Édgar Barreto

Édgar Osvaldo Barreto Cáceres (born 15 July 1984) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dutch club NEC Nijmegen.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Barreto and the second or maternal family name is Cáceres.

Édgar Barreto

Édgar Barreto
Personal information
Full name	Édgar Osvaldo Barreto Cáceres
Date of birth	(1984-07-15) 15 July 1984
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Central midfielder
Club information
Current team	NEC
Youth career
	Cerro Porteño
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2003	Cerro Porteño	26	(4)
2004–2007	NEC	95	(10)
2007–2009	Reggina	68	(5)
2009–2011	Atalanta	33	(2)
2011–2015	Palermo	122	(7)
2015–2020	Sampdoria	104	(3)
2020–	NEC	0	(0)
National team^‡
2001	Paraguay U17	3	(0)
2003	Paraguay U20	4	(0)
2004	Paraguay U23	6	(0)
2004–2011	Paraguay	60	(3)
Honours Representing  Paraguay Men's Football 2004 Athens Team Competition Copa América 2011 Argentina Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:58, 31 May 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 July 2010

After starting his career with Cerro Porteño in his homeland and NEC in the Dutch Eredivisie, Barreto spent the vast majority of his career in Italy's Serie A. He made over 260 appearances in the competition, in service of Reggina, Atalanta, Palermo and Sampdoria

Barreto earned 60 caps for the Paraguay national team from 2004 to 2011. After winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, he played for the country at three Copa América tournaments and two FIFA World Cups, finishing as runner-up in the 2011 Copa América.

Club career

Barreto started his career with Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño, debuting in the 2002 season. The following year he made his debut in the Copa Libertadores.

in January 2004, he signed with Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen.

In the summer of 2007, Barreto agreed to a four-year contract with Reggina Calcio.[2] He played an integral part in keeping Reggina in Serie A at the end of the 2007–08 season, earning a reputation for scoring long range goals. In summer 2009, after Reggina moved to Serie B, he was sold to Atalanta Bergamo.[3]

At Atalanta, Barreto missed most of his first season through injury,[4] only returning in the last days of the season and not being able to avoid the relegation of his club in Serie B. His excellent performances in Serie B afforded the interest Napoli during the January market. He contributed to the promotion of the Bergamaschi to Serie A in the 2010–11 season, at the end of which he was voted into "Top 11 Serie B" players team by Italian journalists.[5]

On 31 August 2011, Barreto moved to Palermo on a four-year contract[6] while a transfer fee of €5.3 million was paid to Atalanta.[7]

On 1 July 2015, Barreto signed a contract with U.C. Sampdoria.[8]

During an interview in July 2017, Barreto affirmed that he would not return to Paraguayan football due to family reasons, although he recognized that his time at Cerro Porteño was fundamental for his career.[9]

In May 2020 he agreed the termination of his contract with Sampdoria.[10]

NEC Nijmegen

Upon Barreto's contract termination with Sampadoria, NEC's fans had dreamed and expressed his return. Barreto actually owned a house and three apartments that he leased in the city of Nimega, which was also a destination venue for his family during vacations and, on more than one occasion, Barreto manifested his wish to return to the club.[11] NEC's fans had placed a banner at the entry of the club's stadium asking Barreto to return as NEC's General Manager, Wilco van Schaik, lifted the fan's hopes of Barreto returning to the club. Wilco van Schaik had told Holland newsaper Voetbal International that Barreto's name was creating something in the city, that he really is a hero who left something good in there and that he is a good guy who never forgot about NEC,[12] expressing interest in the player since the month of May.[13]

On 15 July 2020, on his 36th birthday and after 13 years in Italian football,[14] Barreto returned to his first European club NEC Nijmegen in Holland's second-tier after 13 years. Barreto signed a season-long contract with the option of extending for another season.[15][10][16]

The club's General Manager von Schaik also mentioned that when NEC found out that Barreto was open to a return to the club that they then made contact with him immediately.[17]

International career

Barreto debuted for the Paraguay national football team in a 1–0 win over Costa Rica on 8 June at the 2004 Copa América. He played all four games as his team reached the quarter-finals.[18] Weeks later, he was part of their squad that took home a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Greece.[19]

On 17 August 2005, Barreto scored his first international goal to open a 3–0 friendly win over El Salvador in Ciudad del Este.[20] Coach Anibal Ruiz called him up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.[21]

At the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela, Barreto again played all four matches of a quarter-final finish. He scored to open a 3–1 win over the United States in the group stage.[22] At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, he came on in the 75th minute against Japan in the last 16 and scored the first attempt in the penalty shootout, as Paraguay advanced to the next round for the first time.[23]

Barreto was also in Gerardo Martino's squad that came runners-up to the hosts at the 2011 Copa América in Uruguay. Again on as a substitute in the quarter-finals against holders Brazil, he took the first penalty after another goalless draw, sending it wide in an eventual triumph.[24]

On 5 August 2012, Barreto announced his international retirement for the Albirroja. He said that he could no longer combine the long journeys with competing in Serie A.[18]

Personal life

Barreto is the younger brother of goalkeeper Diego Barreto, who was his international teammate.[25]

On 25 March 2020, Barreto tested positive for COVID-19, amid its pandemic in Italy.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 July 2020[27]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	League	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
NEC	Eredivisie	2003–04	9	0	0	0	–		–		9	0
		2004–05	25	5	0	0	–		–		25	5
		2005–06	32	3	0	0	2	0	–		34	3
		2006–07	29	2	0	0	–		–		29	2
	Total		95	10	0	0	2	0	–		97	10
Reggina	Serie A	2007–08	36	3	2	1	–		–		38	4
		2008–09	32	2	1	0	–		–		33	2
	Total		68	5	3	1	–		–		71	6
Atalanta	Serie A	2009–10	4	0	1	0	–		–		5	0
	Serie B	2010–11	29	1	0	0	–		–		29	1
	Total		33	1	1	0	–		–		34	1
Palermo	Serie A	2011–12	34	1	0	0	–		–		34	1
		2012–13	30	0	2	0	–		–		32	0
	Serie B	2013–14	34	4	0	0	–		–		34	4
	Serie A	2014–15	24	2	1	0	–		–		25	2
	Total		122	7	3	0	–		–		125	7
Sampdoria	Serie A	2015–16	30	0	0	0	2	0	–		32	0
		2016–17	32	2	1	0	–		–		33	2
		2017–18	28	1	2	2	–		–		30	3
		2018–19	12	0	1	0	–		–		13	0
		2019–20	2	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
	Total		104	3	4	2	2	0	–		110	5
NEC	Eredivisie	2019–20	0	0	0	0	–		–		9	0
Career total			423	26	11	3	4	0	–		438	29

International

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition

Paraguay national team[28]
Year	Apps	Goals
2004	6	0
2005	6	1
2006	6	0
2007	14	1
2008	10	0
2009	5	0
2010	5	1
2011	8	0
Total	60	3

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	17 August 2005	Ciudad del Este	El Salvador	3–0	Win	Friendly
2	2 July 2007	Barinas	United States	3–1	Win	Copa América 2007
3	17 November 2010	So Kon Po	Hong Kong	7–0	Win	Friendly

Honours

Paraguay U-23

• Silver Medal at the Summer Olympics: 2004 Athens

References

1. https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-edgar-barreto
2. "UFFICIALE: Barreto alla Reggina" [OFFICIAL: Barreto to Reggina] (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.net. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
3. "Edgar Barreto in nerazzurro" [Edgar Barreto in nerazzurro] (in Italian). atalanta.it. 11 July 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
4. "Barreto, la scheda" [Barreto, the profile] (in Italian). tuttoatalanta.com. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
5. Bonzanni, Luca (24 May 2011). "Top 11 Serie B - Stasera a Rimini le premiazioni, tra i presenti anche il Direttore Lorenzo Casalino" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2017.
6. "Tre acquisti per i rosanero" [Three purchases for Palermo] (in Italian). palermocalcio.it. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
7. "Un Palermo che investe" [Investing to Palermo] (in Italian). palermocalcio.it. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
8. "Official: Sampdoria sign Barreto". football-italia.net. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
9. "Barreto sobre su renuncia a la Albirroja: "No me arrepiento"". Resumen de Noticias (in Spanish). 25 July 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
10. van den Broek, Danny (15 July 2020). "NEC sluit eindelijk Edgar Barreto weer in de armen". de Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 July 2020.
11. https://versus.lanacion.com.py/versus/2020/07/13/el-mensaje-de-los-hinchas-del-nec-de-holanda-para-edgar-barreto/
12. https://m.d10.ultimahora.com/piden-la-vuelta-edgar-barreto-n2894918.html/amp
13. https://www.abc.com.py/deportes/futbol/2020/05/27/cuando-se-trata-de-edgar-el-nec-siempre-entra-en-juego/
14. https://m.ultimahora.com/edgar-barreto-envuelto-tulipanes-holanda-n2895209.html/amp
15. https://m.d10.ultimahora.com/oficial-edgar-barreto-presentado-el-nec-nimega-n2895103.html/amp
16. http://www.tigosports.com.py/paraguayos/edgar-barreto-nec-nimega-holanda
17. https://www.abc.com.py/deportes/futbol/2020/07/15/edgar-barreto-seguira-jugando-al-futbol-el-nec-nijmegen-presento-al-paraguayo/
18. "Édgar Barreto renuncia a la selección paraguaya". ABC Color (in Spanish). 2 August 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
19. "Atenas 2004: La cumbre del deporte paraguayo" [Athens 2004: The peak of Paraguayan sport] (in Spanish). D10. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
20. "South America enjoys feast of friendlies". FIFA. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
21. "Paraguay pick squad for Germany". BBC Sport. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
22. "Paraguay 3–1 EEUU" [Paraguay 3–1 US]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 2 July 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
23. Murray, Scott (29 June 2010). "World Cup 2010: Paraguay v Japan - as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
24. Steinberg, Jacob (17 July 2011). "Brazil v Paraguay - as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
25. "World Cup Trivia - Fathers, Sons and Brothers, Uncles and Nephews". RSSSF. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015.
26. "Barreto has Coronavirus". Football Italia. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
27. "Edgar Barreto » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
28. Édgar Barreto at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• Edgar Oswaldo Barreto at BDFA (in Spanish)
• Édgar Barreto – FIFA competition record
• Édgar Barreto at National-Football-Teams.com