Wilder Viera

Wilder Viera
Personal information
Full name Wilder Viera Caballero[1]
Date of birth (2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 (age 22)[1]
Place of birth Ypané, Paraguay
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Cerro Porteño
Number 14
Youth career
Cerro Porteño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Cerro Porteño 67 (1)
2022 → General Caballero JLM (loan) 13 (2)
International career‡
Paraguay U15
2019 Paraguay U17 13 (0)
2019 Paraguay U18 1 (0)
2023– Paraguay U23 13 (0)
2024– Paraguay 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:27, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 September 2024

Wilder Viera Caballero (born 4 March 2002) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cerro Porteño and the Paraguay national team.

Club career

Born in Ypané in the Central department, Viera began playing football in the Cerro Porteño academy.[2] In May 2020, the 18-year-old signed his first professional contract.[3]

On 2 August 2020, Viera made his debut in the Paraguayan Primera División in a 4–1 home win over Club Sportivo San Lorenzo, as a 66th-minute substitute for captain Mathías Villasanti.[2] Due to Villasanti's suspension, he made his continental debut in the Copa Libertadores on 25 May 2021 against Colombia's América de Cali.[4]

In July 2022, Cerro Porteño manager Francisco Arce loaned Viera and two others to General Caballero JLM in the same league.[5] He played 13 games for the team from Doctor Juan León Mallorquín, scoring his first two goals.[6]

On 17 February 2023, starting by surprise away to Guaireña on the debut of new manager Facundo Sava, Viera scored his first goal for Cerro Porteño with a left-footed strike in a 2–0 win.[7] In April, his sudden absence against Sportivo Ameliano caused rumours that the Argentine had dropped him, but he was in fact hospitalised after having been kicked in the genitals during the previous match against Tacuary.[8] His contract was extended in June, to last through 2026.[9]

Viera rejected a move to SC Internacional of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 2023. In February 2024, his agent Renato Bittar said that he would likely leave for another Brazilian club in the middle of the year.[10]

International career

Viera was captain of Paraguay at under-15 and under-17 level.[2] In the latter team, he helped them to the quarter finals of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, giving two assists as they came from behind to beat neighbours Argentina 3–2 in the last 16; Spanish sports newspaper Marca named him one of eight stars of the round.[11]

Viera was selected for the under-23 team for the 2024 Olympic football event in France. In Paraguay's first game, he was sent off in 25 minutes for a foul on Yu Hirakawa in a 5–0 loss to Japan.[12]

Viera made his debut for the senior Paraguay national team on 6 September 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay at the Estadio Centenario. He substituted Damián Bobadilla in the 82nd minute of a scoreless draw.[13]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 10 September 2024
Paraguay
Year Apps Goals
2024 1 0
Total 1 0

References

  1. ^ a b c "Men's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024: Squad list" (PDF). FIFA. 24 July 2024. p. 12. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Wilder Viera debutó y coronó toda una vida jugando en Cerro" [Wilder Viera debuted and crowned an entire life playing for Cerro] (in Spanish). Versus. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  3. ^ "El Ciclón asegura a dos promesas" [Cyclone signs two young stars]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 29 May 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Wilder Viera, la sorpresa de Arce y el reemplezante de Villasanti" [Wilder Viera, Arce's surprise and Villasanti's replacement]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Francisco Arce y la situación de Pablo Adorno en Cerro Porteño" [Francisco Arce and Pablo Adorno's situation at Cerro Porteño]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Cerro Porteño: Wilder retorna a casa" [Cerro Porteño: Wilder returns home]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 4 December 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Cerro Porteño consigue un gran triunfo ante Guaireña en el estreno de Sava" [Cerro Porteño achieve a great triumph against Guaireña on Sava's debut] (in Spanish). Versus. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Wilder Viera fue internado por una lesión en una zona muy sensible" [Wilder Viera was taken to hospital because of an injury in a very sensitive area] (in Spanish). Versus. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Cerro Porteño asegura a Wilder Viera, una de sus grandes promesas, hasta 2026" [Cerro Porteño secure Wilder Viera, one of their stars of the future, until 2026] (in Spanish). Versus. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Wilder Viera dejaría Cerro Porteño a mitad de temporada" [Wilder viera could leave Cerro Porteño in mid-season]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 22 February 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Wilder Viera, destacado como una de las 8 figuras de octavos" [Wilder Viera, highlighted as one of the 8 stars of the last 16] (in Spanish). Versus. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  12. ^ "El increíble planchazo de Wilder Viera que dejó a Paraguay con 10" [Wilder Viera's incredible howler that left Paraguay with 10 men] (in Spanish). Versus. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Uruguay v Paraguay game report". ESPN. 6 September 2024.