Player Profile: Oscar Cardozo  

Full name: Oscar Rene Cardozo
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 20 May 1983
Birthplace: Juan Eulogio Estigarribia, Paraguay

Any football fan will tell you one of the most exciting facets of following your team is watching the reputation of a virtual unknown grow before your eyes to become an idol and a symbol who is synonymous with your club’s emblem.

Paraguayan striker, Oscar Cardozo, is a case in point. Wherever the player has gone he has become a success and a treasure for both his team and their supporters.

Oscar Rene Cardozo, standing 1.93 metres tall and possessor of a lethal left foot, has left an impressive track record at each of his previous clubs. He started his career with 2nd division Paraguayan side, 3 de Febrero, before the country’s big boys, Club Nacional, snapped him up in 2004.

In his first season Cardozo was carefully groomed as the coaching staff restricted him to just 6 appearances – enough for the striker to notch 7 goals. Nacional knew they had something special, and decided to give Cardozo a little more leeway in 2006. In the 12 games he played, he scored an astonishing 17 goals.

An inevitable move to one of South America’s bigger leagues was bound to come and sure enough, in 2006 Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys splashed out US$ 1.2m for Paraguay’s next big thing.

Goals galore

In Argentina Cardozo found the net 11 times in 16 appearances before the turn of the year, earning him the 2006 Paraguayan Footballer of the Year Award. His goalscoring did not let up, with a further 10 goals making a total of 21 in his debut season.

In June 2007, after two weeks of hard negotiations, Benfica opened their wallets and paid over nine million euros for 80% of the player’s sporting rights. The Portuguese club had obviously decided they were bringing an exceptional talent to Lisbon. The transfer fee is the second highest ever paid by the Portuguese giants, behind only the signing of Simao Sabrosa from Barcelona.

If Cardozo makes a similar impact to Simao, Benfica may finally be ready challenge FC Porto for domestic supremacy and build on their rich heritage in European football after too long playing a bit-part role in international competition.

2008/09 mid season update

Oscar Cadozo’s first season in Portugal was a case of he came, he saw, he conquered. At his presentation to the press the player and the Benfica president both promised at least 20 goals in his debut season, and he duly delivered with 22 strikes in all competitions.

Nevertheless, the arrival of Jose Antonio Reyes, Pablo Aimar and David Suazo, along with new coach Quique Flores saw Cardozo pushed onto the bench for much of the start of 2008/09, with the Spanish tactician clearly not a big fan of the Paraguayan’s ungainly style.

But when called upon Cardozo showed he knew how to find the net, and the fact he made himself the club’s top scorer despite being used primarily as a substitute eventually won round Flores who duly restored the big striker to the starting XI.

by Marco Pereira & Tom Kundert (last updated 06/03/2009)