Matias Oyola

Matias Oyola (born 15 October 1982 in Rio Cuarto) is an Argentine-born Ecuadorian football central midfielder currently playing for Barcelona.

Club Career

Oyola came through the youth system at River Plate, in 2003 he was loaned to Defensores de Belgrano of the Argentine 2nd division until 2005.

In 2005 Oyola spent a season with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy before returning to River Plate in 2006. Oyola only made 3 first team appearances before his transfer to Belgrano de Cordoba in 2007.

At the end of the 2006-2007 season Belgrano were relegated and Oyola joined Independiente.

On 7 June 2009 "El Pony" joined the Ecuadorian giant Barcelona for the remainder of the season.

On 5 August 2009, Oyola scored his 1st goal with Barcelona from a splendid free kick.

International Career

Oyola was born and raised in Argentina - but he transferred to Ecuador later in his career and got Ecuadorian citizenship. Boyola got his first call up to the senior Ecuador side for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia in October 2016. Oyola made his debut for Ecuador in a 2-2 tie with the latter, coming on as a sub in the 78th minute.