_-_El_Gr%25C3%25A1fico_1932.jpg) Corbatta on the cover ofEl Gráfico, 1955 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oreste Osmar Corbatta Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | (1936-03-11)11 March 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Daireaux,Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 6 November 1991(1991-11-06) (aged 55) | ||
| Place of death | La Plata, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Estudiantes LP | |||
| 1953–1955 | Juverlandia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1962 | Racing Club | 177 | (72) |
| 1962–1965 | Boca Juniors | 18 | (7) |
| 1965–1968 | Independiente Medellín | 145 | (34) |
| 1970 | San Telmo | 33 | (10) |
| 1971 | Italia Unidos | ||
| 1973–1974 | Tiro Federal | ||
| International career | |||
| 1956–1962 | Argentina | 43 | (18) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Oreste Osmar Corbatta Fernández (11 March 1936 – 6 November 1991) was an Argentinefootballer who played asright winger. Corbatta is regarded as the greatest idol in the history of Racing Club.[1]
DubbedArlequín[2] andEl dueño de la raya (The chairman of the sideline), he played for five clubs in his country –six in total– mainlyRacing Club andBoca Juniors, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined.
An accomplishedpenalty kick taker and widely regarded as the best Argentine right winger of all time, Corbatta earned more than 40caps forthe national side in the 50s/60s, and represented the country at the1958 World Cup.
Born inDaireaux,Buenos Aires Province to an Italian immigrant fromRecanati and an Argentine mother,[3] Corbatta gave his first steps in football playing forEstudiantes de La Plata at 14 years old. In 1953 he joined Club Juverlandia ofChascomús to play the Liga Platense regional championship. His performances on the field called the attention ofRacing Club de Avellaneda, who hired him on loan for one year.[4]
Corbatta started his professional career on 30 April 1955, making his debut inArgentine Primera División in a 0–1 loss againstGimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. Corbatta was one of theLa Academía key players that helped the team to win the1958 and1961 league titles.[5]
In 1963, Corbatta joinedBoca Juniors for 12 millionpesos, with which Racing was able to improve the conditions in its stadium and build new sporting facilities. On 19 May 1963, he scored all the goals in a 3–0 home win againstVélez Sarsfield, and also featured inthat year'sCopa Libertadores final loss againstPelé'sSantos FC; in his final two years inLa Bombonera, he added a further two national championships.
Corbatta joinedIndependiente Medellín in 1965, remaining inColombia for three years. He returned to his country for spells with lower league sidesSan Telmo, Italia Unidos andTiro Federal, retiring from football at the age of 38.[5] During his professional career, he only missed four of 68penalties.[2]
Corbatta played a total of 43 games forArgentina in which he scored 18 goals, at one time ranking in joint-13th place withDomingo Tarasconi.[6] He was part of theSouth American Championship-winning team in1957, when he formed a legendary attacking line withHumberto Maschio,Antonio Angelillo,Omar Sívori andOsvaldo Héctor Cruz. They were nicknamed theCarasucias, and that was the first Argentine achievement with a great repercussion on the media.[7] Because of his great performance in the tournament, a Chilean journalist defined Corbatta as "the animated cartoon player".[4] With Corbatta in the team, Argentina would repeat the feat in1959.
Corbatta also appeared in the1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, contributing with three goals in three games in an eventual group stage exit.[8]
Corbatta struggled heavily withalcoholism, playing several games in a state of full inebriation.Illiterate, he never learned to read.[2][9]
Poor and alone – he married and divorced four times – Corbatta died oflarynx cancer inLa Plata in 1991, aged 55.[10] In 2006, to mark the 15th anniversary of his death, he was inaugurated into the Racing Club Hall of Fame, and a bronze statue by Daniel Zimermann was unveiled. The Avellaneda municipality renamed the stadium's backstreet to "Pasaje Corbatta" in his honor.[5]
"Don't pass me the ball because I can't see it", from Corbatta to teammate Raúl Belén before a Racing vEstudiantes de La Plata match. Corbatta had arrived inRacing Club Stadium so heavily drunk that he needed to be reanimated by club employees. Although he could not be completely recovered, he jumped to the field and scored two goals.[1]
Do you know why (my rivals) could not take me the ball away? Because "she"[note 1] didn't want to abandon me. Other things were indeed taken away from me, but not the ball.
— Corbatta in an interview, remembering his skills with the ball and his back luck with women <ref=canio/>
Corbatta was a phenomenal player. He did imposible things. He was crazy, but about football. When he dribbled it seemed that rivals could never take the ball away from him. He became an idol ofLimeños (people fromLima). After the 3–0 win over Brazil, he was acclaimed by the whole attendance, giving his shirt to them as retribution.[7]
— Humberto Maschio, Corbatta's teammate in Racing Club and Argentina national team
Racing
Boca Juniors
Argentina
 | ||
| ||