Gilbert Álvarez Vargas (born 7 April 1992) is a Bolivian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a forward for División Profesional club

Oriente Petrolero Club Deportivo Oriente Petrolero () is a Bolivian football club based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. They play at the 38,000-capacity Estadio Tahuichi Aguilera. Oriente have been Bolivian champions five times, Copa Aerosur winners two ti ...

Club career

Álvarez played for several youth teams in his home city of Santa Cruz in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, including

Club Destroyers Club Destroyers is a football club from Santa Cruz, Bolivia which plays in the second division Copa Simón Bolívar. The club was founded September 14, 1948, and they play their home games at the Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera. Destroyers com ...

and Club Calleja. In August 2010, Álvarez was signed by Cruzeiro of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He did not play a first team game for Cruzeiro prior to the

2011 Copa America Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

, and he was not named in Bolivia's squad for the tournament. In August 2011, Álvarez announced that he was considering a move to Europe, citing that talks between his agent and one club in Germany and another in Italy were underway. On 25 November 2023, Álvarez joined Indonesia club Arema. However, on 7 March 2024, Álvarez would leave the club early, cited that he wants to be closer with his family as the reason.

International career

During his time with Callejas, he was called up by the Bolivia U17 to play as their lone striker in the 2009 South American U-17 Championship. He scored three goals in the tournament, including a double against Ecuador under-17s in the final group stage. Later in 2009, as a 17-year-old, Álvarez was called up to the senior

side. He made his first senior international appearance as a substitute against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in a qualifying match for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

on 6 June 2009. He gained a second cap the following year in a 5–0

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

defeat to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in February 2010.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Álvarez comes from a large family, being the fifth of thirteen children. He harbours aspirations to play in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, declaring in a 2009 interview that he was delighted by reported interest in his signature from

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and that his ultimate ambition was to play for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He is the brother of soccer players

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Sebastián Álvarez.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Gilbert 1992 births Living people Footballers from Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivian men's footballers 21st-century Bolivian sportsmen Bolivia men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Bolivian expatriate men's footballers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players The Strongest players Club Deportivo Guabirá players Club Real Potosí players C.D. Jorge Wilstermann players Al-Hazem F.C. players Royal Pari F.C. players C.D. Palmaflor del Trópico players Arema F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bolivian Primera División players Saudi Pro League players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Bolivian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Bolivian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Bolivian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia