Edgardo Fabián Prátola (20 May 1969 in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

– 28 April 2002 in La Plata) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. His career started as a defender with

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...

, where his devotion was noted as one of the reasons the club returned from relegation in 1995. Prátola wore the No. 6 jersey and was the captain of the team. Prátola played for

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

side León between 1996 and 1999, after which he returned to Argentina to play for

Unión de Santa Fe Club Atlético Unión (; mostly known as Unión de Santa Fe ) is a sports club from Santa Fe, the capital city of the Santa Fe Province, in Argentina. The club was founded on April 15, 1907 and plays in the Argentine Primera División. Althoug ...

, and then returned to Estudiantes in 2000. Diagnosed with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

in 2000, he broke the news himself in an unassuming way, quit the team after unsuccessful surgery, and fought his illness to the end. The day before his death he asked that Estudiantes play their next match (against Independiente) and not ask for a postponement. A touching ceremony was held before the game. He is fondly remembered by Estudiantes fans by his nickname ''El Ruso'' (the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n). After winning the

Apertura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

2006 championship in a play-off against Boca Juniors, many Estudiantes players displayed T-shirts in honour of Prátola. Then-captain Juan Sebastian Verón mentioned him in an emotional victory speech broadcast around the stadium, leading to chanting of ''"Ruso"'' by Estudiantes fans. Prátola was again remembered by Estudiantes following the club's triumph in the

2009 Copa Libertadores The 2009 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2009 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. The ...

finals against Cruzeiro. In the post-match celebrations, Estudiantes players wore shirts that said, ''"Ruso, estás con nosotros"'' ("Ruso, you are with us").

External links

News story about his death

La Nacion obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratola, Edgado 1969 births 2002 deaths Footballers from La Plata Argentine men's footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Unión de Santa Fe footballers Club León footballers Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Deaths from colorectal cancer in Argentina Men's association football defenders