One of the most experienced members of the Paraguay squad, Carlos Bonet will be taking part in his third FIFA World Cup™ finals at South Africa 2010. The midfielder has yet to win a world finals match. At Korea/Japan 2002 he sat out the first phase entirely, watching from the subs’ bench as his team-mates drew with South Africa, lost to Spain and beat Slovenia to qualify for the next round.
Bonet started the Round-of-16 match against Germany but ended up on the losing side when the eventual runners-up hit a late winner.
That disappointment was merely the start of his long association with the national side, however. By 2003 Bonet had become a regular under Anibal Ruiz, though his progress was checked the following year by a bad knee injury. He was back in time to win a place in the squad for Germany 2006, starting in the defeats to England and Sweden but missing out on the win against Trinidad and Tobago.
He was called on by Gerardo Martino a number of times during qualifying for South Africa 2010, but lost his starting place towards the end of the campaign. It remains to be seen whether he can regain it in time for Paraguay’s opening match against Italy on 14 June.
Bonet began his club career at the age of 18 at Sol de America. He then spent four seasons with Argentinian third division side Atletico Rafaela before crossing the border again to join Libertad, where he won three league titles in six years. In 2007 he signed for Cruz Azul of Mexico, returning home again two years later, this time to play for Olimpia. His wholehearted commitment to the Decano cause has made him a popular player with the fans.
