Antony de Avila (born December 21, 1964) is a former Colombian soccer striker. Nicknamed El Pitufo ("The Smurf"), he was known as much for his short height (160cm, 5'3") as for his goal-scoring prowess.
De Avila spent his career with three clubs: América de Cali in his native Colombia, the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, and Barcelona SC of Ecuador. His 25 goals for América in 1990 led Colombia. De Avila scored 29 goals during his career at Copa Libertadores and 13 (in 53 apperances) for the Colombia national team. He played for his country in the 1994 and s.
De Avila's MLS career spanned a season and a half, as he joined the Metros midway through the 1996 season as a replacement for colossal dissapointment Rubén Darío Hernández . With the club playing on AstroTurf for parts of the season, El Pitufo was surprisingly adept at what was called "ping-pong soccer". He scored 15 goals and added 11 assists in his time in the league, plus another two goals and an assist in the playoffs.
