# Rubén Paz

Ruben Wálter Paz Márquez (born 8 August 1959) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Paz played at two FIFA World Cups for Uruguay and was also South American Footballer of the Year in 1988. He retired in 2006 at the age of 47. He is currently Peñarol's assistant coach.

## Club career

Ruben Paz began his career at the age of 17 when he joined the Club Atlético Peñarol Montevideo in 1977. He played in Peñarol until February 1982, where he obtained important achievements, winning three Uruguayan league championships (1978, 1979 and 1981) and became top scorer of the Uruguayan league by 1981.
In 1982, he emigrated to the Brazilian League, specifically the Rio Grande do Sul team Internacional, where he won three consecutive Gaúcho championships (1982, 1983, 1984) and was considered the best player of the Brazilian league by 1985–86.
In 1986 he makes the leap to Europe, specifically to Matra Racing Paris (now the Racing Club de France) of the Ligue 1 of French Football, where he played alongside his compatriot Enzo Francescoli.
The following year he was transferred to Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Argentine league, where he becomes the team leader and an idol for the fans of the squad that conquered the South American Super Cup and Interamericana Super Cup [es] in 1988. That same year he was crowned as both the Argentinian and South American Footballer of the Year. He was one of the few players in Argentinian football to be respected by all supporters.
During the 1989–90 season he transferred to Genoa in the Serie A of the Italian Football League, coinciding with two compatriots, José Perdomo and Carlos Aguilera.
The following year he returned to Racing Club. In 1993 he returned to Uruguay to play in Rampla Juniors, and the following year moved to the Frontera Rivera club, where he stayed until 2000, except for the 1996 season, when he played for Godoy Cruz of Mendoza, Argentina. Later he continued to play in smaller clubs, ending his playing career in 2006.

## International career

Participated in the Uruguayan team that won the Mundialito in 1980. Later he played in two editions of the World Cup, those held in Mexico in 1986 and Italy in 1990, in which his national team was eliminated in second round by Italy.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Uruguay | 1979 | 3 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1980 | 10 | 4 |
| Uruguay | 1981 | 7 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1982 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1983 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1984 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1985 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1986 | 3 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1987 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1988 | 2 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 1989 | 14 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1990 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 45 | 8 |
    Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paz goal.
List of international goals scored by Rubén Paz :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 26 September 1979 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Paraguay | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1979 Copa América |
| 2 | 11 December 1980 | Estadio Campus Municipal, Maldonado, Uruguay | Bolivia | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 18 December 1980 | Estadio Luis Tróccoli, Montevideo, Uruguay | Switzerland | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 18 December 1980 | Estadio Luis Tróccoli, Montevideo, Uruguay | Switzerland | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 18 December 1980 | Estadio Luis Tróccoli, Montevideo, Uruguay | Switzerland | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 9 August 1981 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Colombia | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 23 April 1986 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 10 July 1989 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Paraguay | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1989 Copa América |

## Honours

Peñarol
* Primera División: 1978, 1979, 1981
Internacional
* Campeonato Gaúcho: 1982, 1983, 1984
Racing Club
* Supercopa Sudamericana: 1988
* Supercopa Interamericana: 1988
Uruguay
* Mundialito: 1980
* South American U-20 Championship: 1977, 1979