Omar Oreste Corbatta

Omar Corbatta
Personal information
Full name	Omar Oreste 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)
Playing position	Right 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
1970	San Telmo	33	(10)
1971	Italia Unidos
1973–1974	Tiro Federal
National team
1956–1962	Argentina	43	(18)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Omar Oreste Corbatta Fernández (11 March 1936 – 6 November 1991) was an Argentine footballer who played as a forward.

Dubbed Arlequín^[1] and El dueño de la raya (The chairman of the sideline), he played for five teams in his country – six in total – namely Racing Club and Boca Juniors, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined.

Famed as a penalty kick taker and dribbler, Corbatta is regarded one of the best Argentine wingers of all time. Corbatta gained more than 40 caps for the national team in the 50's/60's, and represented the country at the 1958 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Daireaux, Buenos Aires Province, Corbatta started his professional career in 1955 with local Racing Club de Avellaneda, making his Argentine Primera División debut on 30 April in a 0–1 loss against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, and helping La Academía to the 1958 and 1961 league titles.

In 1963, Corbatta joined Boca Juniors for 12 million pesos, 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 against Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield, and also featured in that year's Copa Libertadores final loss against Pelé's Santos FC; in his final two years in La Bombonera, he added a further two national championships.

Corbatta joined Independiente Medellín in 1965, remaining in Colombia for three years. He returned to his country for spells with lower league sides Club Atlético San Telmo, Italia Unidos and Tiro Federal, retiring from football at the age of 38. During his professional career, he only missed four of 68 penalties.^[1]

International career

Corbatta played a total of 43 games for Argentina in which he scored 18 goals, at one time ranking in joint-13th place with Domingo Tarasconi.^[2]

He was part of the Copa América-winning team in 1957, repeating the feat in 1959. Corbatta also played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, contributing with three goals in three games in an eventual group stage exit.^[3]

Honours

Club

Racing

• Argentine League: 1958, 1961

Boca Juniors

• Argentine League: 1964, 1965

Country

• Copa América: 1957, 1959

Personal/Tribute

Corbatta struggled heavily with alcoholism, playing several games in a state of full inebriation. Illiterate, he never learned to read.^[1][4]

Poor and alone – he married and divorced four times – Corbatta died of larynx cancer in La Plata in 1991, aged 55.^[5] 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.

References

External links

• Futbol Factory biography at the Wayback Machine (archived October 20, 2007) (Spanish)
• Omar Corbatta at National-Football-Teams.com