Roberto Ayala

Roberto Ayala
	Ayala in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Fabián Ayala
Date of birth	14 April 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Paraná, Argentina
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Club information
Current team	Argentina (field assistant)
Youth career
	Ferro Carril Oeste
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1993	Ferro Carril Oeste
1993–1995	River Plate
1995–1998	Napoli
1998–2000	Milan
2000–2007	Valencia
2007–2010	Real Zaragoza
2010–2011	Racing Club
Total
National team
1996	Argentina U23
2004	Argentina Olympic (O.P.)
1994–2007	Argentina
Honours
Representing Argentina
Men's Football
Olympic Games
Pan American Games
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Roberto Fabián Ayala ([roˈβeɾto faˈβjan aˈʝala]; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed El Ratón ("The Mouse"), is an Argentine former footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentina national football team, as well as Valencia and Real Zaragoza in Spain, Milan and Napoli in Italy, and Ferro Carril, River Plate and Racing Club in his native Argentina.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ferro Carril Oeste	1991–92	Primera División	19	0	—		—		—		19	0
	1992–93		36	1	—		—		—		36	0
	1993		18	1	—		—		3^[a]	0	21	1
	Total		73	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	76	1
River Plate	1994	Primera División	16	0	—		—		—		16	0
	1994–95	Primera División	25	0	—		12	1	—		37	1
	Total		41	0	0	0	12	1	0	0	53	1
Napoli	1995–96	Serie A	29	0	1	0	—		—		30	1
	1996–97		30	1	6	0	—		—		36	1
	1997–98		28	0	2	0	—		—		30	0
	Total		87	1	9	0	0	0	0	0	96	1
Milan	1998–99	Serie A	11	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
	1999-00	Serie A	13	0	3	0	6	0	—		22	0
	Total		24	0	5	0	6	0	0	0	35	0
Valencia	2000–01	La Liga	28	1	2	0	9	2	—		39	3
	2001–02		29	2	1	0	7	0	—		37	2
	2002–03		31	1	—		12	0	2^[b]	0	45	1
	2003–04		30	1	5	0	10	0	—		45	1
	2004–05		17	0	—		—		—		17	0
	2005–06		23	2	—		6^[c]	0	—		29	2
	2006–07		29	2	4	0	8	1	—		41	3
	Total		187	9	14	0	52	3	2	0	253	12
Villarreal	2006–07	La Liga	0	0	0	0	–		–		0
Zaragoza	2007–08	La Liga	33	1	4	0	2	0	—		39	1
	2008–09	Segunda División	28	3	—		—		—		28	3
	2009–10	La Liga	13	0	1	0	—		—		14	0
	Total		74	4	5	0	2	0	0	0	81	4
Racing	2009–10	Primera División	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
Career total			501	15	34	0	72	4	5	0	609	19

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[3]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	1994	3	0
	1995	14	0
	1996	6	0
	1997	7	0
	1998	13	1
	1999	12	1
	2000	11	1
	2001	8	0
	2002	1	0
	2003	6	0
	2004	10	1
	2005	8	2
	2006	7	1
	2007	9	0
	Total	115	7

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ayala goal.

List of international goals scored by Roberto Ayala
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 February 1998	Mendoza, Argentina	Romanian League		2–1	Unofficial Friendly^[4]
2	7 September 1999	Porto Alegre, Brazil	Brazil		2–4	Friendly
3	26 April 2000	Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	World Cup 2002 Qualifying
4	13 July 2004	Piura, Peru	Uruguay	3–2	4–2	2004 Copa América
5	12 November 2005	Geneva, Switzerland	England		2–3	Friendly
6	16 November 2005	Doha, Qatar	Qatar		3–0	Friendly
7	30 June 2006	Berlin, Germany	Germany	1–0	1–1 (2–4 PS)	2006 FIFA World Cup