 Bochini in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Enrique Bochini | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1954-01-25)25 January 1954 (age 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zárate, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Belgrano de Zárate | |||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1972 | Independiente | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1972–1991 | Independiente | 634 | (97) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Sportivo Barracas Bolívar | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1986 | Argentina | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Ricardo Enrique Bochini (born 25 January 1954) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder. He is nicknamedEl Bocha. He spent hisnearly 20-year professional career at clubIndependiente, becoming one of the most emblematic players and the greatest idol in the history of the club.[1] Bochini was a childhood idol of Argentine iconic footballerDiego Maradona.[2]
In addition to winning the1986 FIFA World Cup with theArgentina national team, Bochini won a total of 13 titles with Independiente – fourPrimera División championships and nine international competitions.
As a boy, Bochini was wanted byCampana's clubVilla Dálmine, but started playing football forBelgrano, a local club from hishome city. At the age of 15, he went toBuenos Aires with his father to try to joinSan Lorenzo and laterBoca Juniors. He was eventually accepted into the youth system ofIndependiente in 1971.[3]
He made his professional debut in theArgentine Primera División on 25 June 1972, when Independiente's coach,Pedro Dellacha sent him onto the field in the 74th minute of a match that they lost 1–0 toRiver Plate.[4]
On Saturday morning (the day prior to the match) I walked over [to] the senior squad's dress room and saw my name written on the chalkboard. I was cited for the match v. River Plate. I could not believe that, sincerely. I had always dreamed about my debut in Primera, but I was still very young.[5]
— Bochini remembering his debut in Primera División
By that time Independiente had already won the1972 Copa Libertadores, which allowed them to play theIntercontinental Cup that same year but Bochini was not part of the team that lost thetie toAjax.[6] He gained more participation the following year and was an important member of the team, alongsideDaniel Bertoni. The team won the1973 Copa Libertadores[7] and the1973 Intercontinental Cup; Bochini scored the only goal in the latter againstJuventus.[8]
The club managed to defend theCopa Libertadores title in1974.São Paulo had won the first match of the final atPacaembu stadium and Independiente the second one attheir stadium (Bochini scored the first goal). The final had to go to a third match at thenational stadium of Chile, whereRicardo Pavoni scored the only goal.[9]
Independiente was to play the Intercontinental Cup in1974 and 1975 againstBayern Munich but the German club declined both times.Atlético de Madrid, the1973–74 European Cup's runners-up, played instead in 1974 and won the title.[10] The Intercontinental Cup was not held in 1975.[11]
In 1975 Bochini was conscripted intoMilitary service and managed to also play football, but was not able to perform as well as desired.[3] Nevertheless, he also won the1975 Copa Libertadores with Independiente.[12] It was Bochini's third title in a row and the club's fourth, being theonly club to achieve this so far.
Bochini was also part of the team that won theCopa Interamericana in 1974 and 1975 againstMunicipal andAtlético Español respectively.[13]
After finishing in the second position of theMetropolitano Championship in 1977, Bochini won his firstnational championship with Independiente that same year. He scored the last goal in the final againstTalleres de Córdoba that gave them the title.[14]
Bochini repeated the title with Independiente in1978 winning the final againstRiver Plate. After four years without any trophies, Independiente signedJorge Burruchaga andJosé Percudani, who formed a celebrated attack with Bochini that helped the team win the1983 Metropolitano Championship, the1984 Copa Libertadores[15] and the1984 Intercontinental Cup againstLiverpool.[16]
At the end of his career, Bochini won the1988–89 Argentine Primera División, this being his last title.[17]
On 5 May 1991, Bochini played his last professional match againstEstudiantes.[4] He played a total of 634 league matches, scoring 97 goals.[18] He is the player with the most appearances in theArgentine Primera División after goalkeeperHugo Gatti, who played in 775 league matches.[citation needed]
Argentine coachCésar Menotti had selected Bochini several times in the 1970s, but eventually he lost his place for the1978 FIFA World Cup toNorberto Alonso.
Bochini played again in the national team whenCarlos Bilardo succeeded Menotti as coach, but lost his place to younger players such asDiego Maradona. Nevertheless, he was part of the squad that won the1986 FIFA World Cup albeit he played only a few minutes in thesemi-finals againstBelgium, replacingJorge Burruchaga.
Watching him play drove me crazy with delight.
Although he was not a prolific goalscorer, he was considered one of the bestplaymakers of the 1980s, often makingassists for teammates to score, due to his vision and accurate passing.[19][20] Even after he retired, the expressionpase bochinesco ("bochinesque pass") is used to refer to a precise pass made to a forward to leave him one on one against the goalkeeper, bypassing the opponent's defenders.[21][22] Bochini became a master of 'la pausa', the moment when anumber 10, poised to deliver a pass, delays a fraction, waiting for the player he is looking to feed to reach the ideal position.[23]
In 1991, three months after his retirement, Bochini was assigned asIndependiente's manager together withCarlos Fren. The couple coached only the1991 Apertura tournament which the team ended in eleventh position.
Fifth division clubBarracas Bolívar decided to include him to play a few minutes in an official match played on 27 February 2007, 16 years after his retirement, as a recognition to his career.[24]
In November 2007, a street was named after him in thecity of Avellaneda where the Estadio Libertadores de América is located.[25]
Bochini played for Independiente's veteran team in an official tournament organized by theArgentine Football Association in 2009.[26]
He currently works as football advisor and image representative for Independiente.[27]
| Club | Season | League | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1972 | Independiente | Primera División | 10 | 1 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| 1973 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 5 | |||
| 1974 | 36 | 15 | 10 | 3 | — | 46 | 18 | |||
| 1975 | 35 | 10 | 7 | 1 | — | 42 | 11 | |||
| 1976 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 25 | 3 | |||
| 1977 | 56 | 8 | — | — | 56 | 8 | ||||
| 1978 | 39 | 11 | 7 | 2 | — | 46 | 13 | |||
| 1979 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 0 | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| 1980 | 35 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
| 1981 | 48 | 5 | — | — | 48 | 5 | ||||
| 1982 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||||
| 1983 | 54 | 4 | — | — | 54 | 4 | ||||
| 1984 | 31 | 5 | 13 | 2 | — | 44 | 7 | |||
| 1985 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| 1985–86 | 33 | 9 | — | — | 33 | 9 | ||||
| 1986–87 | 38 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 54 | 9 | ||
| 1987–88 | 32 | 3 | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| 1988–89 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |||
| 1989–90 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 1990–91 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 634 | 97 | 74 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 718+ | 109+ | ||
| Argentina national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | 2 | 0 |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | 10 | 0 |
| 1977 | 4 | 0 |
| 1978 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 6 | 0 |
| 1985 | 2 | 0 |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 28 | 0 |
Argentina squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
