Iván René Franco Díaz (born 16 April 2000) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays for Libertad as an attacking midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iván René Franco Díaz | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-04-16) 16 April 2000 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Ybycuí, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Libertad | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Libertad | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018– | Libertad | 83 | (19) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2018– | Paraguay U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019– | Paraguay | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:59, 9 June 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2019 | |||
Born in Ybycuí, Franco joined Libertad's youth setup after being spotted at Football Dreams.[1] Promoted to the main squad for the 2018 season, he made his professional – and Primera División – debut for Libertad on 2 February of that year, starting in a 2–2 away draw against Sportivo Luqueño.[2]
Franco scored his first professional goal on 4 March 2018, netting his team's second in a 4–1 away routing of 3 de Febrero.[3] Nine days later, he made his Copa Libertadores debut by starting in a 2–0 away defeat of Atlético Tucumán.[4] He contributed with five appearances in the latter tournament, as his side were knocked out by eventual runners up Boca Juniors in the round of 16.[5]
On 21 December 2018, Franco was called up by Paraguay under-20s for the 2019 South American U-20 Championship.[6]
On 10 September 2019, Franco made his senior international debut with the Paraguay national team in a 4–2 friendly win away to Jordan.
Franco has been praised for the ability and quickness of thought to play as a playmaker in the ‘number 10’ role.[7] He was dubbed as Paraguay's new star by South American football expert Tim Vickery on the BBC’s World Football Phone-In show.[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Libertad | 2018 | Primera División | 34 | 7 | — | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2019 | 37 | 11 | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||||
| 2020 | 12 | 1 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | — | 39 | 7 | ||||
| Career total | 83 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 20 | ||
Club Libertad – current squad | |
|---|---|