Antony de Ávila


Antony William de Ávila Charris is a Colombian former soccer striker nicknamed El Pitufo, who last played for América de Cali.

Career

De Ávila spent his career with four clubs: América de Cali in his native Colombia, the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, Unión de Santa Fe of Argentina and Barcelona SC of Ecuador. His 25 goals for América in 1990 led Colombia.
De Ávila's MLS career spanned a season and a half, as he joined the Metros midway through the 1996 season as a replacement for colossal disappointment Rubén Darío Hernández. With the club playing on AstroTurf for parts of the season, El Pitufo was surprisingly adept at what was called "ping-pong soccer". He scored 15 goals and added 11 assists in his time in the league, plus another two goals and an assist in the playoffs.
De Ávila retired in 1999, but returned to competitive football at the age of 46 with América de Cali, eventually finishing his career with a club record 208 goals. His 29 goals in the Copa Libertadores ranked him sixth highest scorer in the history of the tournament.

International career

De Ávila also scored 13 in 54 appearances for the Colombia national team between 1983 and 1998. He played for his country in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. De Ávila made his senior debut on July 26, 1983.

International goals

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.June 27, 1989Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States
4–0
4–0
Friendly
2.July 3, 1989Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
3–0
4–2
1989 Copa América
3.February 3, 1991Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States
2–0
2–3
1991 Miami Cup
4.June 25, 1991Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica
1–0
1–0
Friendly
5.July 7, 1991Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
1–0
1–0
1991 Copa América
6.July 13, 1991Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile
1–0
2–0
1991 Copa América
7.July 21, 1991Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile
1–2
1–2
1991 Copa América
8.March 31, 1993Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia
2–0
4–1
Friendly
9.April 17, 1994Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia
1–0
1–0
Friendly
10.May 5, 1994Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States
2–0
3–0
1994 Miami Cup
11.July 7, 1996Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia
3–1
3–1
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.July 20, 1997Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia
1–0
1–0
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.August 20, 1997Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia
1–0
3–0
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal

Nicknamed El Pitufo or El Pipa, he was known as much for his short height of 1.57m as for his goal-scoring prowess.