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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raúl Oscar Belén | ||
| Date of birth | (1931-07-01)1 July 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 22 August 2010(2010-08-22) (aged 79) | ||
| Position | Left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–56 | Newell's Old Boys | ||
| 1956–64 | Racing | ||
| 1965–66 | Newell's Old Boys | ||
| International career | |||
| Argentina | 31 | (8) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raúl Oscar Belén (1 July 1931 inRoldán, Santa Fe – 2 August 2010) was anArgentinefootballforward who played forArgentina in the1962 FIFA World Cup.[1] He also played forRacing Club de Avellaneda.
Belén gave his first steps as a footballer inNewell's Old Boys, where he played from 1951 to 1956. Nevertheless, he is mostly known for his tenure atRacing Club de Avellaneda, where he played 174 matches scoring 42 goals. Belén's highlights with Newell were two goals vRosario Central that helped his team to win both matches. Some of his teammates there wereJorge Griffa andJosé Yudica.[2]
Belén was part of the first tours that teams outside Buenos Aires went to Europe, playing with Newell's in some friendly matches in theNetherlands andLuxembourg. After he sufferedtuberculosis during one of those tours, Belén had to leave football for one year, but as his performances deceased due to the illness, Newell's executives decided to cancel his contract. As a result, he moved toBuenos Aires to play forRacing Club de Avellaneda.[2]
Although Belén started playing as amidfielder, he gained recognition as aleft-winger, after Racing Club coach José Della Torre moved him to that position, although he denied playing as a winger at the beginning. Because of his performance at the1959 South American Championship, Belén was considered the best left-winger in the competition.[3]
Belén had 31 caps for theArgentina national team, scoring 8 goals. He was part of the team at the two editions of 1959 Copa América (inArgentina andEcuador, where he was champion and runner-up, respectively). Belén also won the1960 Panamerican Championship, being also one of the top scorers of Argentina along withOsvaldo Nardiello.[4] Belén was part of the team that participated in the1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.[5][6]
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