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Celso Ayala
Personal information
Full name	Celso Rafael Ayala Gavilán
Date of birth	20 August 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990–1994	Olimpia Asunción
1994	Rosario Central
1995–1998	River Plate
1998–1999	Betis
1999–2000	Atlético Madrid
2000	São Paulo
2001–2005	River Plate
2006	Colo-Colo
International career
1992	Paraguay U-23
1993–2003	Paraguay
Managerial career
2012–2013	Carapeguá
2014	Independiente FBC
2014–2015	Guabirá
2015	Sport Boys Warnes
2015	Petrolero
2016–2017	Independiente FBC
2017–2018	Nacional Asunción
2019	Deportivo Capiatá
2019–2020	Sportivo Luqueño
2020	River Plate Asunción
2020–2021	Sol de América
2021	River Plate Asunción
2022	Sol de América
2023	Deportivo Santaní
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Celso Rafael Ayala Gavilán (locally [ˈselso rafaˈel aˈʝala ɣaβiˈlan]; born 20 August 1970) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.

Career

With 85 caps and six goals, Ayala one of the most capped players in the Paraguay national team.^[1] Ayala became a key player in Paraguay's outstanding defensive line in the 1990s, along with fellow defenders Francisco Arce and Carlos Gamarra. His characteristics were leadership in the field, good positioning and superb tackling and heading skills. Ayala made his international debut for the Paraguay national football team on 3 March 1993 in the Copa Paz de Chico match against Bolivia (1–0 win) as a substitute.