Rubén Paz
{{short description|Uruguayan footballer (born 1959)}}
{{family name hatnote|Paz|Márquez|lang=Spanish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Ruben Paz
| image = Ruben paz racing2.jpg
| caption = Paz during his time at Racing Club in 1988
| full_name = Ruben Wálter Paz Márquez
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|8|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = Artigas, Uruguay
| height = 1.74 m
| position = Midfielder
| youthyears1 = 1966–1975
| youthclubs1 = Peñarol de Artigas
| years1 = 1975–1977
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| clubs1 = Peñarol de Artigas
| years2 = 1977–1982
| clubs2 = Peñarol
| caps2 = 157
| goals2 = 53
| years3 = 1982–1986
| clubs3 = Internacional
| caps3 = 44
| goals3 = 10
| years4 = 1986–1987
| clubs4 = Racing Paris
| caps4 = 6
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 1987–1989
| clubs5 = Racing Club
| caps5 = 53
| goals5 = 17
| years6 = 1989–1990
| clubs6 = Genoa
| caps6 = 25
| goals6 = 1
| years7 = 1990–1993
| clubs7 = Racing Club
| caps7 = 75
| goals7 = 12
| years8 = 1994
| clubs8 = Rampla Juniors
| caps8 = 10
| goals8 = 2
| years9 = 1995
| clubs9 = Frontera Rivera
| caps9 = 6
| goals9 = 1
| years10 = 1995–1996
| clubs10 = Godoy Cruz
| caps10 = 7
| goals10 = 0
| years11 = 1996
| clubs11 = Wanderers Artigas
| caps11 =
| goals11 =
| years12 = 1997–2000
| clubs12 = Frontera Rivera
| caps12 = 29
| goals12 = 3
| years13 = 2002
| clubs13 = Nacional San José de Mayo
| caps13 =
| goals13 =
| years14 = 2003–2005
| clubs14 = Tito Borjas
| caps14 =
| goals14 =
| years15 = 2006
| clubs15 = Pirata Juniors
| caps15 =
| goals15 =
| nationalyears1 = 1979–1990
| nationalteam1 = Uruguay
| nationalcaps1 = 45
| nationalgoals1 = 8
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{fb|URU}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|Copa América}}
{{Medal|RU|1989 Brazil|}}
{{MedalCompetition|Mundialito}}
{{Medal|Winner|1980 Uruguay|}}
}}
Ruben Wálter Paz Márquez (born 8 August 1959) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Paz played at two FIFA World Cups for Uruguay and was also South American Footballer of the Year in 1988. He retired in 2006 at the age of 47. He is currently Peñarol's assistant coach.
Club career
Ruben Paz began his career at the age of 17 when he joined the Club Atlético Peñarol Montevideo in 1977. He played in Peñarol until February 1982, where he obtained important achievements, winning three Uruguayan league championships (1978, 1979 and 1981) and became top scorer of the Uruguayan league by 1981.
In 1982, he emigrated to the Brazilian League, specifically the Rio Grande do Sul team Internacional, where he won three consecutive Gaúcho championships (1982, 1983, 1984) and was considered the best player of the Brazilian league by 1985–86.
In 1986 he makes the leap to Europe, specifically to Matra Racing Paris (now the Racing Club de France) of the Ligue 1 of French Football, where he played alongside his compatriot Enzo Francescoli.
The following year he was transferred to Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Argentine league, where he becomes the team leader and an idol for the fans of the squad that conquered the South American Super Cup and {{ill|Interamericana Super Cup|es|Supercopa Interamericana}} in 1988. That same year he was crowned as both the Argentinian and South American Footballer of the Year. He was one of the few players in Argentinian football to be respected by all supporters.
During the 1989–90 season he transferred to Genoa in the Serie A of the Italian Football League, coinciding with two compatriots, José Perdomo and Carlos Aguilera.
The following year he returned to Racing Club. In 1993 he returned to Uruguay to play in Rampla Juniors, and the following year moved to the Frontera Rivera club, where he stayed until 2000, except for the 1996 season, when he played for Godoy Cruz of Mendoza, Argentina. Later he continued to play in smaller clubs, ending his playing career in 2006.
International career
Participated in the Uruguayan team that won the Mundialito in 1980. Later he played in two editions of the World Cup, those held in Mexico in 1986 and Italy in 1990, in which his national team was eliminated in second round by Italy.
Career statistics
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="12"|Uruguay{{cite web|title=Ruben Paz - AUF|url=https://www.auf.org.uy/ruben-paz/|access-date=21 February 2022}}
|1979 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1981 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 14 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 6 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total||45||8 |
:Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paz goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Rubén Paz | ||||||
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"|1 | 26 September 1979 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | {{fb|PAR}} | align="center"|2–1 | align="center"|2–2 | 1979 Copa América |
| align="center"|2 | 11 December 1980 | Estadio Campus Municipal, Maldonado, Uruguay | {{fb|BOL}} | align="center"|4–0 | align="center"|5–0 | rowspan="4"|Friendly |
| align="center"|3 | rowspan="3"|18 December 1980 | rowspan="3"|Estadio Luis Tróccoli, Montevideo, Uruguay | rowspan="3"|{{fb|SUI}} | align="center"|2–0 | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|4–0 | |
| align="center"|4 | align="center"|3–0 | |||||
| align="center"|5 | align="center"|4–0 | |||||
| align="center"|6 | 9 August 1981 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | {{fb|COL}} | align="center"|1–0 | align="center"|3–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| align="center"|7 | 23 April 1986 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | {{fb|IRL}} | align="center"|1–0 | align="center"|1–1 | Friendly |
| align="center"|8 | 10 July 1989 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | {{fb|PAR}} | align="center"|3–0 | align="center"|3–0 | 1989 Copa América |
Honours
Peñarol
Internacional
- Campeonato Gaúcho: 1982, 1983, 1984
Racing Club
- Supercopa Sudamericana: 1988
- Supercopa Interamericana: 1988
Uruguay
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Rubén Paz (footballer)}}
- [http://www.racingclub.com.ar/detalle/secciones/238/ Rúben Paz at Racing Club's official site] {{in lang|es}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130523010040/http://www.internacional.com.br/pagina.php?modulo=1&setor=3&codigo=34 Rubén Paz at Internacional's official site] {{in lang|pt}}
- [http://www.tenfieldigital.com.uy/servlet/hprfchsj?0,2,2%2F43%2F,1,173 Profile] {{in lang|es}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Uruguay squads
| bg = #5CBFEB
| fg = black
| bordercolor = gold
| list1 =
{{Uruguay squad 1979 Copa América}}
{{Uruguay squad 1986 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Uruguay squad 1989 Copa América}}
{{Uruguay squad 1990 FIFA World Cup}}
}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| bordercolor = black
| list1 =
{{1987 South American Team of the Year}}
{{1988 South American Team of the Year}}
{{1985 Bola de Prata}}
{{South American Footballer of the Year}}
{{Argentine Footballer of the Year}}
{{Uruguayan Primera División top scorers}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paz, Ruben}}
Category:Uruguayan men's footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Rampla Juniors players
Category:Racing Club de France Football players
Category:SC Internacional players
Category:Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers
Category:Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers
Category:Uruguayan Primera División players
Category:Uruguayan beach soccer players
Category:Uruguay men's international footballers
Category:Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers
Category:1986 FIFA World Cup players
Category:1990 FIFA World Cup players
Category:1979 Copa América players
Category:1989 Copa América players
Category:South American Footballer of the Year winners
Category:Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers
Category:Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in France
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France
Category:Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil
Category:Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina
Category:Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy