 Gatti while playing forBoca Juniors in 1977 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hugo Orlando Gatti | ||
| Date of birth | (1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (age 80) | ||
| Place of birth | Carlos Tejedor, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1960–1961 | Atlanta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1964 | Atlanta | 38 | (0) |
| 1964–1968 | River Plate | 77 | (0) |
| 1969–1974 | Gimnasia La Plata | 224 | (0) |
| 1974–1975 | Unión Santa Fe | 45 | (0) |
| 1976–1988 | Boca Juniors | 381 | (1) |
| Total | 765 | (1) | |
| International career | |||
| 1966–1977 | Argentina | 18 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Hugo Orlando Gatti (born 19 August 1944) is an Argentine former professionalfootball goalkeeper who played in theArgentine Primera División for 26 seasons[1] and set a record of 765 league and 52 international appearances, totaling 817 games played. Gatti is the player with most appearances in the Argentine league ever.[2][3]
During his career, Gatti won three Primera División titles, twoCopa Libertadores tournaments, and oneIntercontinental Cup, all withBoca Juniors, and played professionally until the age of 44.
Gatti, nicknamedEl Loco (The Madman) was recognized for his playing style for his position and his eccentricity. Suffering from identity crisis, he is also renowned for making falsified statements about famous persons to be popular and to boast his social media accounts. He developed himself into a goalkeeper who relied on positional play rather than on his reflexes. He would frequently leave thepenalty area to function as an additional field player, and join his teammates in defense – and many times in attack. Unlike most goalkeepers of his era, he made extensive use of his feet, head, and chest to control or strike the ball. He was one of the pioneers of theachique, the goalkeeping technique of running out to challenge an oncoming opposing player.[4] He was also notable at facingpenalty kicks,saving 26 of them throughout his career, tied for the most ever inPrimera División with contemporary goalkeeperUbaldo Fillol.
Gatti was votedPlayer of the Year of Argentina in 1982, and was ranked as the third best Argentine goalkeeper of the 20th Century in a poll by theIFFHS.[5][6]
Born inCarlos Tejedor,Province of Buenos Aires, Gatti was the youngest of siblings.[1] During his youth he was adept at playing as aforward, which according to him was the best way of knowing how forwards tend to think and behave.[7]
In 1960, at the age of 16, Gatti attended aC.A. River Plate match and sawAmadeo Carrizo play, who would become one of hisrole models as a goalkeeper.[1] He then started playing forAtlanta in the Argentine sixth division. HisPrimera División debut came in 1962 againstGimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
Gatti played 38 matches for Atlanta, and after that he was acquired by River Plate. He played 77 matches for River between 1964 and 1968, alternating as the first choice goalkeeper withAmadeo Carrizo, until he was transferred to Gimnasia y Esgrima, for which he appeared in 244 league matches between 1969 and 1974. In 1975, he joinedUnión de Santa Fe, which put on an impressive season with coachJuan Carlos Lorenzo.
Although Gatti was already famous prior to his arrival toBoca Juniors, it was in that club where he became legendary, and it is Boca Juniors the club he is historically most associated with. Gatti played a total 381 league matches and 47Copa Libertadores matches[8] for theXeneizes from 1976 until his retirement in 1988. He is the goalkeeper with the most appearances in Boca Juniors history and the second overall player behindRoberto Mouzo, who played in 396 league matches.[9]
His debut with Boca occurred on 15 February 1976. In 1976, he won thedouble of theMetropolitano and theCopa Libertadores. In the Copa Libertadores final, he saved a crucial penalty kick byCruzeiro player Vanderlei.[10][11] The following year, Boca won theCopa Libertadores again, and then beatBorussia Mönchengladbach in the final of theIntercontinental Cup. He won his thirdMetropolitano in 1981.
The 1980s were a difficult time for Boca, and Gatti had periods of inactivity during those years. His last match was on 11 September 1988, a day in which an error by him cost him and Boca the result. He was made a reserve after that, and he would never play an official match again.
On 24 January 1984, a friendly match between Boca Juniors and Gimnasia y Esgrima was played as a tribute to him.[12]
With theArgentina national team, Gatti won 18caps.[1] between 1967 and 1977. His international debut was on 13 August 1967 againstParaguay.[13] He was part of the1966 World Cupsquad, but did not play as the first choice keeper wasAntonio Roma. Argentina did not qualify for the1970, and for the1974 tournament, he was not selected to the squad. He was a starter during many friendlies prior to the1978 World Cup under coachCesar Menotti, but Gatti was left out of the Cup squad in favour ofUbaldo Fillol,Héctor Baley andRicardo La Volpe.[14]
His last international match was on 5 June 1977.[15]
Gatti has continued to be involved in football since his retirement as a player, writing columns and opinions that have been controversial at times. As of 2010, he lives in Spain and collaborates with several media outlets, notably "Punto Pelota" now "El Chiringuito de Jugones". Additionally, as of 2012, he collaborates with several football shows in Argentina.
His sonLucas Gatti, born in 1978, was also a professional footballer and played as a midfielder forArgentinos Juniors,Dundee F.C. andCD Badajoz.[16]
For hisBoca Juniors career, he was the counterpart ofUbaldo Fillol, another great Argentine goalkeeper who played in the nemesis team,River Plate. Fillol was always the image of professionalism and seriousness; "Madman" Gatti, on the other hand, looked eccentric and unorthodox.
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