• Source: Juan Escobar (Paraguayan footballer)

Juan Marcelo Escobar Chena (Spanish pronunciation: [xwam maɾˈselo eskoˈβaɾ ˈtʃena]; born 3 July 1995) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as either a centre-back or right-back for Liga MX club Cruz Azul and the Paraguay national team. He has also been part of Paraguay's U20 and U23 teams.




Club career






= Sportivo Luqueño

=
Born in Luque, Escobar started his career with hometown side Sportivo Luqueño. Promoted to the first team ahead of the 2014 season, he made his first team – and Primera División – debut on 16 February of that year, starting in a 3–0 away loss against Nacional Asunción.
Escobar subsequently became a regular starter for the side, and scored his first professional goal on 4 May 2016, netting his team's second in a 2–2 home draw against Sol de América.




= Cerro Porteño

=
On 28 December 2017, Escobar agreed to a five-year contract with Cerro Porteño, for a rumoured fee of US$ 1 million. He was a regular starter during his first campaign, playing as a central defender and partnering Marcos Cáceres.




= Cruz Azul

=
In 2019, he joined Mexican club Cruz Azul for a fee of USD$7, 000, 000.00, surpassing a 20-year transfer fee record in Paraguayan football held by Roque Santa Cruz when he joined Bundesliga team Bayern Munich for USD$6, 900, 000.00 in 1999.



Loan to Toluca

On 31 January 2024, Escobar joined Toluca on a season-long loan.




International career


After representing Paraguay at under-20 level in the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship, and under-23 level in the 2015 Pan American Games, Escobar was first called up to the full side on 21 June 2017, for a friendly against Mexico. He made his full international debut on 1 July, starting in a 2–1 loss at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle.




Career statistics






= Club

=
As of 14 January 2019




= International

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As of 29 January 2022




Honours


Cruz Azul

Liga MX: Guardianes 2021
Campeón de Campeones: 2021
Supercopa de la Liga MX: 2022
Supercopa MX: 2019
Leagues Cup: 2019
Individual

Liga MX All-Star: 2021, 2022
Liga MX Goal of the Tournament: 2021–22




See also


List of outfield association footballers who played in goal
Players and Records in Paraguayan Football




References






External links



Juan Escobar at National-Football-Teams.com
Juan Escobar at Soccerway

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Juan Escobar (Paraguayan footballer)
• Juan Escobar
• Escobar
• Paraguayan Football Association
• Football in Paraguay
• El Mago
• Cáceres (surname)
• Italian Paraguayans
• Paraguay
• Juan Francisco Escobar