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Oscar
Ruggeri
(Argentina)
Born
on January 26th 1962 in Corral de Bustos, Oscar
Alfredo Ruggeri, also known as "El Cabezón"
(big head), is one of the most successful defenders in
Argentina's football history. He began his career in
Boca Juniors, that wonderful team with Maradona,
Brindisi, Gatti, Trobiani and Ruggeri led Boca to win
a league championship in 1981. Four years later, in
1985, Ruggeri was transferred to River Plate where he
helped them lift the Libertadores Cup, the
Intercontinental Trophy and a league championship in
1986.
A full-back who always
gave his best, dominant in the air, committed and
skillful, Ruggeri represented Argentina in three World
Cups. When one speaks about the 1986 World Cup, most
people think about Diego Maradona, but Oscar Ruggeri
was also a key piece to Argentina's team. He scored
the third goal that gave Argentina a 3-1 victory
against South Korea in the first match, and led
Argentina to achieve the best defensive record in the
tournament with only 5 goals conceded in 7 games. In
1990, after a disappointing first round where
Argentina were beaten by Cameroon in the opening
match, the defending champions managed to reach the
final after beating the favourites Brazil in the round
of sixteen and the hosts Italy after penalties in the
semifinal. Conceding just 4 goals in 7 matches,
Maradona and Ruggeri were not able to repeat the
success of Mexico 1986 as they lost the final against
Germany. Ruggeri ended his 11 year international
career after Argentina were knocked out by Romania in
the 1994 World Cup, and his 97 caps for the national
side was a record until it was beaten recently by
Diego Simeone.
In 1988, Ruggeri moved
to Spain and after a season at the club Logroñés, he
was transferred to Real Madrid where he helped them
win the 1988-89 Spanish championship. He came back to
Argentina in 1990 to the club Vélez Sársfield. In
1991 he was voted South American Player of the Year by
the Uruguayan newspaper 'El País'. He played one
season for the club Ancona of Italy in 1992 and the
same year he joined the America of Mexico. In 1994 he
was transferred to San Lorenzo of Argentina and helped
them lift a league championship in 1995. He ended his
career playing for Lanús in 1997 and as many other
players, he became a coach after his retirement.
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