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Roberto Ayala

{{Short description|Argentine footballer (born 1973)}}

{{about|the Argentine footballer|the Mexican footballer Roberto Hernández Ayala|Roberto Hernández (Mexican footballer)|the station|Roberto Ayala railway station}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Roberto Ayala

| image = 018 Summer Youth Olympics (30382602628) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Ayala in 2018

| fullname = Roberto Fabián Ayala{{cite web |url=https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf |title=2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Argentina |publisher=FIFA |page=2 |date=21 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610174527/https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2019}}

| height = 1.77 m

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1973|04|14}}

| birth_place = Paraná, Argentina

| currentclub = Argentina (field assistant)

| position = Centre-back

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Ferro Carril Oeste

| years1 = 1991–1993

| clubs1 = Ferro Carril Oeste

| caps1 = 73

| goals1 = 1

| years2 = 1993–1995

| clubs2 = River Plate

| caps2 = 41

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1995–1998

| clubs3 = Napoli

| caps3 = 87

| goals3 = 1

| years4 = 1998–2000

| clubs4 = Milan

| caps4 = 24

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2000–2007

| clubs5 = Valencia

| caps5 = 187

| goals5 = 9

| years6 = 2007–2010

| clubs6 = Real Zaragoza

| caps6 = 74

| goals6 = 4

| years7 = 2010–2011

| clubs7 = Racing Club

| caps7 = 15

| goals7 = 0

| totalcaps = 501

| totalgoals = 15

| nationalyears1 = 1996

| nationalteam1 = Argentina U23

| nationalcaps1 = 6

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2004

| nationalteam2 = Argentina Olympic (O.P.)

| nationalcaps2 = 6

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| nationalyears3 = 1994–2007

| nationalteam3 = Argentina

| nationalcaps3 = 116{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediotiempo.com/futbol/copa-america/afa-rinde-homenaje-messi-kun-aguero-record-partidos|title=AFA rinde homenaje a Messi y Kun Agüero por su récord de partidos|date=7 February 2021 }}

| nationalgoals3 = 7

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's Football}}

{{MedalCountry | {{ARG}} (as player)}}

{{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}

{{MedalGold|2004 Athens|Team}}

{{MedalSilver|1996 Atlanta|Team}}

{{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}}

{{MedalGold | 1995 Mar del Plata | Team}}

{{medalCountry|{{fb|ARG}} (as assistant manager)}}

{{MedalCompetition|FIFA World Cup}}

{{Medal|W|2022 Qatar|}}

{{MedalCompetition|Copa América}}

{{Medal|W|2021 Brazil|}}

{{Medal|W|2024 United States|}}

{{Medal|3rd|2019 Brazil|}}

{{MedalCompetition|CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions}}

{{Medal|W|2022 England|}}

| managerclubs1 = Argentina (assistant)

| manageryears1 = 2019-

}}

Roberto Fabián Ayala ({{IPA|es|roˈβeɾto faˈβjan aˈʝala|}}; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed El Ratón ("The Mouse"), is an Argentine former footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentina national football team, as well as Valencia and Real Zaragoza in Spain, Milan and Napoli in Italy, and Ferro Carril, River Plate and Racing Club in his native Argentina.

Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, he stood out for his leadership and ability in the air throughout his career in spite of his small stature as a centre back.{{cite web|url=http://argomenti.ilsole24ore.com/roberto-ayala.html|title=Ultime notizie su Roberto Ayala|work=Il Sole 24 Ore|language=it|date=6 June 2006|access-date=5 June 2015}} Ayala captained Argentina in a record 63 matches.{{cite news| url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn./sports/2007-06/06/content_888140.htm| title = Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria| work = China Daily| date = 5 June 2007|access-date=6 June 2007}} He played in three FIFA World Cups and made a total of 115 international appearances, behind only Javier Mascherano, Javier Zanetti and Lionel Messi in terms of international appearances.

Club career

= Early career in Argentina =

Ayala began his career in his native Argentina, playing for Ferro Carril Oeste. After three seasons, he moved to River Plate where his good form attracted the attention of clubs in Europe.

= Move to Europe =

== Parma, Napoli and Milan ==

Italian side Parma brought the Argentine defender to Europe. However, the club, having already used their quota of three non-EU players, loaned him to Napoli, who purchased 50% of his rights on a co-ownership deal. Ayala was bought by Milan at the end of the 1997–98 season and played there for two seasons until Valencia purchased him for £6.25 million.

== Valencia ==

After signing with Valencia in the summer of 2000, Ayala made 275 appearances during a seven-year spell at the club.{{cite news|url=http://en.valenciacf.com/ver/10324/ayala.html|title=Ayala|access-date=12 March 2016|work=Valencia CF}}

On 24 September 2000, Ayala made his debut for Valencia in a 3–0 La Liga win over Numancia.{{cite news|url=http://en.valenciacf.com/ver/44150/15-years-of-ayalas-debut-with-vcf.html|title=15 years of Ayala's debut with VCF|date=24 September 2015|work=Valencia CF}} He soon established himself as a first choice central defender for Los Che and started alongside compatriot Mauricio Pellegrino in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, where Valencia lost 5–4 to Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/may/23/minutebyminute.sport|title=Bayern Munich 1 – 1 Valencia|date=24 May 2001|work=The Guardian}} He was later named best defender for the 2000–01 tournament.{{cite news|url=http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11946/9877400/champions-league-final-runners-up-xi-the-best-players-never-to-win-it|title=Champions League final runners-up XI: The best players never to win it|date=6 June 2015|publisher=Sky Sports}}

The following season, Ayala was part of the Valencia team that won the 2001–02 La Liga title. He scored the opening goal of a 2–0 defeat of Málaga which secured the championship on 5 May 2002.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/11/rafa-benitez-newcastle-united-manager-career|title=Rafa Benítez: 10 key wins in new Newcastle United manager's career|date=12 March 2016|work=The Guardian}} In 2003–04, Valencia again won the La Liga title and beat Marseille 2–0 in Gothenburg to win the UEFA Cup.

During the 2004–05 season, injuries kept Ayala from much of the La Liga campaign as well as the UEFA Super Cup victory over Porto.

During his time with Valencia, he was widely regarded as one of the finest central defenders in the world and is considered to be one of the club's all-time legends.

== Villarreal and Real Zaragoza ==

In August 2006, Ayala was not offered a new contract by sporting director Amedeo Carboni. On 7 February 2007, he announced he would join regional rivals Villarreal at the end of the season, however before having played for Villarreal, he joined Real Zaragoza on a three-year deal on 14 July 2007.{{cite news | url = http://www.realzaragoza.com/r2z/paginas/noticias.php?id=1796 | title = Ayala será jugador del Real Zaragoza | publisher = Real Zaragoza | date = 14 July 2007 | access-date=14 July 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070811122046/http://www.realzaragoza.com/r2z/paginas/noticias.php?id=1796 |archive-date = 11 August 2007}} The buy-out clause in his contract with Villarreal was €6 million (£4.8 million) which was paid in full by Real Zaragoza.

On 3 May 2008, Ayala scored his first goal for Real Zaragoza in the 94th minute against Deportivo de La Coruña to lead Zaragoza to a 1–0 victory.{{cite news | url = http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/news/kind=1/newsid=561931.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108130527/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/news/kind=1/newsid=561931.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index | url-status = dead | archive-date = 8 January 2009 | title = Zaragoza put an end to Ayala saga | publisher = UEFA | date = 17 July 2006 | access-date=17 July 2007 }} Zaragoza, however, were relegated to the Segunda División. On 22 November 2008, Ayala scored his second goal for Zaragoza, in the 73rd of a 3–0 win over Eibar. On 29 February 2009, he scored his third goal coming in the 54th minute against Real Murcia as Zaragoza won the match 4–1.

In January 2010, Ayala's contract with Zaragoza was terminated by mutual consent.

= Racing Avellaneda =

On 2 February 2010, Argentine side Racing Club signed Ayala on a free transfer.{{cite web|url=http://www.cooperativa.cl/roberto-ayala-llego-a-argentina-para-incorporarse-a-racing-club/prontus_nots/2010-02-02/144611.html|title=Roberto Ayala llegó a Argentina para incorporarse a Racing Club}}

International career

Ayala made his debut for Argentina on 16 November 1994 against Chile under coach Daniel Passarella.

Ayala played for Argentina U23 at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal. He played for Argentina in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was a non-playing squad member in the 2002 competition due to a last-minute injury moments before their first match against Nigeria. He was selected as one of the three overage players then Argentina U23 won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Ayala played an integral part in the Argentine squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He played brilliantly throughout the tournament and was picked as a member of the All Star Team. In the quarter-final against Germany, he scored a header that gave Argentina the 1–0 lead, although his side lost the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, with Ayala's spot kick being saved by Jens Lehmann.

On 30 May 2006, In a friendly match against Angola, Ayala earned his 100th cap for Argentina.{{cite news | url = https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=32316.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071104050822/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=32316.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 4 November 2007 | title = Centurion Ayala eyes main prize | publisher = FIFA | date = 29 June 2006 | access-date=26 June 2007}}

One of the best defenders in Argentina's history, on 7 February 2007 Ayala became the most capped player of the national team (most as captain), beating his friend Diego Simeone, in a friendly victory 1–0 against France played in the Stade de France in Paris.

On 5 June 2007, in a friendly against Algeria, Ayala captained Argentina for a record 58th international, having equalled Diego Maradona's mark of 57 in the 1–1 draw against Switzerland in Basel on 2 June.

{{cite news | url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn./sports/2007-06/06/content_888140.htm | title = Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria | work = China Daily | date = 5 June 2007 | access-date=6 June 2007}}

On 17 July 2007, two days after playing in the 2007 Copa América Final, which ended in a 3–0 defeat to Brazil, and during which he scored an own goal, Ayala announced his retirement from international football.{{cite web|url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/07/17/um/m-01459316.htm|title=Ayala: "Mi ciclo en la Selección está terminado"|publisher=www.clarin.com|language=es|date=17 July 2007}} Ayala stated, "it has nothing to do with what happened in the final of the Copa América." Javier Zanetti took over from him as captain.

After retiring

=Racing Club=

On 30 December, Ayala retired from professional football.{{cite web|url=http://www.26noticias.com.ar/roberto-ayala-se-retiro-del-futbol-124288.html|title=Roberto Ayala se retiró del fútbol}} On 21 December 2011, Ayala was hired as a football coordinator at Racing Club.[https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/futbol/roberto-ayala-es-el-nuevo-coordinador-del-futbol-de-racing-nid1434477 Roberto Ayala es el nuevo coordinador del fútbol de Racing], lanacion.com.ar, 21 December 2011 In September 2013, a new management arrived, and Ayala was released on 19 September 2013.[https://www.elintransigente.com/deportes/futbol/2013/9/19/por-interna-dirigencial-roberto-ayala-dejara-ser-manager-racing-206733.html Por la interna dirigencial, Roberto Ayala dejará de ser el Manager de Racing], elintransigente.com, 19 September 2013

=Valencia CF=

In December 2013, Ayala was hired as a technical director / sport director for Valencia, where he was going to be the responsible for the whole South American area.[https://www.elconfidencial.com/deportes/futbol/2013-12-23/roberto-ayala-regresa-al-valencia-para-pescar-los-nuevos-talentos-de-sudamerica_69820/ Roberto Ayala regresa al Valencia para 'pescar' los nuevos talentos de Sudamérica], elconfidencial.com, 23 December 2013 The role also involved him scouting in that area to find young talents. He left the club in the middle of 2015.[https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/gary-neville-to-valencia-spanish-fans-will-give-latest-coach-little-time-to-bed-in-a6757926.html Gary Neville to Valencia: Spanish fans will give latest coach little time to bed in], independent.co.uk, 2 December 2015

=Argentina=

On 10 January 2019, Ayala joined the technical staff of the Argentina national football team as a field assistant of manager Lionel Scaloni.[https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/sep/21/valencia-fans-turn-on-nuno-la-liga Roberto Ayala se sumará al cuerpo técnico de la Selección Argentina], theguardian.com, 10 January 2019

Style of play

Regarded as one of the best and most accomplished defenders of all time, Ayala was mainly known for his ability in the air and tenacious tackling, and also stood out for his leadership and consistency throughout his career. A complete defender, he was also noted for his speed, ability on the ball, and passing accuracy as a centre-back.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/argentina/squad/newsid_1786000/1786688.stm|title=Roberto Ayala|publisher=BBC Sport|date=22 May 2002|access-date=3 November 2017}}

Personal life

Ayala is married to Veronica, and has four children: Francisco, Sofía, Pilar and Martina.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

Career statistics

=Club=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

rowspan="2"|Club

!rowspan="2"|Season

!colspan="3"|League

!colspan="2"|Cup

!colspan="2"|Continental

!colspan="2"|Other

!colspan="2"|Total

Division||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals
rowspan="4"|Ferro Carril Oeste

|1991–92

|rowspan="3"|Primera División

|19

0colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—190
1992–93

|36

1colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—360
1993

|18

1colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—3Appearances in the Copa Centenario de la AFA.0211
colspan="2"|Total

!73||1||0||0||0||0||3||0||76||1

rowspan="3"|River Plate

|1994

|rowspan="2"|Primera División

|16

0colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—160
1994–95

|25

0colspan=2|—121colspan="2"|—371
colspan="2"|Total

!41

00012100531
rowspan="4"|Napoli

|1995–96

|rowspan="3"|Serie A

|29

010colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—301
1996–97

|30

160colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—361
1997–98

|28

020colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—300
colspan="2"|Total

!87

1900000961
rowspan="3"|Milan

|1998–99

|rowspan="2"|Serie A

|11

020colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—130
1999-00

|13

03060colspan="2"|—220
colspan="2"|Total

!24

0506000350
rowspan="8"|Valencia

|2000–01

|rowspan="7"|La Liga

|28

12092colspan="2"|—393
2001–02

|29

21070colspan="2"|—372
2002–03

|31

1colspan=2|—1202Appearances in the Supercopa de España.0451
2003–04

|30

150100colspan="2"|—451
2004–05

|17

0colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—170
2005–06

|23

2colspan=2|—6Appearances in the Intertoto Cup.0colspan="2"|—292
2006–07

|29

24081colspan="2"|—413
colspan="2"|Total

!187

91405232025312
Villarreal

|2006–07

|La Liga

|0

000colspan="2"|–colspan="2"|–00|
rowspan="4"|Zaragoza

|2007–08

|La Liga

|33

14020colspan="2"|—391
2008–09

|Segunda División

|28

3colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—283
2009–10

|La Liga

|13

010colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—140
colspan="2"|Total

!74

4502000814
Racing

|2009–10

|Primera División

|15

0colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—colspan="2"|—150
colspan="3"|Career total

!501

153407245060919

{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

=International=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/rayala-intl.html|title=Roberto Fabián Ayala – Century of International Appearances|website=RSSSF|access-date=1 April 2017}}

National teamYearAppsGoals
rowspan="15"|Argentina

|1994

30
1995140
199660
199770
1998131
1999121
2000111
200180
200210
200360
2004101
200582
200671
200790
Total||115||7

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

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ List of international goals scored by Roberto Ayala

scope="col"|No.

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Venue

!scope="col"|Opponent

!scope="col"|Score

!scope="col"|Result

!scope="col"|Competition

align="center"|1

| 19 February 1998

| Mendoza, Argentina

| {{flagu|Romania}}n League

|

| align="center"|2–1

| Unofficial Friendly[https://www.rsssf.org/intldetails/1998ic.html International Matches 1998] Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2008.

align="center"|2

| 7 September 1999

| Porto Alegre, Brazil

| {{fb|Brazil}}

|

| align="center"|2–4

| Friendly

align="center"|3

| 26 April 2000

| Maracaibo, Venezuela

| {{fb|Venezuela}}

| align="center"|1–0

| align="center"|4–0

| World Cup 2002 Qualifying

align="center"|4

| 13 July 2004

| Piura, Peru

| {{fb|Uruguay}}

| align="center"|3–2

| align="center"|4–2

| 2004 Copa América

align="center"|5

| 12 November 2005

| Geneva, Switzerland

| {{fb|England}}

|

| align="center"|2–3

| Friendly

align="center"|6

| 16 November 2005

| Doha, Qatar

| {{fb|Qatar}}

|

| align="center"|3–0

| Friendly

align="center"|7

| 30 June 2006

| Berlin, Germany

| {{fb|Germany}}

| align="center"|1–0

| align="center"|1–1 (2–4 PS)

| 2006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

= Player =

River Plate

Napoli

Milan

Valencia

Argentina

Individual

  • South American Team of the Year: 1994{{cite news|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/sam-toy.html|title=South American Team of the Year|date=16 January 2009|website=RSSSF|access-date=10 March 2015}}
  • UEFA Club Best Defender of the Year: 2000–01{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=1639472.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929215044/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=1639472.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=UEFA Club Football Awards|publisher=UEFA|date=1 May 2011|access-date=1 September 2016}}
  • European Sports Media Team of the Year: 2003–04{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/esm-xi.html|title=ESM XI|author1=Karel Stokkermans|date=14 March 2007|website=RSSSF|access-date=29 November 2015}}
  • Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2004
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/france-italy-dominate-world-cup-all-star-squad-1.572395|title=France, Italy dominate World Cup all-star squad|publisher=CBC|date=7 July 2006|access-date=27 May 2015}}
  • IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team B): 2021{{cite web|url=https://iffhs.com/posts/1239|title=IFFHS ALL TIME ARGENTINA MEN'S DREAM TEAM|date=26 August 2021}}

= Managerial =

Argentina (as assistant manager)

  • FIFA World Cup: 2022{{Cite news |last=Murray |first=Scott |date=2022-12-18 |title=2022 World Cup final: Argentina 3-3 France (aet, 4-2 on pens) – as it happened |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2022/dec/18/argentina-france-world-cup-2022-final-live |access-date=2024-06-28 |work=the Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
  • Copa América: 2021,{{Cite news |date=2021-07-09 |title=Lionel Messi wins first Copa America as Argentina beat Brazil in final |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57776158 |access-date=2024-06-28 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}} 2024; third place: 2019{{Cite news |date=2019-07-06 |title=Argentina 2-1 Chile: Messi gets first red card in 14 years as Argentina win |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48890323 |access-date=2024-06-28 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}
  • CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 2022{{Cite news |date=2022-05-31 |title=Italy 0-3 Argentina: Messi and Di Maria shine in impressive Finalissima win |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61653337 |access-date=2024-06-28 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120831150649/http://www.futbolxxi.com/Futbolista.aspx?ID=820&SEOFutbolista=Ayala+Roberto+Fabian Argentine Primera statistics]}} at Fútbol XXI {{in lang|es}}

{{Navboxes

| title = Awards

| bg = gold

| fg = navy

| list1 =

{{2006 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament}}

{{2004 Copa América Team of the Tournament}}

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{{UEFA Club Football Awards}}

}}

{{Navboxes

|title= Argentina squads

|bg= #6AB5FF

|fg= white

|bordercolor= silver

|list1=

{{Argentina squad 1995 King Fahd Cup}}

{{Argentina squad 1995 Copa América}}

{{Argentina men's football squad 1996 Summer Olympics}}

{{Argentina squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}

{{Argentina squad 1999 Copa América}}

{{Argentina squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}

{{Argentina squad 2004 Copa América}}

{{Argentina men's football squad 2004 Summer Olympics}}

{{Argentina squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}}

{{Argentina squad 2007 Copa América}}

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Roberto}}

Category:Argentine men's footballers

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