 Yazalde withIndependiente in 1969 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Héctor Casimiro Yazalde | ||
| Date of birth | (1946-05-29)29 May 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Avellaneda, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 18 June 1997(1997-06-18) (aged 51) | ||
| Place of death | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1966 | Piraña | ||
| 1967–1971 | Independiente | 112 | (72) |
| 1971–1975 | Sporting CP | 104 | (104) |
| 1975–1977 | Marseille | 44 | (23) |
| 1977–1981 | Newell's Old Boys | 120 | (54) |
| 1981 | Huracán | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 392 | (253) | |
| International career | |||
| 1970–1974 | Argentina | 10 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1986 | Huracán | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Héctor Casimiro Yazalde (29 May 1946 – 18 June 1997) was an Argentine professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
NicknamedChirola, he scored 46 goals in one single season withSporting CP, being awarded that season'sEuropean Golden Shoe. He appeared for five other clubs in a 19-year career.
Yazalde was part of theArgentina national team squad at the1974 World Cup.
Born inAvellaneda,Buenos Aires Province, Yazalde's beginnings in football were fortuitous: he was visiting a friend who played withClub Atlético Piraña, an amateur club in theArgentine capital. He asked to join the training session, immediately causing a stirring impression and signing the very day; from there, he moved toClub Atlético Independiente, going on to help the team win twoPrimera División championships.[1][2]
Yazalde signed withSporting CP ahead of the1971–72 season, helping theLisbon side to the1974Primeira Liga by scoring 46 goals in just 29 games, both adomestic andEuropean record.The following campaign, with theLions finishing third, he netted 30 times, league's best and Europe's second.[3]
As a prize for the European Golden Shoe, Yazalde received aToyota car which he sold, then sharing the money with his teammates. After his Portuguese spell, he successively representedOlympique de Marseille,Newell's Old Boys andClub Atlético Huracán, retiring in 1981 and becoming aplayer's agent in his country.[3]
Yazalde earned tencaps forArgentina, appearing at the1974 FIFA World Cup where he scored twice in three matches (both againstHaiti, 4–1 win).[4]
In spite of having returned to his country intent on being selected for thefollowing tournament, to be held on home soil, and with the promise ofJulio Grondona, head of theArgentine Football Association, that he would make the final squad, Yazalde was ultimately not picked and fell into a deep depression.[5]
Yazalde was the sixth of eight children, and grew up in the same neighbourhood asDiego Maradona. He initially wanted to become a doctor, but as his family did not have the means to support this ambition, he began selling several items on street corners, returning home with his pockets full of small coins (known aschirolas, the singular form of the word later becoming his nickname).[6]
Yazalde married Portuguese model/actressMaria do Carmo de Deus on 16 July 1973. Carmen – as he referred to her in Spanish, which stuck – had a brief career in acting in European cult films under the nameBritt Nichols, but rarely spoke about this stage of her life since marrying the player.[7]
Maria do Carmo came with Yazalde to Argentina to settle down, but the couple separated 14 years later though they never got legally divorced. They had one son, Gonçalo.[8][7]
Yazalde died in Buenos Aires on 18 June 1997, fromhemorrhage andheart failure. He was aged 51.[9]
Independiente
Sporting CP
Marseille
Individual
