Antony de Ávila
Quick Facts
Biography
Antony William de Ávila Charris (born December 21, 1962 in Santa Marta, Colombia) is a Colombian former soccer striker nicknamed El Pitufo ("The Smurf"), who last played for América de Cali.
Career
De Ávila spent his career with four clubs: América de Cali in his native Colombia, the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, Unión de Santa Fe of Argentinaand Barcelona SC of Ecuador. His 25 goals for América in 1990 led Colombia.
De Ávila's MLS career spanned a season and a half, as he joined the Metros midway through the 1996 season as a replacement for colossal disappointment Rubén Darío Hernández. With the club playing on AstroTurf for parts of the season, El Pitufo was surprisingly adept at what was called "ping-pong soccer". He scored 15 goals and added 11 assists in his time in the league, plus another two goals and an assist in the playoffs.
De Ávila retired in 1999, but returned to competitive football at the age of 46 with América de Cali, eventually finishing his career with a club record 208 goals. His 29 goals in the Copa Libertadores ranked him sixth highest scorer in the history of the tournament.
International career
De Ávila also scored 13 in 54 appearances for the Colombia national team between 1983 and 1998. He played for his country in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. De Ávila made his senior debut on July 26, 1983.
International goals
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 27 June 1989 | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States | Haiti | Friendly | ||
2. | 3 July 1989 | Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil | Venezuela | 1989 Copa América | ||
3. | 3 February 1991 | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States | Switzerland | 1991 Miami Cup | ||
4. | 25 June 1991 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | Friendly | ||
5. | 7 July 1991 | Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile | Ecuador | 1991 Copa América | ||
6. | 13 July 1991 | Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile | Brazil | |||
7. | 21 July 1991 | Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile | Argentina | |||
8. | 31 March 1993 | Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia | Costa Rica | Friendly | ||
9. | 17 April 1994 | Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia | Nigeria | |||
10. | 5 May 1994 | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States | El Salvador | 1994 Miami Cup | ||
11. | 7 July 1996 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | Uruguay | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
12. | 20 July 1997 | Ecuador | ||||
13. | 20 August 1997 | Bolivia |
Personal
Nicknamed El Pitufo ("The Smurf") or El Pipa, he was known as much for his short height of 1.57m (5 ft 3 in) as for his goal-scoring prowess.