Ángel Rodrigo Cardozo Lucena

Ángel Cardozo came through Libertad's academy and made his first-team debut on loan at Rubio Ñú in September 2012, spending two spells there before returning to Asunción. He established himself at Libertad and won the Apertura title in 2014, 2016 and 2017, going on to make 172 appearances for the club and scoring 18 goals.

In 2019 Cerro Porteño signed him, and he spent four seasons there, making 117 appearances. That period also brought his senior call-ups to the Paraguay national team, for whom he played 17 times without scoring. He had earlier represented Paraguay at under-20 level, finishing as runner-up at the 2013 South American Championship, and later featured for the Olympic squad at the Paris Games.

His time at Cerro was not without setbacks. In July 2021 he suffered a calf tear during the Copa América that kept him out for about a month, and that same summer a move to Saudi Arabia collapsed after Cerro Porteño and Libertad failed to agree a compensation fee of around $1.7 million. A loan to Argentina's Colón followed in 2023, cut short in January 2024 when the Argentine club terminated the deal amid financial difficulties.

Cardozo returned to Libertad in 2024, adding a fourth Apertura title to his collection, before Nacional signed him outright from Cerro Porteño in 2026 for a fee reported at $200,000, paid in two instalments. His path back to Libertad had not been entirely smooth: in June 2019 the club had dropped him from the first team over public comments it considered at odds with the club's philosophy, and over accusations that he had encouraged teammates not to renew their contracts.