Cabanas makes comeback in Paraguay
Reuters - Sunday 15 April 2012, 02:37
Former Paraguay striker
Salvador Cabanas has made his professional comeback 27 months
after being shot in the head in a Mexico City bar.
The 31-year-old turned out for Paraguayan third division 12
de Octubre, the club where he began his career in 1997, on the
opening day of the Primera B third-tier championship.
Fans flocked to the Juan Canuto Pettengill stadium, braving
bad weather to see Cabanas, who still has the bullet lodged in
his brain because doctors fear removing it could be fatal.
Cabanas, a leading player for Mexican side America at the
time of the shooting, was in the starting line-up for 12 de
Octubre's match against Martin Ledesma, a 2-0 win, and played
for 40 minutes before being substituted.
He took corner-kicks and was not afraid to tussle for the
ball but he was slow to react to his markers and the crowd held
their breath when he fell after challenging for the ball with
his head but he was quickly back on his feet.
The January 2010 shooting occurred in the restroom of a
Mexico City bar during an argument with an alleged drugs dealer,
who was arrested last year.
Cabanas, who missed the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where
he was expected to shine for quarter-finalists Paraguay, first
moved abroad in 2000 when he joined Chilean first division side
Audax Italiano.
From there he moved to Chiapas in Mexico in 2003 and was
transferred to the Azteca-based America in the Mexican capital
in 2006.
He played for his country at 2006 World Cup in Germany and
was top scorer in the South American Libertadores Cup with
America in 2007 and 2008.