Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.
Country: Paraguay
Nickname: “Guaranís” or “La Albiroja” -- the first is a reference to the Guarani Indians, the second a reference to the team's colors.
Paraguay is considered one of the strangest and most corrupt of all South American countries. As immortalized in the 2003 book “At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig” by John Gimlette, Paraguay's history is littered with insane leadership, questionable armed interventions, and colossal graft.
Paraguay is also considered to be one of the world's most isolated nations -- it has long been called “an island surrounded by land” due in equal parts to its often bizarre leadership and relative unimportance in South America.
The most famous figure in Paraguayan politics is the late Alfredo Stroessner , who ran a 35-year military dictatorship using death squads and terror before being overthrown in 1989. During his reign, he proved a haven for Nazis on the run (Josef Mengele was one) and introduced a peculiar brand of crypto-fascism to the nation. Today, statues of Stroessner in Paraguay are encased in concrete in the capital, Asuncion, to prevent him being resurrected in any fashion.
Paraguay's history started in grim fashion. Originally colonized by the conquistadores, Paraguay became a haven in the 1800s for a certain brand of faded European gentry. With the ascension of Francisco Lopez, Paraguay was ruined by the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) waged against Brazil and Argentina. The war saw two-thirds of all adult Paraguayan males killed and much of its territory seized.
For the next fifty years, Paraguay stagnated, until the Chaco War of 1932-35, when economically important areas were won from Bolivia. Stroessner's reign followed, and in the modern era, while democracy has taken a tenuous hold, coup attempts have been a regular fixture of the Paraguayan political scene. The name of the country's main stadium, “Defensores Del Chaco,” recalls that war.
Paraguay is a team in transition, having lost a number of key players -- most notably the flamboyant keeper Jose Luis Chilavert and defender Celso Ayala. But they looked very good in qualification, which was something of a surprise. Whether they can maintain that form is an open question.
PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: Paraguay has qualified for the World Cup finals eight times. In 1998, Paraguay went unbeaten until falling on a golden goal six minutes from a penalty shootout in the second round to eventual winners France. Paraguay won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
REGIONAL SUCCESS: Paraguay has won the Copa America twice, in 1953 and 1979. They are five-time runners-up.
LEAGUE OVERVIEW: Paraguay has a small, 13-team league, dominated by three teams in the past twenty years: Cerro Porteno, Libertad and Olimpia. Olimpia and Cerro Porteno are fixtures in the Copa Libertadores, but of the two, only three-time winners Olimpia have ever lifted the crown, most recently in 2002.
MANAGER: Argentine Gerardo Martino. A former midfielder with Newell's Old Boys, his coaching career saw him win titles with Paraguay's Club Libertad and Cerro Porteno. He's been with the team since 2007.
KEY PLAYERS: Strikers Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City) and Salvador Cabanas (America) are their biggest weapons and best-known players, but Cabanas will not go to South Africa after he was shot in the head in Mexico this January. It's not clear whether he'll ever play again, though he has made near-miraculous strides since the shooting. Santa Cruz doesn't get as much attention at City as he did with Blackburn, but he's a solid striker as long as he's healthy. This season, a set of nagging complaints limited his action. Midfielder Christian Riveros (Cruz Azul) is the holding player, dishing to winger Edgar Barreto (Atalanta). Baretto was crucial to their qualification success, with the only knock being that he can't score. 'Keeper Justo Villar (Villarreal) is the rock in the back, with Paolo da Silva (Sunderland) and Julio Caceres (Atletico Miniero) right in front of him. They are one of the tougher central tandems at this Cup.
FIFA RANKINGS: 30th. A bit low. Highest was 8th (2001), lowest was 103rd (1995)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: Italy, New Zealand, Slovakia
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST ITALY: Italy beat Paraguay in the 1950 World Cup, 2-0, in the first round. Their only other meeting was in 1998, a 3-1 win for the Azzurri at Parma.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST NEW ZEALAND: The All Whites played and lost once to Paraguay, back in 1995 in Santiago, 3-2.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST SLOVAKIA: Paraguay has never faced Slovakia.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Paraguay was one of the surprise teams in qualification, finishing five points clear of Argentina and just behind Chile on goal difference. They won more games than Brazil, but also lost three more.
PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 50%. If they don't get out of this group, something's wrong.
TO WATCH: Santa Cruz is the main man. If he's 100% and can score, this team can do some damage. If teams are smart, they'll kick him early and often (expect both the Kiwis and the Slovaks to do this).
ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Justo Villar (Valladolid), Aldo Bobadilla (Independiente Medellin), Diego Barreto (Cerro Porteno)
Defenders: Denis Caniza (Leon), Dario Veron (Pumas), Julio Cesar Caceres (Atletico Mineiro), Paulo Da Silva (Sunderland), Antolin Alcaraz (FC Brugge), Claudio Morel (Boca Juniors), Carlos Bonet (Olimpia), Julio Manzur (Olimpia), Aureliano Torres (San Lorenzo)
Midfielders: Enrique Vera (Liga de Quito), Cristian Riveros (Cruz Azul), Jonathan Santana (Wolfsburg), Nestor Ortigoza (Argentinos Juniors), Victor Caceres (Libertad), Edgar Barreto (Atalanta), Marcelo Estigarribia (Newell's Old Boys), Eduardo Ledesma (Lanus), Sergio Aquino (Libertad), Marcos Caceres (Racing Club)
Forwards: Oscar Cardozo (Benfica), Nelson Haedo Valdez (Borussia Dortmund), Lucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund), Osvaldo Martinez (Monterrey), Edgar Benitez (Pachuca), Jorge Achucarro (Newell's Old Boys), Rodolfo Gamarra (Libertad), Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City)
TOMORROW'S TEAM: Portugal
