Antony William de Ávila Charris (born December 21, 1962) is a Colombian former soccer striker nicknamed El Pitufo ("The Smurf"), who last played for América de Cali.

Antony de Ávila
de Ávila in América de Cali 1980s.
Personal information
Full name Antony William de Ávila Charris
Date of birth (1962-12-21) December 21, 1962
Place of birth Santa Marta, Colombia
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1987 América de Cali 470 (total) (201)
1987–1988 Unión de Santa Fe 37 (17)
1988–1996 América de Cali (see above)
1996–1997 MetroStars 31 (15)
1997–1999 Barcelona SC 52 (27)
2009 América de Cali 9 (2)
International career
1983–1998 Colombia 54 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

De Ávila began his career with América de Cali in his native Colombia in 1982.[2] He spent the majority of his career with the club, winning seven league titles with América, including five in a row from 1982 to 1986.[2] His 25 goals for América in the 1990 season led all scorers in the Colombian top flight. His time with América also led him to be runner-up in the Copa Libertadores on three occasions in 1985, 1986, and 1996.[2]

De Ávila also spent time abroad, playing for Unión de Santa Fe of Argentina in between spells with América,[3] the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, and Barcelona SC of Ecuador.

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".[4] He scored 15 goals and added 11 assists in his time in the league, plus another two goals and an assist in the playoffs.

In 1997, De Ávila left the MLS and moved to Ecuador to play for Barcelona de Ecuador. With the club, he reached another Copa Libertadores final but again failed to win, becoming the only player to have lost five Libertadores finals.[5]

De Ávila retired in 1999, but returned to competitive football at the age of 46 with América de Cali,[5] eventually finishing his career with a club record 208 goals.[1]

His 29 goals in the Copa Libertadores ranked him sixth highest scorer in the history of the tournament.[1]

International career

De Ávila made his senior debut on 26 July 1983. He went on to score 13 goals in 54 appearances for the Colombia national team between 1983 and 1998.[6] He represented his country at two World Cups, in 1994[7] and 1998 respectively.[8]

Personal life

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.[2] After retiring, de Ávila bought a farm and he was still living there as of 2020.[2]

Career statistics

Scores and results list goal tally first.[9]

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de Ávila goal.
List of international goals scored by Antony de Ávila
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1June 27, 1989Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States Haiti4–04–0Friendly
2July 3, 1989Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil Venezuela3–04–21989 Copa América
3February 3, 1991Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States  Switzerland2–02–31991 Miami Cup
4June 25, 1991Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica Costa Rica1–01–0Friendly
5July 7, 1991Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile Ecuador1–01–01991 Copa América
6July 13, 1991Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile Brazil1–02–01991 Copa América
7July 21, 1991Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile Argentina1–21–21991 Copa América
8March 31, 1993Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia Costa Rica2–04–1Friendly
9April 17, 1994Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia Nigeria1–01–0Friendly
10May 5, 1994Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States El Salvador2–03–01994 Miami Cup
11July 7, 1996Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia Uruguay3–13–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
12July 20, 1997Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia Ecuador1–01–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
13August 20, 1997Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia Bolivia1–03–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

América de Cali

Barcelona de Ecuador

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ántony Wílliam de Ávila Charris" (in Spanish). América de Cali. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "¿LO RECUERDA? ASÍ LUCE ANTHONY DE ÁVILA, ÍDOLO DEL AMÉRICA Y VERDUGO DE NACIONAL". Antena2 (in Spanish). November 11, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ BDFA profile
  4. ↑ Ping-pong soccer
  5. 1 2 3 "Former MetroStar De Avila, 46, Signed By Colombian Club". SoccerAmerica.com. July 23, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ rsssf: Colombia record international footballers Archived December 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Colombia's World Cup squad 1994". Planet World Cup. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Colombia's World Cup squad 1998". Planet World Cup. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Ántony de Ávila International Matches"., 11v11.com Retrieved on August 8, 2014
  10. ↑ "Copa Libertadores - Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
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