Ariel Álvarez

Ariel Álvarez Leyva (born 9 May 1973) is a Cuban retired footballer who played at international levels, as a midfielder.

Club career
Álvarez played his entire career for local side Villa Clara, except for half a season in Germany with Bonner SC, when then Cuban leader Fidel Castro approved for the whole Cuban team to join the German 4th level side for part of the 1998/99 season.

International career
He played at the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship and made his senior international debut for Cuba in 1995 and has earned a total of 53 caps, scoring 8 goals. He represented his country in 16 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

His final international was an August 2001 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification match against Panama.

International goals

 * Scores and results list Cuba's goal tally first.

Managerial career
After retiring as a player, Álvarez became coach of Villa Clara.