Hugo Alejandro Sotil Yerén (born 18 May 1949[1][2]) is a Peruvian former professional football player. Nicknamed El Cholo, he played as a striker or midfielder. Together with Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz, he was one of Peru's most recognized football players of the 1970s. He also was a popular player in Peru, and a biopic on his life was released in that decade.[3][4] He was a member of the Peruvian team that won the 1975 Copa América and reached the quarterfinals in Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978.
"Cholo" Sotil was a skilled forward, with great dribbling. He also played as attacking midfielder and was a great assistant of football, due to the large number of goal passes he offered to his teammates. He made his professional debut in 1967, standing out with Deportivo Municipal and became one of the most popular players in Peru. In 1973 he gained international fame by signing for FC Barcelona forming a historic attacking duo with the Dutch star Johan Cruyff winning the Spanish League in his first season after 14 years of drought for the Catalan club. He became the first Latin American player to wear the "10" for FC Barcelona. Carrying the number 10 on his back in addition to getting 2 league runners-up and one in the Copa del Rey after 4 seasons with the Barça shirt. In 1977 he returned to Peru and became two-time national champion with Alianza Lima in 1977 and 1978.
He was international with the Peruvian team, with which he played two editions of the FIFA World Cup: those of 1970 and 1978, where he reached the quarterfinals in both World Cups. On a continental level, he won the Copa América in 1975—, where he scored the only goal of the final match against Colombia, giving the Inca team the title of Champions of America.
Hugo Sotil has been one of the most popular athletes in his country, to the point that in 1972, he starred in a film directed by Bernardo Batievsky (his great admirer) entitled Cholo.[5]
Barcelona's hiring of Dutchman Johan Neeskens, who took a foreigner slot, resulted in his relegation from the first team in the 1974–1975 season. FC Barcelona occupied third place, and Catalan people demanded the return of Sotil to the team first for 1975–1976 season.
He stayed with FC Barcelona for three seasons (1973 to 1976), played 111 games, and scored 33 goals.[8]
Alianza Lima
In 1977, he returned to Peru and played for Alianza Lima, Sotil had a brief resurgence in form that lasted for two seasons, showing that, although he had lost some of his pace, he retained his skills. He helped the team to win the 1977 and 1978 titles leaving a trail of 23 goals in 48 matches and a good 1978 Copa Libertadores.
Independiente Medellín
In 1979, Sotil went to Colombia, where he did not perform well. Constantly in and out of the lineup and only able to score 8 goals in 33 matches Sotil considered retiring from football.
CD Municipal
But Sotil decided he would make one final push going back to Municipal and playing there until 1982, and returning briefly to football in 1984, playing for Espartanos, a small provincial team. He currently works in Peru training youngsters.
International career
Summary
Sotil made his debut for the Peru national football team on 4 February 1970, in a friendly game against Bulgaria at Lima, he scored a hat-trick for Peru in a 5–3 win. He made a total of 62 appearances for Peru between 1970 and 1978, scoring 18 goals,.[9]
1970 FIFA World Cup: Quarter Finals
He was part of the Peru national football team in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and although he was used most often as a substitute in the tournament, he was still able to play in a 3–2 win against Bulgaria, a 3–0 win against Morocco and a 1–3 loss to West Germany. He was also in the quarterfinal loss against eventual champions Brazil by 2–4. Sotil is also much remembered for his assists, as he helped teammate Teófilo Cubillas to capture the Bronze Boot.
Copa America 1975: Champion
Sotil won the 1975 Copa América, playing only in the final game since his club did not allow him to travel often. Sotil arrived in Caracas, where the final was played, and he went immediately from the airport to the stadium, arriving when all his teammates were warming up. In that game, against Colombia, Sotil scored the only goal, giving Peru its second title as South American champions.
At the 1978 FIFA World Cup Sotil appeared in two out of three group stage matches. His first start of the competition was a 3–1 win over Scotland, on 3 June. After a draw with the Netherlands, 0–0, and a win over Iran 4–1, Peru pushed the Netherlands into second place in Group 4. Expectations were high for Peru, however, with 3 losses, Peru finished at the bottom of their group went out in the second round. Sotil failed to score in the tournament.
He became famous for his great passing qualities and excellent dribbling, but allegedly various personal problems curtailed his playing career.[10]
