# Francisco Arce

Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (Latin American Spanish:; born 2 April 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Paraguayan Primera División club Guaraní.
Arce played at the right defender position, competing a total of 61 times for the Paraguay national team between 1995 and 2004. He has the distinction of being chosen seven times as the "Ideal Team of America", thus having been nominated the most times in history. He also holds the distinction of having been selected in history as the coach on two occasions of the Paraguay national team.

## Playing career

Arce started his career in Paraguay playing for his natal city club, 15 de Mayo, where he made his professional debut at the age of fifteen. The same year he was recruited by the Cerro Porteño club in the Paraguayan capital (Asuncion), where he won three national championships. Arce then played for Brazilian clubs such as Grêmio and Palmeiras and won international tournaments including the Copa Libertadores. Arce played for Paraguay in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and has appeared 61 times for his country. He was famous for his free kick shot technique, where he scored goals during the World Cup 2002 including a freekick against South Africa.

## Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Arce became a coach and managed the Paraguayan second division team Club Rubio Ñú, leading the squad to the 2nd division championship in 2008.
Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguay national football team in July 2011, but due to poor results on the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, he was sacked in June 2012.
In March 2013, Arce was appointed coach of the Paraguayan Cerro Porteño. He won the Torneo Clausura in 2013 with Cerro Porteño in highly impressive form, as the club went the entire Clausura undefeated. After a 4–1 defeat to Club Guaraní on 24 August 2014 Arce left Cerro Porteño.
On 15 March 2015, Arce was appointed manager of Olimpia, the arch-rivals of his old club Cerro Porteño.
A year later he coached the Guarani club with good results, leading to his position at the Paraguay national team. In 2018, he was appointed as manager of General Díaz.

## Career statistics
### Club

    Source:
| Club | Season | League | League | League |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals |
| Grêmio | 1995 | Série A | 9 | 1 |
| Grêmio | 1996 | Série A | 16 | 2 |
| Grêmio | 1997 | Série A | 16 | 2 |
| Grêmio | Total | Total | 41 | 5 |
| Palmeiras | 1998 | Série A | 24 | 5 |
| Palmeiras | 1999 | Série A | 10 | 0 |
| Palmeiras | 2000 | Série A | 17 | 4 |
| Palmeiras | 2001 | Série A | 21 | 6 |
| Palmeiras | 2002 | Série A | 21 | 9 |
| Palmeiras | Total | Total | 93 | 24 |
| Gamba Osaka | 2003 | J1 League | 16 | 1 |
| Libertad | 2004 | Primera División | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 156 | 30 |

### International

    Source:
Paraguay national team :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1995 | 5 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 |
| 1997 | 12 | 0 |
| 1998 | 11 | 2 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 |
| 2001 | 6 | 1 |
| 2002 | 8 | 1 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 61 | 5 |
International goals for Paraguay
    Score and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 2 June 1996 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying |
| 2. | 8 February 1998 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay | Poland | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 3. | 14 March 1998 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States | United States | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4. | 8 November 2001 | Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela | Venezuela | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying |
| 5. | 2 June 2002 | Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea | South Africa | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |

## Honours
### As a player

Cerro Porteño
* Liga Paraguaya: 1991, 1992, 1994
Grêmio
* Copa Libertadores: 1995
* Recopa Sudamericana: 1996
* Rio Grande do Sul State Championship: 1995, 1996
* Brazilian Série A: 1996
* Brazilian Cup: 1997
* Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1995
Palmeiras
* Brazilian Cup: 1998
* Mercosur Cup: 1998
* Copa Libertadores: 1999
* Brazilian Champions Cup: 2000
* Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 2000
* Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999
Individual
* South American Team of the Year:1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

### As a coach

Rubio Ñú
* Paraguayan 2nd division: 2008
Cerro Porteño
* Paraguayan 1st division: 2013 (undefeated), 2020, 2021
Club Olimpia|Olimpia
* Paraguayan 1st division: 2015