Héctor Yazalde

For the Portuguese footballer, see Yazalde (Portuguese footballer).

Héctor Yazalde
Yazalde with Independiente in 1969
Personal information
Full name Héctor Casimiro Yazalde
Date of birth (1946-05-29)29 May 1946
Place of birth Avellaneda, Argentina
Date of death 18 June 1997(1997-06-18) (aged 51)
Place of death Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1966 Piraña
1967–1971 Independiente 112 (72)
1971–1975 Sporting CP 104 (104)
1975–1977 Marseille 44 (23)
1977–1981 Newell's Old Boys 120 (54)
1981 Huracán 2 (0)
Total 392 (253)
International career
1970–1974 Argentina 10 (2)
Managerial career
1986 Huracán
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Héctor Casimiro Yazalde (29 May 1946 – 18 June 1997) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker.

Nicknamed Chirola, he scored 46 goals in one single season with Sporting CP, being awarded that season's European Golden Shoe. He appeared for five other clubs in a 19-year career.

Yazalde was part of the Argentina national team squad at the 1974 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province, Yazalde's beginnings in football were fortuitous: he was visiting a friend who played with Club Atlético Piraña, an amateur club in the Argentine capital. He asked to join the training session, immediately causing a stirring impression and signing the very day; from there, he moved to Club Atlético Independiente, going on to help the team win two Primera División championships.[1][2]

Yazalde signed with Sporting CP ahead of the 1971–72 season, helping the Lisbon side to the 1974 Primeira Liga by scoring 46 goals in just 29 games, both a domestic and European record. The following campaign, with the Lions finishing third, he netted 30 times, league's best and Europe's second.[3]

As a prize for the European Golden Shoe, Yazalde received a Toyota car which he sold, then sharing the money with his teammates. After his Portuguese spell, he successively represented Olympique de Marseille, Newell's Old Boys and Club Atlético Huracán, retiring in 1981 and becoming a player's agent in his country.[3]

International career

Yazalde earned ten caps for Argentina, appearing at the 1974 FIFA World Cup where he scored twice in three matches (both against Haiti, 4–1 win).[4]

In spite of having returned to his country intent on being selected for the following tournament, to be held on home soil, and with the promise of Julio Grondona, head of the Argentine Football Association, that he would make the final squad, Yazalde was ultimately not picked and fell into a deep depression.[5]

Personal life

Yazalde was the sixth of eight children, and grew up in the same neighbourhood as Diego Maradona. He initially wanted to become a doctor, but as his family did not have the means to support this ambition, he began selling several items on street corners, returning home with his pockets full of small coins (known as chirolas, the singular form of the word later becoming his nickname).[6]

Yazalde married Portuguese model/actress Maria do Carmo de Deus on 16 July 1973. Carmen – as he referred to her in Spanish, which stuck – had a brief career in acting in European cult films under the name Britt Nichols, but rarely spoke about this stage of her life since marrying the player.[7]

Maria do Carmo came with Yazalde to Argentina to settle down, but the couple separated 14 years later though they never got legally divorced. They had one son, Gonçalo.[8][7]

Death

Yazalde died in Buenos Aires on 18 June 1997, from hemorrhage and heart failure. He was aged 51.[9]

Honours

Independiente

Sporting CP

Marseille

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Piraña: la cuna del gol" [Piraña: the cradle of goal]. Clarín (in Spanish). 18 April 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Tercera de Atlanta 0 – Piraña 1: "Todos unos burros"" [Tercera de Atlanta 0 – Piraña 1: "A bunch of idiots".]. Clarín (in Spanish). 18 April 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Tadeia, António (29 May 2016). "Golos sobre golos. Yazalde foi um dos maiores goleadores que alguma vez passou pelo futebol português, ganhando uma Bota de Ouro ao serviço do Sporting. Fora de campo, dizem, já não era suficientemente egoista" [Goals following goals. Yazalde was one of the greatest scorers Portuguese football ever had, winning a Golden Boot at the service of Sporting. Off the pitch, apparently, he was not selfish enough.] (in Portuguese). António Tadeia. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. ^ Ortiz, Lucio (8 May 2014). "La bella y la bestia que hacía goles" [Beauty and the beast who scored goals]. Diario Uno (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. ^ Zocchi, Julián (17 May 2020). "La increíble vida de Chirola Yazalde: de Fiorito a máximo goleador de Europa, la vida en el jet set, su amor por Carmen y su muerte acosado por la depresión" [The amazing life of Chirola Yazalde: from Fiorito to top scorer in Europe, the jet set life, his love for Carmen and his death haunted by depression]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  6. ^ Alves, Lee (8 August 2020). "Hector Chirola Yazalde: Sporting CP legend". Zicoball. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b Tovar, Rui Miguel (25 August 2017). "Carmen. "Nunca me separei e ainda hoje sou Yazalde"" [Carmen. "I never divorced and am Yazalde to this day"]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  8. ^ ""Yazalde amava o Sporting"" ["Yazalde loved Sporting"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 18 June 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Murió Chirola Yazalde, un goleador de raza" [Death of Chirola Yazalde, scorer with heart]. Clarín (in Spanish). 19 June 1997. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. ^ "OM-Amiens: les vainqueurs de la coupe de France 1976 honorés" [OM-Amiens: 1976 French Cup winners honoured]. La Provence (in French). 4 March 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. ^ Pierrend, José Luis; Gorgazzi, Osvaldo José. "Argentina – Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  12. ^ Claro, Paulo; Preston, Simon; Nunes, João; Di Maggio, Roberto. "Portugal – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 December 2021.