Néstor Fabián Caballero (31 January 1978 – 27 September 2024), commonly referred to as Tyson, was an Argentine-Paraguayan professional footballer who played as a forward.
In 1998, Caballero was loaned from Cerro Porteño to Arsenal for the 1998–99 FA Premier League season, where he made a total of three appearances in all competitions.
Whilst playing with Arsenal's reserve-team, Caballero was described as "making very good runs which create space for the other forwards" and that the squad looked "infinitely more dangerous" when he was on the field.
[4][5] On 1 August 1997,[6] Caballero signed with Cerro Porteño in the Paraguayan Primera División, where he joined the likes of Diego Gavilan and Paulo da Silva.
[citation needed] Caballero participated in the 1998 Copa Libertadores as Cerro Porteño were drawn with Uruguay's Peñarol in the quarter-final stage.
On 20 May, Caballero played 55 minutes of the first-leg of the quarter-final, before being replaced by Sergio Fernandez, in Cerro Porteño's 2–0 away defeat.
In the return leg on 27 May, Caballero would play 69 minutes of the match before being replaced by Oscar Ferreira, as Cerro Porteño would win 3–0 and qualify for the semi-finals with a 3–2 aggregate score line.
[10] On 29 October 1998, Caballero was loaned to Arsenal from Cerro Porteño for the remainder of the 1998–99 FA Premier League season (with an option for a permanent transfer), where he was issued the number #26.
He made his debut for Arsenal's first-team as a substitute in a 5–0 home defeat by Chelsea on 11 November 1998 in the League Cup, entering the field for Dennis Bergkamp in the second half.
[12] On 29 November 1998, Caballero debuted in the Premier League in a 1–1 home draw against Middlesbrough, when he was substituted onto the field for Freddie Ljungberg in the 74th minute of the match.
[11] Caballero would take no part in Arsenal's 1998–99 UEFA Champions League campaign when, after making three appearances in all competitions, he was released on 9 June 1999 and returned to Paraguay to join former club Atlético Tembetary.
There, he was under the guidance of Italian coach Ivano Bonetti, and would also join Argentine footballers Juan Sara, Luis Alberto Carranza, Walter del Río, Claudio Caniggia and Pascual Garrido.
During October 2000, Dundee opted to sign Claudio Caniggia as a replacement for Caballero who had surgery to repair a damaged knee and underwent extensive rehabilitation at a Bologna clinic.
Dundee eventually finished in 6th position of the SPL table, with 47 points, and qualified for the first round of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
[21] Dundee faced FK Smederevo of Serbia and Montenegro in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where they would draw 0–0 at home in the first-leg on 16 June.
[24] Dundee concluded the season in 6th place, with 44 points, and qualified for the first-round of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, where they faced Perugia.
[6] On 15 October 2013, Caballero participated in a 2003–04 UEFA Cup First-Round 1–0 away loss against Perugia which saw Dundee exit the competition.
[25] On 25 November 2003, Caballero endured a career break, having made 15 total appearances for Dundee during 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season.
[17] This was due to the club's failure to sell on players as anticipated, and insufficient income was raised to fund the large wage bill, under owners Peter & James Marr, resulting in a £23 million debt.
[27] After speaking with Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color, Caballero informed that Dundee was not well economically and could not pay the players who had an elevated salary and released them.
[28] Upon Caballero's return to Dundee, his first appearance of the 2004–05 Scottish Premier League season came in a 1–1 away draw against Aberdeen on 2 October, where he was substituted onto the field for John Sutton in the 77th minute.
[33] In January 2006, he was transferred to Club Tacuary for the 2006 Paraguayan Primera División season, Caballero made just two league appearances.
[citation needed] In 2013, Caballero joined Primera División C side Club Sportivo Ameliano, scoring 4 goals in 14 league appearances during the 2013 season.
[43][44] In July 2014, Caballero transferred to Primera División C club Deportivo Recoleta, featuring in a 3–1 away victory against Valois Rivarola where he was substituted off of the field in the 67th minute of the match.
[45] In 2012, Caballero began coaching in order to receive his badges from the APF and was placed in charge of Sportivo Ameliano's under–16, under–18 and reserve-team squads.
[citation needed] Caballero died in the Villa Morra neighbourhood of Asunción, Paraguay, on 27 September 2024, from a heart attack while playing futsal.