Photo: José Luis Chilavert via X
It was 1985 when the Paraguayan José Luis Chilavert (photo) arrived to defend the colors of San Lorenzo, one of the most traditional teams in the Argentine capital. There, in the blue, white and red of Pope Francis' team, the former goalkeeper approached another archer, five years younger and still playing in the youth category. When the Paraguayan went to Spain in 1988, the Argentine was already part of the Chacarita Juniors professional team from the Buenos Aires area.
More than 35 years later, Chilavert still cherishes the memories of future Argentine President Javier Milei. “He taught me how to deal with things,” the Paraguayan told ABC Color newspaper earlier this month.
“We were goalkeepers and we have known each other for a long time,” the former goalkeeper said in an interview with Paraguayan radio last month, before the Argentine took office. “When this story began, your journey into politics, we met in the Caballito neighborhood in Buenos Aires and talked about your project.”
Despite the support, “Chila” initially said that both suffered from discredit. “A lot of people joked, 'What are these two going to do together?' … But what is very clear is that people voted for him in Argentina because it was a clear moment to turn away from Kirchnerism.”
Chilavert, known for having scored more than 60 goals in his career, saw his fate once again approach Milei when he decided to enter Paraguayan politics. In 2022, he even announced that he would run for president with his newly founded youth party.
He came in last with 24,284 votes, or 0.8%.
In an interview with the Paraguayan press, the former goalkeeper said that he would think very carefully about the possibility of running for the government of Asunción again. However, he repeated part of Milei and Jair Bolsonaro's speech and said that he would not accept the use of electronic voting machines in the election because they were rigged.
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