Football, the great passion of the country
Soccer is the biggest passion of Paraguayans. The Paraguayan national team, the Albirroja, is known for its rigorous style of play. They have participated in the World Cup eight times and were particularly notable in the 2010 edition, reaching the quarterfinals where they were beaten by Spain (0-1 in the 82nd minute). On the day of the game, all Paraguayans were flying the national flag and wearing red and white shirts. The team was particularly united in paying tribute to its best striker, Salvador Cabañas, who is recovering and will not play in the tournament after being shot in the head a few months earlier in a Mexico City nightclub by a narco. Among the other great names of Paraguayan soccer, we can mention Arsenio Pastor Erico Martínez, the leading striker of the 1930-1940s and, above all, the charismatic José Luis Chilavert, one of the best goalkeepers in the history of soccer and who gave so much trouble to the French team in the 1/8th final of their World Cup win in 1998. Today, Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Haedo Valdez or Oscar "Tacuara" Cardozo are the ones who proudly wear the country's colors. Finally, it should be noted that Paraguay has won the Copa America twice, in 1953 and 1979. The country also won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004, the only one won by Paraguay at the Olympics!
In the local league, the most popular clubs are Olímpia (white jersey with a black stripe) and Cerro Porteño (red and blue vertical stripes), who compete in the Superclásico, the country's biggest sporting event. Olímpia has won three times the prestigious Copa Libertadores (the equivalent of the Champions League in Europe), where the best teams of the continent compete. And in Paraguay, the passion of the fans is alive and well, and everyone has a real love for their team. They don't hesitate to display their colors, on their thermos for example!
The rally, the other great popular sport
After soccer, car rallying is the discipline that has the most aficionados in Paraguay! If they follow the big international races on cable channels, Paraguayans are proud of their rally: the Transchaco Rally. This legendary race has been held since 1971 in the most inhospitable areas of the Chaco. It would be the most difficult race of the continent! Francisco Pancho Gorostiaga was one of the great figures of this rally. A charismatic personality, Pancho was known for his spectacular rollovers, from which he always emerged unscathed. He died on November 20, 2010 following a cardiovascular accident, at 46 years old. The country was in mourning.
Paraguay, a country with a passion for rallying, had a great moment when it hosted the premier event in 2017: the 39th Dakar Rally. The mythical race par excellence started from Ascuncion.
Finally, the country may be on the verge of a new consecration. Paraguay has applied in December 2019 to host an event in the WRC calendar, the famous world rally championship. Case to follow.
Tennis and golf, the elite sports
In these disciplines, which are rather reserved for the Paraguayan elite, two figures have distinguished themselves at the international level: Victor Pecci and Carlos Franco. Born in 1955, the tennis player Victor Pecci was ranked ninth in the world in 1980 and reached the final of the French Open in 1979, against Björn Borg, after eliminating Guillermo Vilas and Jimmy Connors. In 1981, he was again defeated by Borg in the semi-finals of the Paris tournament, after eliminating the young Yannick Noah in the quarters... Awarded in 2011 the best sportsman in the history of Paraguay (to the dismay of Jose Luis Chilavert), he was appointed Minister of Sports under the presidency of Horacio Cartes. As for Carlos Franco, born in 1965 in a poor family, he discovered golf by accompanying his father, a gardener and caddy in a big club in Asunción. He entered the professional circuit in 1986 and won some 30 prestigious tournaments in Latin America, Japan and the United States. Today, the good Paraguayan society continues to be passionate about and practice these two sports.
The new "Piki Voley" fashion
This Paraguayan variant of soccer is a real social phenomenon in the whole country, with a national championship and stars like Fernando Lugo, Esteban Dávalos and especially the legend Velo Melgarejo. Every village has its own piki field and the national championship, more or less informal, generates a lot of money with the bets of the spectators, some of whom live only from it!
Long live nature!
Paraguay has many opportunities for leisure and physical activities while enjoying the beautiful nature of the country.
Fishing. Paraguayan waters are very rich in fish. The best spots for fishing are Villa Florida, Pilar, Paso de Patria, Ayolas and Concepción. The most characteristic species are the enormous surubí which lives in deep waters and easily reaches 50 kg, the dorado, a migratory fish known for its spectacular jumps, the boga, difficult to catch, as well as the delicious pacú and corvina...
Acaballo! On horseback! If you attend one of the many village festivals, you are sure to see the jineteadas, rodeos and other horse shows that take place to traditional music. This will certainly make you want to go for a ride on your horse in the vast plains of the Chaco, or in the bucolic landscapes of Eastern Paraguay. Estancia tourism allows you to spend a few hours in the middle of nature, on well-trained horses of different breeds (in principle!).
Bybike or on foot? Paraguay is a flat country, except for some mountain ranges, and there is not much wind. It is therefore easy to travel the country by bike when it is not too hot. In general, there is not much traffic on the main roads, but it is better to take the smaller roads to be safe. A mountain bike is recommended because of the condition of the roads, which are mostly dirt roads. For hiking, the parks and natural reserves offer nice surprises to the walkers. The Cerro Tres Kandú (842 m) in the Ybytyruzú mountain range is a great classic.
In the air and under the earth! You can practice climbing and parachute jumping in Tobatí, discover the canopy in natural reserves equipped with monkey bridges and zip lines, explore caves in Vallemí... Adventure activities in the middle of nature are gradually developing in Paraguay.
