- Arsenio Erico
Infobox Football biography
playername = Arsenio Erico
fullname = Arsenio Erico
dateofbirth =March 30 ,1915
cityofbirth =Asunción
countryofbirth =Paraguay
dateofdeath = death date and age|1977|7|23|1915|3|30
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position =Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1930-1933
1933-1946
1946-1947
1947-1949
clubs = Nacional
Independiente
Huracán
Nacional
caps(goals) = ? (?)
325 (293)
7 (0)
? (?)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = Paraguay
nationalcaps(goals) = 26 (56) unofficialArsenio Pastor Erico (
March 30 ,1915 -July 23 ,1977 ) was aParaguay an football forward. He is tied withAngel Labruna as the all-time highest goalscorers in the Argentine first division. He is considered the best Paraguayan footballer of all time. [ [http://www.abc.com.py/articulos.php?pid=435485&fec=2008-07-24 Arsenio Erico: Un jugador glorioso del fútbol paraguayo] ]Career
As a player
Erico, born in
Asunción ,Paraguay , started his career inClub Nacional of Paraguay and made his debut in the club's first team squad at the age of 15.During the early 1930's, Erico was part of the Paraguayan
Red Cross football team that was on tour in Argentina in order to gather founds for theChaco War . Because of his good performances during the friendly matches in the mentioned tour,Club Atlético Independiente ofArgentina signed him. He made his debut for Independiente onMay 5 ,1934 and began to show why he had acquired the nickname 'red jumper'. Before the1938 FIFA World Cup Erico was offered anextravagant amount of money to play for theArgentine national football team but he rejected it, gaining the praise of the general Argentine public for remaining loyal to his country of origin.cite web
url=http://www.teledeportes.com.py/notas/2008/07/23/informaciongeneral/n-00001437.htm
title=Saltó a la historia
work=Teledeportes | date=July 23 ,2008 | accessdate=July 23 |accessyear=2008] Soon after this, however, Erico caught an infection which led to a long period out of the game. Then, in 1935, he fractured his arm twice. After he recovered, however, he reminded everyone of his talent by taking Independiente to the league title in 1938 and 1939. Later, he joined Huracán where he only played 7 games in 1947 before retiring.Erico was the league's top-scorer three times in a row: 1937 (47 goals), 1938 (43) and 1939 (40). In 1938, an Argentine
tobacco company offered prize money to any player that would score 43 goals during the season (in reference to the company's product, thecigarette brand "Cigarrillos 43"). With two games left before the season was over, Erico had already reached 43 goals and later admitted to have purposely missed goals in the last two games in order to win the prize. cite web
url=http://www.independiente1905.com.ar/historia/erico.html
title=Arsenio Erico
work=Independiente Website | date=2003| accessdate=July 23 |accessyear=2008] This means that Erico could have surpassed his own record of 293 goals in Argentine football during his career.Erico never played an official game for Paraguay but he did score an incredible 56 goals in 26 unofficial matches between 1933 and 1934.
As a coach
Arsenio Erico had a brief career as a football coach after retiring from professional football. He managed the club where he started his career as a footballer, Nacional and also had a brief stint in
Club Sol de América where he led the team to a second place finish in the 1957 Paraguayan league.Legacy
Arsenio Erico was an inspiration to Argentine player
Alfredo Di Stéfano , who considered him one of the greatest players ever. Other figures likeBrazil ian strikerLeônidas da Silva and ParaguayanDelfín Benítez Cáceres also consider Erico as the one of the best players in history.cite web
url=http://www.albigol.com/albigol_v3/template_eins.php?lang=en&sekt=helden4&kat=2&id=1
title=Arsenio Pastor Saltarín Rojo Erico Martínez
work=Albigol | date=2007| accessdate=July 23 |accessyear=2008] Argentine strikerFrancisco Varallo remembers Erico as a "phenomenon " that would excel in scoring headers due to his high jumps.Club Nacional stadium is named after him, and sections of the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Paraguay and the Libertadores de América stadium in
Avellaneda also carry Arsenio Erico's name. [ [http://www.elgrancampeon.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4341&Itemid=31 La Platea "Arsenio Erico" en "Diabólicos"] ] He died onJuly 23 ,1977 .Career summary
[ [http://www.cdfenix.com.py/idolos/erico.htm Career Stats in Argentina] ]
References
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