADE WITH COLUMBUS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023062456/http://www.intermark.com/rapids/rp020197.html |date=October 23, 2007 }} He spent two seasons in Colorado before moving to Tianjin Teda in 1999. He only played one game for Tianjin as he suffered a serious injury during his first game, against Shanghai Shenhua, and was out injured until the end of 1999. He rejoined Bella Vista in Uruguay in 2000, then went back to China for a third time, where he played for Qingdao Etsong before retiring from football at the end of the season.

International career

He made his debut for Uruguay in a friendly match against Brazil (1–0 win) on April 30, 1992, in the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo under coach Luis Alberto Cubilla.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/uru-intres1995.html |title=Uruguay - International Matches 1991-1995 |accessdate=2016-02-25 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723133440/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/uru-intres1995.html |archivedate=2010-07-23 }}

He went on to score the winner in that game.

Coaching career

Paz now resides in Florida and runs a soccer academy.{{Cite web |title=Footballers - Adrián Paz |url=https://www.where-are-they-now.co.uk/footballer/PAZ%2BAdrian/4089 |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Where Are They Now?}}

Honors

Individual

MLS All-Star, 1998{{Cite web |date=August 2, 1998 |title=1998 MLS All-Star Game |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/1998-mls-all-star-game-373141 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |work=MLSsoccer.com}}