Matías Galarza (Paraguayan footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matías Galarza Fonda | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Asunción, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | River Plate | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2021 | Olimpia | ||
| 2020–2021 | → Vasco da Gama (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Olimpia | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Vasco da Gama (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2021–2025 | Vasco da Gama | 54 | (5) |
| 2022 | → Coritiba (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Talleres (loan) | 40 | (5) |
| 2025 | Talleres | 13 | (0) |
| 2025– | River Plate | 10 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Paraguay U15 | ||
| 2019 | Paraguay U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2022– | Paraguay | 13 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:35, 9 December 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Matías Galarza Fonda (born 11 February 2002) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Argentinian club River Plate and the Paraguay national team.
Club career
Born in Asunción, Galarza represented hometown side Olimpia. On 19 June 2020, he moved on loan to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama until 2022, and was initially assigned to the under-20 squad.[1]
After impressing with the under-20s, Galarza made his senior debut on 3 March 2021, after coming on as a half-time substitute for Vinícius in a 0–1 Campeonato Carioca home loss against Portuguesa;[2] at the age of 19, he became the youngest foreigner to play for Vasco in the 21st century.[3] He scored his first goal as a professional on 24 March, netting his team's third in a 3–1 home success over Macaé.[4]
On 20 May 2021, Galarza signed a permanent contract with Vasco until 2025,[5] after the club bought 60% of his economic rights for a fee of US$ 500,000.[6] A regular starter during the remainder of the campaign, he lost his starting spot in 2022.
On 4 April 2022, Galarza moved to Série A side Coritiba on loan for the remainder of the year.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 November 2025[8]
| Club | Season | League | State league | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vasco da Gama | 2021 | Série B | 21 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | Série A | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| Total | 31 | 2 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 58 | 5 | ||||
| Coritiba (loan) | 2022 | Série A | 11 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Talleres (loan) | 2023 | Argentine Primera División | 9 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 31 | 3 | — | 3 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | — | 41 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 3 | — | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 50 | 3 | ||||
| Talleres | 2025 | Argentine Primera División | 13 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| River Plate | Argentine Primera División | 10 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 105 | 8 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 11 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in Copa Libertadores
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 13 | 2 | |
Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.[9]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 June 2025 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay | 8 | Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 9 September 2025 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru | 10 | Peru | 1–0 | 1–0 |
References
- ^ "Vasco anuncia a contratação de jovem meio-campista paraguaio" [Vasco announce the signing of young Paraguayan midfielder] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Com sub-20, Vasco estreia com derrota para Portuguesa no Carioca" [With under-20s, Vasco debut with defeat to Portuguesa in the Carioca] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Matías Galarza, o estrangeiro mais novo a atuar pelo Vasco no Século 21" [Matías Galarza, the youngest foreigner to play for Vasco in the 21st century] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CR Vasco da Gama. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Carioca: Galarza faz golaço, Vasco derrota e Macaé e vence a primeira na competição" [Carioca: Galarza scores great goal, Vasco defeat Macaé and win the first one in the competition] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Matías Galarza é do Vasco da Gama!" [Matías Galarza is of Vasco da Gama!] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CR Vasco da Gama. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Vasco anuncia compra dos direitos de Galarza" [Vasco announces the acquisition of Galarza's rights] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Seja bem-vindo, Matías Galarza" [Welcome, Matías Galarza] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Coritiba FBC. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ Matías Galarza at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NFTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
External links
- Matías Galarza at Soccerway
- Vasco profile (in Brazilian Portuguese)