Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (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

International

International goals for Paraguay

Honours

As a player

Cerro Porteño Grêmio Palmeiras Individual

As a coach

Rubio Ñú Cerro Porteño Club Olimpia|Olimpia