Roberto Ayala

This article is about the Argentine footballer. For the Mexican footballer Roberto Hernández Ayala, see Roberto Hernández (Mexican footballer). For the station, see Roberto Ayala railway station.

Roberto Ayala
Ayala in 2018
Personal information
Full name Roberto Fabián Ayala[1]
Date of birth (1973-04-14) 14 April 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Paraná, Argentina
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Argentina (field assistant)[2]
Youth career
Ferro Carril Oeste
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1993 Ferro Carril Oeste 73 (1)
1993–1995 River Plate 41 (0)
1995–1998 Napoli 87 (1)
1998–2000 Milan 24 (0)
2000–2007 Valencia 187 (9)
2007–2010 Real Zaragoza 74 (4)
2010–2011 Racing Club 15 (0)
Total 501 (15)
International career
1996 Argentina U23 6 (0)
2004 Argentina Olympic (O.P.) 6 (0)
1994–2007 Argentina 116[3] (7)
Managerial career
2019- Argentina (assistant)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Argentina (as player)
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar del Plata Team
Representing  Argentina (as assistant manager)
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2022 Qatar
Copa América
Winner 2021 Brazil
Winner 2024 United States
Third place 2019 Brazil
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Winner 2022 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto Fabián Ayala ([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.[4] Ayala captained Argentina in a record 63 matches.[5] 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.

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference arg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "AFA rinde homenaje a Messi y Kun Agüero por su récord de partidos".
  4. ^ "Ultime notizie su Roberto Ayala". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). 6 June 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Messi inspires Argentina to 4–3 win over Algeria". China Daily. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.