José Cardozo

Early career: 1988–1995

Cardozo began his professional career in 1988, making his debut for Paraguay's River Plate Asunción, where he scored 10 goals in 26 appearances. In 1990, he joined the Swiss club FC St. Gallen, his first international experience, where he played until 1992 and scored 12 goals in 30 appearances. He returned to South America in 1993, joining Chile's Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, where he scored 11 goals in 35 appearances. During his time with the club, he competed in the 1992 edition of the Copa Libertadores, where he scored one goal against Chile's Coquimbo Unido in group stage where his team won 5–1. Universidad Católica advanced to Round of 16 but were eliminated by Colombia's América de Cali 0–1. Cardozo also played for the team in the 1993 edition, scoring one goal against Bolivia's Deportivo San José in group stage where his team won 2–5. Universidad Católica finished as runners-up in the 1993 edition, losing the final 5–1 to Brazil's São Paulo. Mexico's Atlante, the reigning champions in their domestic league, expressed interest in signing Cardozo after the cup. He was flown to Mexico to train with the team, but after about 15 days without receiving a formal offer, he returned to Chile. Soon after his return, Cardozo was called up by Club Olimpia, where he played for two years, scoring 27 goals in 41 appearances. In his first year, he won the 1993 Paraguayan Primera División championship, with Olimpia finishing undefeated that…

Cardozo was called up to the Paraguay national football team in 1991 while playing for FC St. Gallen. He made his international debut on 14 June 1991 in a Copa Paz del Chaco friendly match against Bolivia, which Paraguay won 1–0. On 12 July 1991, Cardozo scored his first international goal with the national football team in a 1991 Copa América match against Argentina, in which Paraguay lost 4–1. In his tenth cap with the team, Cardozo scored his second international goal on 22 June 1995 against New Zealand in the Copa Centenario del Fútbol Chileno (es), a match Paraguay won 3–2 to claim the tournament title. Cardozo again represented Paraguay in the 1995 Copa América, where he scored a goal against Mexico, securing a 2–1 victory, and another against Venezuela in a 3–2 win, both in group stage. Paraguay were ultimately eliminated by Colombia in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Cardozo represented Paraguay in five matches, scoring one goal from a penalty against Uruguay to secure a 3–1 home victory. Paraguay qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, finishing second in the CONMEBOL standings behind Argentina. Cardozo was the all-time leading scorer for the Paraguay national team, with 25 goals, until 2013, with the record being broken by Roque Santa Cruz. He played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and was named in the original 2006 World Cup squad but he was injured during training sessions and replaced by Dante…

In November 2006, Club Olimpia's coach Oscar Paulin was fired due to poor performances by the team and Cardozo was named as the interim coach of the Paraguayan club, this being his first experience as a coach. He coached for the remainder of the year and for the 2007 Apertura tournament. In October 2009 he was hired to be an assistant coach for the team of Indios de Juarez for the Apertura 2009. Cardozo returned to Olimpia Asunción in November 2009 following coach Carlos Kiese's resignation. In 2011, he was hired as coach Querétaro FC where he led the team into their first liguilla and the team's all team highest place (8th) and points (26) in Primera División regular season. He managed to eliminate Guadalajara in the Quarter Finals and advance to a surprising semi-final where they lost to champions Tigres UANL 1–0. The following season however, Querétaro began the season with poor results, which once again emerged relegation problems against rivals Atlas and Estudiantes Tecos (relegated) which led to Cardozo's resignation. After spending the 2011 and 2012 seasons at Querétaro, he was appointed to manage Olimpia once again on 25 September 2012 after the departure of Gregorio Perez. On 7 May 2013, Cardozo was announced as the new manager for Toluca FC of Mexico where he played for 10 years (1995–2005). On 1 May 2016, during the 2016 Clausura, Cardozo confirmed that he would no longer coach Toluca beyond the end of the season despite still having a year left on his contract.…

José Saturnino Cardozo Otazú was born on 19 March 1971 in Nueva Italia, Central Department, Paraguay, as the eighth of ten siblings. His father, Juan, worked at a refinery and was often absent for long periods to financially support the large family, while his mother, Constanza, managed the household. From an early age, Cardozo expressed a desire to become a professional football player. His mother recalled that he spent most of his time after school playing football, often brought a ball to class, and occasionally skipped school to play. At twelve years old, Cardozo tried out for Unión Pacífico, a youth club. When asked about his position, he said he played as a "10," the traditional playmaker role associated with creativity and passing. However, he was assigned the position of "9," the classic striker or center forward, responsible for scoring goals—a role he would maintain throughout his professional career. On 27 March 1985, at the age of fourteen, he began playing regularly for Unión Pacífico.