Darío Silva

Darío Debray Silva Pereira (born 2 November 1972) is a Uruguayan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Silva and the second or maternal family name is Pereira.

Darío Silva
Personal information
Full name Darío Debray Silva Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1972-11-02) 2 November 1972[1]
Place of birth Treinta y Tres, Uruguay[1]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992 Defensor 18 (4)
1993–1994 Peñarol 44 (27)
1995–1998 Cagliari 89 (20)
1995 → Peñarol (loan) 12 (8)
1998–1999 Espanyol 15 (3)
1999–2003 Málaga 100 (36)
2003–2005 Sevilla 48 (9)
2005–2006 Portsmouth 13 (2)
Total 339 (109)
International career
1994–2005 Uruguay 49 (14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After making a name for himself in his country and in Italy with Cagliari, he spent the following seven years of his career in Spain – scoring 48 La Liga goals in 163 games, mostly for Málaga – before moving to England. He suffered a serious car accident shortly after leaving Portsmouth, which caused him to lose a leg and effectively end his career.[2]

Amongst other tournaments, Silva represented Uruguay at the 2002 World Cup, winning nearly 50 caps.

Club career

Peñarol and Cagliari

Born in Treinta y Tres in the namesake department, Silva began his career in 1991 with Defensor Sporting (having been a Boca Juniors player for six hours previous to that),[3] signing shortly after with Montevideo and Primera División powerhouse Peñarol;

In 1995, aged 22, he switched to Italy and signed with Cagliari Calcio, where he was nicknamed Sa pibinca (Sardinian for nuisance) due to his frenzied attacking style.[4] In his last season he helped the club return to Serie A, posting his best individual record with 13 goals; during his three-year spell, he also briefly returned to Peñarol on loan.

Spain and Portsmouth

Silva then moved to Spain, where he would remain for nearly one full decade. He started at RCD Espanyol where he failed to impress, and signed for Málaga CF in 1999. With the Andalusians he formed an efficient attacking partnership with Julio Dely Valdés, also helping to the conquest of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup and consecutive mid-table La Liga finishes;[5] during his tenure with the club, the temperamental player was also sent off six times.[6]

In 2003, aged nearly 31, Silva joined Málaga neighbours Sevilla FC. Two years later, as the club purchased Luís Fabiano, Frédéric Kanouté and Javier Saviola, he was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Joaquín Caparrós and cancelled the last year of his contract,[5] joining Premier League side Portsmouth on a free transfer.[7]

At Pompey, Silva failed to make an impact after suffering an ankle injury and, after scoring just three goals in 15 appearances, he was released from his contract on 13 February 2006.[8][9] He found the net against Charlton Athletic,[10] Sunderland[11] and Ipswich Town, the latter in the third round of the FA Cup.[12]

Car crash

On 23 September 2006, Silva was seriously injured in a car crash in Montevideo. The accident occurred when he lost control of his pick-up truck and was thrown from the vehicle, colliding with a lamppost.[13] In the impact, the 33-year-old Silva fractured his skull, being rendered unconscious and suffering a compound fracture on his right leg. At the time of the crash, he was traveling with two other ex-footballers, Elbio Papa and Dardo Pereira, who were not seriously injured.[13]

On the day of the accident, a team of five made the decision to amputate Silva's leg below the knee, and he underwent an operation which lasted for three and a half hours. He was put into a medically induced coma for the amputation.[14] After the operation, there were fears that the amputation would become infected.[13] However, his condition was declared stable a few days later as he recovered at Montevideo's La Española hospital, whose staff expected him to make a full recovery.

After difficulty with coming to terms with the amputation, Silva left the hospital on 5 October 2006, and returned to his home in Montevideo with the plan of receiving a prosthetic leg in Italy to help him walk and run without the aid of crutches.[15]

International career

Silva made his debut for Uruguay on 19 October 1994, in a friendly match against Peru in the Estadio Nacional José Díaz in Lima (1–0 win).[16] He appeared for the national team at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2002 FIFA World Cup – no goals in three matches in an eventual group stage exit[17][18][19]– and the 2004 Copa América.[20]

Silva retired from international play after Uruguay failed to qualify to the 2006 World Cup in Germany,[21] having played 49 times and scored 14 goals.[22][20]

After retirement

In October 2006, news reports suggested that Silva was offered a job as a football pundit in his country. He had also expressed a desire to become a manager shortly before retiring, but later changed his mind.[23] He took the pitch again on 13 January 2009 after a three-year absence, taking part in a charity match between Uruguay XI and Argentina XI for the “Fundación Niños con Alas” (Winged Children Foundation), again displaying his scoring touch after converting a penalty kick.[24]

Afterwards, Silva was involved in breeding of racing horses, also recommending the animal for therapeutic purposes.[25][26] In May 2019, rumours circulated that he was broke and working as a waiter in a pizzeria in Málaga;[27] shortly after, he denied this and stated he was only a friend of the person who ran the business.[28]

Honours

Peñarol

Málaga

References
  1. "Debray DARÍO SILVA Pereira". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. "Dario Silva: Nothing will ever change me". FIFA. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  3. "Darío Silva reveló que fue jugador de Boca por "seis horas" y contó detalles estremecedores del accidente que le provocó la amputación de una pierna" [Darío Silva revealed he was a Boca player for "six hours" and told nerve-racking details of accident which caused leg amputation] (in Spanish). Infobae. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  4. Di Gioia, Alessandro (24 November 2015). "Che fine ha fatto? Dario Silva, 'Sa Pibinca': dal Cagliari ai gol con la protesi" [Where did they end? Dario Silva, 'Sa Pibinca': from Cagliari to goals with his prosthesis] (in Italian). Calcio Mercato. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  5. Griñán, Virginia (2 October 2009). "Qué fue de... Darío Silva" [Qué fue de... Darío Silva] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  6. "Duda, el malaguista más expulsado" [Duda, malaguista with the most ejections] (in Spanish). Málaga Hoy. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  7. "Transfer deadline day round-up". BBC Sport. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  8. "Redknapp lets Silva leave Pompey". BBC Sport. 13 February 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2006.
  9. Hasib, Samrin (6 December 2008). "The career that was left unfinished: A closer look at Dario Silva's life". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  10. "Portsmouth 1–2 Charlton". BBC Sport. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  11. "Sunderland 1–4 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 29 October 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  12. "Ipswich 0–1 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  13. "Silva stable after car accident". BBC Sport. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
  14. "Silva loses leg after car accident". CNN. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
  15. "Silva leaves hospital after crash". BBC Sport. 5 October 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2006.
  16. "Uruguay – International Matches 1991–1995". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  17. "Tomasson double sinks Uruguay". BBC Sport. 1 June 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  18. "France face anxious wait". BBC Sport. 6 June 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  19. "Senegal cling on to qualify". BBC Sport. 11 June 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  20. "Copa América: Uruguay 3 – Paraguay 1: Darío Silva selló pase de Uruguay a semifinales" [Copa América: Uruguay 3 – Paraguay 1: Darío Silva sealed Uruguay semi-final qualification]. La Nación (in Spanish). 19 July 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  21. "Uruguay, un mar de lágrimas" [Uruguay, a sea of tears]. La Nación (in Spanish). 17 November 2005. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  22. "Darío Silva, muy grave tras sufrir un accidente de tráfico" [Darío Silva, in serious condition after suffering road accident]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 24 September 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  23. "Darío Silva: "De ánimo estoy al 100%"" [Darío Silva: "My confidence is at 100%"]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). 3 October 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  24. "Footballer has leg amputated, returns to the game". The Spoiler. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  25. "Los caballos de Darío" [Darío's horses]. El Observador (in Spanish). 11 April 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  26. Campos, Tomás (2 January 2017). "Darío Silva, el luchador que sólo lloró una vez" [Darío Silva, the fighter who only cried once]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  27. "La nueva vida de Darío Silva: camarero en una pizzería" [The new life of Darío Silva: pizzeria waiter]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 15 May 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  28. "Darío Silva garante que, afinal, não trabalha numa pizaria" [Darío Silva swears that, after all, he does not work in a pizzeria]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
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