Édgar Benítez

Édgar Milciades Benítez Santander (; born 8 November 1987), nicknamed Pájaro (; bird), is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder. He also holds Mexican citizenship. A Paraguayan international on 56 occasions since 2008, he represented his country at the FIFA World Cup 2010 and two Copa América tournaments. In 2006, he won the Milk Cup with Paraguay's under-20 team.

Career

Club Benítez started his career in Club 12 de Octubre of Itaugua before moving to Libertad in 2005, where he won the Paraguayan 1st division tournament although he mostly played as a substitute. In 2008, he was signed by Sol de América and quickly established himself in the club, being one of the team's top goalscorers.

On 1 December 2008, it was announced that Benítez will play in the Mexican League for Pachuca CF. He made his debut with C.F. Pachuca on 2 January in the Interliga 2009, scoring his first goal with the club in the 4–0 win over Tecos UAG. He would end the tournament as the top goalscorer with 4 goals in 4 games, helping Pachuca obtain a spot in the qualifying round for the Copa Libertadores 2009.

Since 2009 he wasn't considered as a starter for Pachuca. He is mainly used as a substitute for every match. He has participated constantly in Pachuca's matches in Bicentenario 2010. On 20 February 2010 he started a match against Chiapas. He scored twice in this game and Pachuca secured a 2–2. In June, 2015, Queretaro announced that Benítez would play for them for the upcoming season.

National team In the 2006 Milk Cup, he scored in the 60th minute in a 2–0 victory over the USA.

He was included in Paraguay's squad for the 2015 Copa América, scoring the only goal of a 1–0 win against Jamaica in the team's second group match on 16 June 2015.

He scored the second goal for Paraguay in a 2–2 draw against Brazil for the nation's campaign to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

International goals Updated 29 March 2016 Date Venue Opponent Score Final Competition 1. 1 October 2008 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 1-0 1-0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2. 1 April 2009 Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 3. 21 December 2011 Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile 1–1 3–2 Friendly 4. 15 February 2012 Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay 1–0 2–0 Friendly 5. 22 February 2012 Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay 1–0 2–1 Friendly 6. 22 March 2013 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 1–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 7. 11 October 2013 CTE Cachamay, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela 0–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 8. 16 June 2015 Estadio Regional de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile 1–0 1–0 2015 Copa América 9. 29 March 2016 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 2–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours Libertad Paraguayan Primera División: 2006, 2007

Pachuca CONCACAF Champions League: 2009–10

Cerro Porteño Paraguayan Primera División: 2012 Apertura

Querétaro Copa MX: Apertura 2016 Supercopa MX: 2017

Alianza Lima Peruvian Primera División: 2021, 2022 Peruvian Torneo Clausura: 2021