There is pain in Peruvian football, but also in Spain. Hugo ‘Cholo’ Sotil He died this Monday at the age of 78, as reported by Barcelona in Spain. Born in Ica (Peru) on May 18, 1946, he was considered one of the best South American players of his time and he even wore the legendary number 10 of the Catalan club, a fact that earned him Diego Armando Maradona himself asked him for a photo a few years later when he visited a training session.
Maradona saw a commotion and wanted to know what was happening. “I’m missing, I’m missing”‘Pelusa’ exclaimed. He approached, grabbed Sotil by the right shoulder and photographed himself for immortality. They talked for a few minutes and the Peruvian always said that he was surprised by the Argentine’s humility. Upon returning to the hotel, Sotil received a gift bag from Maradona with divers, shoes and balls. That’s why, the Inca legend had to pay for being overweight at the airport.
Coming from Municipal de Lima, in his first season as a Barça player he played all the games of the 1973-74 League, where he coincided with figures such as Johan Cruyff, Rexach, Installed y Martial.
For a long time the chant was heard in the stands of the Camp Nou “¡Cholooo, Cholooo!” sung in his honor. And he was the protagonist of an endearing anecdote that happened when Barça won the League on April 7, 1974, Sotil called his mother from the locker room to tell her a phrase that went down in culé history: “Mommy, we’re champions!”.
The following season, Sotil had a blank slate, since the signing of Johan Neeskens made it impossible for him to play until he obtained dual nationality, which took much longer than expected. Finally, in the 1975-76 season he was able to play official matches with Barça again, but he was no longer the same. In 1977 he signed for Alianza de Lima.
On May 17, 1984, a tribute was paid to the Miniestadi with a veterans’ match between the 1974 team and a South American team. “Since I left Barça I was waiting for that moment. I like Barcelona, the kindness of its people, the affection of its fans,” he declared at the conclusion of the match.
Decades later, on October 30, 2014, Sotil once again showed off his love for Barcelona from Lima: “All that love that the people of Barça gave me cannot be forgotten. The day I die, I hope they bury me with the Barcelona shirt”.
Last November, ‘Cholo’ Sotil visited what was always his home coinciding with the celebration events for the 125th anniversary of FC Barcelona.
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