Óscar René Cardozo Marín (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈoskaɾ reˈne kaɾˈðoso maˈɾin]; born 20 May 1983), best known as Tacuara (Guarani for Guadua), is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the Paraguay national team.

Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills,[2][3] he first gained attention whilst playing for Newell's Old Boys, which led to a move to Benfica in 2007.

He scored nearly 200 official goals for the Portuguese club and won eight major titles, including the 2010 national championship, where he also was the top scorer, and the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season.

[5][6] Cardozo commenced his professional career with modest Club Atlético 3 de Febrero of Ciudad del Este, participating in the División Intermedia championship in 2003 and forming a partner ship with striker Roberto Gamarra.

[8] Cardozo scored his first goal of the 2004 División Intermedia season in a 1–0 away victory against Cerro Corá in Round 6 on 2 May, with 3 de Febrero continuing an undefeated run.

Cardozo arrived at Argentina and Newell's Old Boys in the second half of the 2006–07 season for a transfer fee of $1.2 million, joining compatriots Diego Gavilán, Santiago Salcedo and Justo Villar.

[18] He also found the net in the second leg at Anfield with a free kick, but in a 1–4 loss and subsequent elimination;[19] as Benfica won the national championship, adding the year's domestic League Cup, he finished with a career-high 38 goals in 47 matches (26 in the domestic league, leading Porto's Radamel Falcao by only one), partnering well with Argentine Javier Saviola.

[20] At the end of the 2011–12 campaign Cardozo was crowned the Primeira Liga's top scorer for the second time, with 20 goals – joint with Braga's Lima[21] – as Benfica finished in second position.

[23] On 2 January 2013, Cardozo took his season tally to 21 goals in 19 official games after netting three in a 6–0 home routing of Desportivo das Aves for the campaign's Taça de Portugal.

[24] On 2 May, he scored his fifth and sixth in eight contests in the season's Europa League, being crucial to a 3–1 home win against Fenerbahçe in the semi-finals second leg with the subsequent 3–2 aggregate qualification to the final in Amsterdam.

[27] At the end of the game, he angrily confronted manager Jorge Jesus, inclusively pushing him; he later apologised for his actions, being fined for half of his monthly salary.

[43] On 21 August, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 home win against Russian side Rostov for the campaign's UEFA Europa League.

[45] During a group stage match of the 2014–15 Turkish Cup, Cardozo scored a double in Trabzonspor's 9–0 home victory against Manisaspor on 25 December.

[50] On 13 February 2019, he scored a half-way line goal, the fourth in a 5–1 home win over Bolivian side The Strongest in the second qualifying stage of the Copa Libertadores.

[52] On 21 May 2021, Libertad faced Sol América on the last matchday of the 2021 Torneo Apertura with the title on the line, but Cardozo did not play the match due to having tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before.

[53] Without him, Libertad lost 0–1, but two days later, the club secured their twenty-first league title after Nacional failed to win their match.

[57] Libertad finished third in the group and it was therefore relegated to the 2023 Copa Sudamericana final stages, where on 13 July, Cardozo scored a last-minute winner against Atlético Tigre in the first leg of the knockout round play-offs in an eventual 3–1 aggregate win.

[61] On 7 October 2006, Cardozo made his international debut for Paraguay in an exhibition game with Australia,[citation needed] and he scored his first goal on 5 June of the following year in another friendly, against Mexico.

[citation needed] He was selected for the squad that appeared in that year's Copa América: the tournament in Venezuela ended in the quarter-finals and the player netted once, in a 3–1 group stage win against the United States.

Cardozo scored two goals in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification stages, as Paraguay qualified for the finals in South Africa.

On 29 June 2010, he netted the winning penalty in the shootout against Japan (5–3 victory), as La Albirroja qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever.

Having already been included by Ramón Díaz in the Albirroja preliminary squad, Cardozo would again miss out 2015 Copa América due to a back injury.