Name Antony Avila Years Team Role Soccer player | 1983–1987 America de Cali Height 1.57 m 1987–1988 Union de Santa Fe | |
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Full name Antony William de Avila Charris Date of birth (1962-12-21) December 21, 1962 (age 52) Similar People Arnoldo Iguaran, Willington Ortiz, Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, Freddy Rincon, John Harold Lozano | ||
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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.
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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 Argentina and 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.
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.