Héctor Chumpitaz

Héctor Eduardo Chumpitaz Gonzales (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈector ˈtʃumpitas]; born April 12, 1944 in Cañete) is a former footballer from Peru. He, with Teófilo Cubillas and Hugo Sotil, have been some of Peru's most recognized football players

He was the captain of the Peruvian national team that was victorious at Copa America 1975 and during the 1970 and 1978 World Cups, Nicknamed El Capitán de America (America's Captain) because of his great technique, his leadership, his organisation ability on the field and was selected captain of the American continent's team.

Chumpitaz is considered one of the greatest South American defenders of all-time and was named to the list of best World Cup players of all time by Terra.com in 2006. He was elected the 35th best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000.^[2]

Career

At the age of 19, Chumpitaz joined a second division team in Peru, the Unidad Vecinal. Chumpitaz became a first division player in 1964, when he was signed by Deportivo Municipal, a team where he stayed until 1965.

During 1966, Chumpitaz began playing for Universitario de Deportes, where he was part of the team that won 5 Peruvian league championships (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1974).

Chumpitaz captained the Universitario de Deportes side to a runner up in the Copa Libertadores 1972, losing 2-1 to Independiente of the Argentina in the final.

In 1973, All-Star teams from the American and European continents played against each other in Barcelona, Spain. Soccer greats such as Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Teófilo Cubillas participated in that game. Chumpitaz was selected captain of the American continent's team^[3] thus earning the nickname America's Captain. The game finishes 4-4 and in Penalty kicks, America wins 7-6.

The following year, he was signed, for the first time, by an international club, when he played with the Club Atlas team in Mexico.

In 1977, he went on to play for Sporting Cristal, a team he would play with until 1984. He won 3 Peruvian league championships (1979, 1980 and 1983).

He became Peruvian history's top scoring defender of first division, with 65 goals in 456 matches.

International career

On April 3 of that year, Chumpitaz played his first game as a member of Peru's national soccer team, when the Peruvians lost to Paraguay, 1-0, in Lima. On May 16, 1965, Chumpitaz played his first World Cup qualifier game, as Peru beat Venezuela, 1-0, in Lima. His first game abroad came later that year, as Peru and Venezuela held a rematch in Caracas, with the Peruvians defeating the Venezuelans by a score of 6-3.

Chumpitaz secured his first World Cup action when Peru's national team, winning 1-0 in Lima, and soon tied with Argentina, 2-2, on August 31, 1969 in Buenos Aires. Chumpitaz played his first World Cup game on June 2, 1970, when the Peruvians defeated Bulgaria, 3-2, in León, Mexico. Although Peru advanced to the quarterfinals of that World Cup, they were eliminated by Brazil on June 14 in Guadalajara, by a score of 4-2.^[4]

Chumpitaz played for Peru's national team in the Independence Cup, held between June 18 and June 25, 1972, in Manaus, Brazil. He helped his team to the championship game with a 1-0 victory over Venezuela, but the Peruvian team lost in its group's final game to Yugoslavia, 2-1.

In 1975, Chumpitaz played for the national team that won the Copa America held in Colombia.^[5]

Chumpitaz returned to the World Cup in 1978,^[6] when Peru played for the FIFA's most heralded championship in Argentina. Peru played six games in that World Cup, winning three of them. This would turn out to be Chumpitaz's lastWorld Cup participation; he retired from the Peruvian national team after the team qualified for the 1982 World Cup, held in Spain. Chumpitaz played a total of 105 games with the national team.

In February 2008, to celebrate of first World Cup win Brasilian, he was selected as the All-Star First Team of America of the past 50 years.^[7]

International goals

Honours

Universitario de Deportes

• Peruvian League
  • Winner (5): 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1974
  • Runner Up (1): 1972

• Copa Libertadores
  • Runner-Up (1): 1972

Sporting Cristal

• Peruvian League
  • Winner (3): 1979, 1980, 1983
  • Runner Up (1): 1977

National team

• Copa America
  • Winner (1):1975

Individual awards

• 1969 Best Defender CONMEBOL
• 1971 Best Defender CONMEBOL
• 1973 All Stars CONMEBOL: Captain ^[8]
• 2000 World Soccer's: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time^[9]
• 2004 South American - Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 35^[10]
• 2007 Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América^[11]
• 2007 Copa America All-Star team, all-time^[12]
• 2008 All Stars CONMEBOL in the last 50 years^[13]
• 2008 Defender all-time scoring: Ranking Nº 32^[14]

Career statistics

Current life

Despite retiring, Chumpitaz continued being a public figure, and, on December 3, 2004, he was found guilty and sentenced to four years of suspended sentence (probation), for allegedly accepting US$30,000 from presidential advisor and right-hand man Vladimiro Montesinos, supposedly after joining former minister Juan Carlos Hurtado in latter's quest to become mayor of Lima in 1998, during Alberto Fujimori's presidency. After the appeals process, on April 8, 2005, the Supreme Court of Peru nullified the sentence against Chumpitaz.

References

1. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} Behr, Raul. "Oh capitán, mi capitán" (in Spanish). Dechalaca.com. Retrieved 15 April 2014. 
2. Jump up ^ IFFHS' Century Elections - rsssf.com - by Karel Stokkermans, RSSSF, 2000.
3. Jump up ^ Captains the American and European: Chumpitaz and Cruyff
4. Jump up ^ World Cup 1970
5. Jump up ^ Copa América 1975
6. Jump up ^ World Cup 1978
7. Jump up ^ All-Star First Team Selection (1958-2008) Retrieved on January 17, 2009.
8. Jump up ^ 1973 All Star CONMEBOL
9. Jump up ^ World Soccer's: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
10. Jump up ^ South American - Player of the Century
11. Jump up ^ Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Héctor Chumpitaz listed in the top 10
12. Jump up ^ Copa America All-Stars of All Time
13. Jump up ^ Named in the Ideal Selection of sudamerica in the last 50 years
14. Jump up ^ The World's 80 most successful Top Division Goal Scorers among the defensive Players of all time

External links

• arkivperu.com, in Spanish
• cooperativa.cl, in Spanish
• rsssf.com
• terra.com