Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (Latin American Spanish: [fɾanˈsisko xaˈβjeɾ ˈtʃikj ˈaɾse roˈlon]; born 2 April 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Paraguayan Primera División club Guaraní.

Chiqui Arce
Arce in 2013
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier Arce Rolón
Date of birth (1971-04-02) 2 April 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Paraguari, Paraguay
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
Guaraní (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1994 Cerro Porteño 162 (26)
1994–1998 Grêmio 134 (25)
1998–2002 Palmeiras 242 (57)
2003 Gamba Osaka 16 (1)
2004–2005 Libertad 6 (0)
2006 12 de Octubre 30 (4)
Total 590 (113)
International career
1995–2004 Paraguay 61 (5)
Managerial career
2007–2011 Rubio Ñu
2011–2012 Paraguay
2013–2014 Cerro Porteño
2015–2016 Olimpia
2016 Guaraní
2016–2017 Paraguay
2018 General Díaz
2018 Ohod
2019 Nacional
2020–2023 Cerro Porteño
2023–2024 Olimpia
2024– Guaraní
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arce played at the right defender position, competing a total of 61 times for the Paraguay national team between 1995 and 2004.[1] He has the distinction of being chosen seven times as the "Ideal Team of America", thus having been nominated the most times in history. He also holds the distinction of having been selected in history as the coach on two occasions of the Paraguay national team.

Playing career

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Arce started his career in Paraguay playing for his natal city club, 15 de Mayo, where he made his professional debut at the age of fifteen. The same year he was recruited by the Cerro Porteño club in the Paraguayan capital (Asuncion), where he won three national championships. Arce then played for Brazilian clubs such as Grêmio and Palmeiras and won international tournaments including the Copa Libertadores. Arce played for Paraguay in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and has appeared 61 times for his country. He was famous for his free kick shot technique, where he scored goals during the World Cup 2002 including a freekick against South Africa.

Coaching career

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After retiring as a player, Arce became a coach and managed the Paraguayan second division team Club Rubio Ñú, leading the squad to the 2nd division championship in 2008.[2]

Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguay national football team in July 2011,[3] but due to poor results on the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, he was sacked in June 2012.[4]

In March 2013, Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguayan Cerro Porteño.[5] He won the Torneo Clausura in 2013 with Cerro Porteño in highly impressive form, as the club went the entire Clausura undefeated. After a 4–1 defeat to Club Guaraní on 24 August 2014 Arce left Cerro Porteño.

On 15 March 2015, Arce was appointed manager of Olimpia, the arch-rivals of his old club Cerro Porteño.

A year later he coached the Guarani club with good results, leading to his position at the Paraguay national team.[6] In 2018, he was appointed as manager of General Díaz.

Career statistics

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Club

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Source:[7]
Club Season League
Division Apps Goals
Grêmio 1995 Série A 9 1
1996 16 2
1997 16 2
Total 41 5
Palmeiras 1998 Série A 24 5
1999 10 0
2000 17 4
2001 21 6
2002 21 9
Total 93 24
Gamba Osaka 2003 J1 League 16 1
Libertad 2004 Primera División 6 0
Career total 156 30

International

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Source:[8]
Paraguay national team
Year Apps Goals
1995 5 0
1996 5 1
1997 12 0
1998 11 2
1999 5 0
2000 4 0
2001 6 1
2002 8 1
2003 4 0
2004 1 0
Total 61 5

International goals for Paraguay

Score and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.[9]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 June 1996 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay   Uruguay
1–0
2–0
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying
2. 8 February 1998 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay   Poland
2–0
4–0
Friendly
3. 14 March 1998 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States   United States
2–2
2–2
4. 8 November 2001 Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela   Venezuela
1–2
1–3
2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5. 2 June 2002 Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea   South Africa
2–0
2–2
2002 FIFA World Cup

Honours

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As a player

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Cerro Porteño

Grêmio

Palmeiras

Individual

  • South American Team of the Year[10]:1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

As a coach

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Rubio Ñú

Cerro Porteño

Club Olimpia|Olimpia

References

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  1. ^ "Es el DT de General Díaz - Fútbol - ABC Color".
  2. ^ Grande "Chiqui" (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Paraguay appoint Francisco Arce as new coach
  4. ^ Paraguay appoint Arce sacked as Paraguay coach
  5. ^ Após passar pela seleção paraguaia, Arce é apresentado como técnico do Cerro Porteño (in Portuguese) Archived 7 April 2013 at archive.today
  6. ^ "Francisco Arce se convertirá en el nuevo entrenador de la selección paraguaya".
  7. ^ Francisco Arce at National-Football-Teams.com
  8. ^ RSSSF
  9. ^ "Francisco Arce (Player)". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  10. ^ "South American Team of the Year".
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