Julio César Romero

For the Brazilian footballer, see Romero Mendonça Sobrinho.

Romerito

Personal information
Full name	Julio César Romero Insfrán
Date of birth	(1960-08-28) 28 August 1960
Place of birth	Luque, Paraguay
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1977–1979	Sportivo Luqueño	?	(?)
1980–1983	New York Cosmos	88	(28)
1983–1988	Fluminense	78	(19)
1988–1989	FC Barcelona	7	(1)
1989–1990	Puebla	17	(2)
1990–1991	Sportivo Luqueño	?	(?)
1992	Olimpia Asunción	?	(?)
1993–1994	Sportivo Luqueño	?	(?)
1995	Deportes La Serena	3	(1)
1995	Club Cerro Corá	?	(?)
1996–1998	Sportivo Luqueño	?	(?)
International career
1979–1990	Paraguay	32	(13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 2007

Julio César Romero Insfrán, nicknamed Romerito (born 28 August 1960 in Luque, Paraguay) is a former football midfielder from Paraguay, considered among the best players in Paraguayan football history. He is the only Paraguayan named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Career

Romero started his career at local club Sportivo Luqueño in 1977, by 1979 Romero's consistent performances had earned him a place in the Paraguay national football team that played in the FIFA World Youth Championship and was considered one of the best players of the tournament along with Maradona. In the same year, Romero played a key role in Paraguay's win in the Copa América, scoring three goals.

In 1980 he joined now defunct New York Cosmos where he played alongside such greats as the Brazilian and German World Cup winning captains of 1970 and 1974 Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer. In the 1980 Soccer Bowl he scored the game-winning goal of a 3–0 victory over Ft. Lauderdale.

Romero moved to Brazil to play for Fluminense where he was selected as the South American Footballer of the Year in 1985. He became a fan favorite after leading the team to a Campeonato Brasileiro.

In 1986 he was a key player in helping the Paraguayan national team return to the FIFA World Cup finals after a 28-year hiatus. At the finals in Mexico, he scored against Iraq and the host nation in the first round.

After a short spell with FC Barcelona in Spain [1] and a stint in Mexico with Puebla F.C. Romero returned to South America where he played out his career with Olimpia, Club Cerro Corá and Sportivo Luqueño in Paraguay and La Serena in Chile.

During his career, he scored a little more than 400 goals.

Titles

Season	Team	Title
1979	Paraguay	Copa América
1980	New York Cosmos	NASL Champion
1982	New York Cosmos	NASL Champion
1984	Fluminense	Brazilian Championship
1984	Fluminense	Campeonato Carioca
1985	Fluminense	Campeonato Carioca
1989	FC Barcelona [2]	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1989-90	Puebla F.C.	Primera División
1989-90	Puebla F.C.	Copa Mexico
1992	Olimpia	Torneo República

Awards

• South American Footballer of the Year in 1985
• Paraguayan 1st Division topscorer in 1990
• FIFA top 125 greatest living footballers
• Historial Spanish Soccer Database

Facts

• Romero is the equal 3rd highest goalscorer in the history of the Paraguay national team with 13 goals.
• Romero is a politician for the Colorado Party in his native city of Luque and works as a city counselor.
• In September 2006 Romero made his debut as a rock singer in the Paraguayan music festival called "Pilsen Rock". He took the stage as a guest of the popular local band Revolber and sang the opening words of the song "Siete hermanos, 1 misil" in front of a crowd of 40,000.

External links

• (Spanish) Futbol Factory profile (Archived)
• Romero's debut as a rock singer (video)
• Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Romero listed in the top 10
• New York Cosmos stats
• Julio César Romero – FIFA competition record