Omar Oreste Corbatta
Encyclopedia
Omar Oreste Corbatta Fernández (11 March 1936 - 6 November 1991) was an Argentine
footballer who played as a forward.
Dubbed Arlequín
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.
An accomplished penalty kick
taker and widely regarded as the best Argentine right winger 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
.
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
.
in which he scored 18 goals, at one time ranking in joint-13th place with Domingo Tarasconi
.
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.
, playing several games in a state of full inebriation. Illiterate
, he never learned to read.
Poor and alone - he married and divorced four times - Corbatta died of larynx cancer in La Plata
in 1991, aged 55. 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.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
footballer who played as a forward.
Dubbed Arlequín
Harlequin
Harlequin or Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, and Arlequín in Spanish is the most popularly known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and its descendant, the Harlequinade.-Origins:...
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
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football...
and Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined.
An accomplished penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
taker and widely regarded as the best Argentine right winger of all time, Corbatta gained more than 40 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for the national team
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
in the 50's/60's, and represented the country at the 1958 World Cup
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
.
Club career
Daireaux
Daireaux is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Daireaux Partido.-External links:...
, Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Corbatta started his professional career in 1955 with local Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football...
, making his Argentine Primera División debut on 30 April in a 0–1 loss against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata Gimnasia y Esgrima was promoted to the first division after becoming champions of the División Intermedia of Argentine football in 1915. Later, in 1929, the club would become champions of the Primera División...
, and helping La Academía to the 1958 and 1961 league titles.
In 1963, Corbatta joined Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
for 12 million pesos
Argentine peso
The peso is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Its ISO 4217 code is ARS...
, 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
Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield
Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield is a sports club based in the Liniers neighborhood of western Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vélez is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División, the top level of the Argentine league system...
, and also featured in that year's Copa Libertadores final loss against Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
's Santos FC; in his final two years in La Bombonera
Estadio Alberto J. Armando
The Estadio Alberto J. Armando is a stadium located in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires. Widely known as La Bombonera due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands round the rest of the stadium...
, he added a further two national championships.
Corbatta joined Independiente Medellín
Independiente Medellín
Corporación Deportiva Independiente Medellín is a professional Colombian football team competing in Fútbol Profesional Colombiano, the Colombian first division. The club is based in the city of Medellín and founded in 1913. It has won the league's national tournament known as Copa Mustang five...
in 1965, remaining in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
for three years. He returned to his country for spells with lower league sides Club Atlético San Telmo
Club Atlético San Telmo
Club Atlético San Telmo is a football club from the Isla Maciel neighbourhood in the Dock Sud district of Avellaneda in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina...
, Italia Unidos and Tiro Federal, retiring from football at the age of 38. During his professional career, he only missed four of 68 penalties
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
.
International career
Corbatta played a total of 43 games for ArgentinaArgentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
in which he scored 18 goals, at one time ranking in joint-13th place with Domingo Tarasconi
Domingo Tarasconi
Domingo Alberto Tarasconi is a former Argentine football striker. He played most of his career for Boca Juniors where he was Club topscorer on 5 occasions and Argentine Primera league topscorer on 4 occasions .-Club career:Tarasconi won 10 titles with Boca Juniors and 3 Copa América with Argentina...
.
He was part of the Copa América
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
-winning team in 1957, repeating the feat in 1959. Corbatta also played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, contributing with three goals in three games in an eventual group stage exit.
Honours
| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 |  Racing ClubRacing Club de Avellaneda Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football... |
Argentine League |
| 1961 | Racing Club Racing Club de Avellaneda Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football... |
Argentine League |
| 1964 | Boca Juniors Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División.... |
Argentine League |
| 1965 | Boca Juniors Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División.... |
Argentine League |
| 1957 South American Championship 1957 The South American Championship 1957 was a football tournament held in Peru and won by Argentina with Brazil as a second.Humberto Maschio from Argentina and Javier Ambrois from Uruguay became top scorers of the tournament with 9 goals each.-Final round:... |
Argentina Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro... |
Copa América Copa América The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body... |
| 1959 | Argentina Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro... |
Copa América Copa América The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body... |
Personal / Tribute
Corbatta struggled heavily with alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, playing several games in a state of full inebriation. Illiterate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, he never learned to read.
Poor and alone - he married and divorced four times - Corbatta died of larynx cancer in La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
in 1991, aged 55. 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.
External links
- Futbol Factory biography (Archived)