Humberto Carlos Nelson Cruz Silva (, born 8 December 1939) is a Chilean retired footballer that played in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s (1962, Chile third place, and 1966) as

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, despite his short height. He also has been a close friend of

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

since they played against each other in the 1960s. According to Pelé, Cruz was one of his best markers and in several interviews he has mentioned the classic moment when Cruz pulled down his pants so he wouldn't elude him. His nickname is after Cheeta (pronounced Chita in Spanish), Tarzan's ape companion.

Personal life

Cruz is well known by his nickname ''Chita'' (Cheetah) which it was given when he was a youth player of club Máximo Garay from

Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its namesake is the Estación Central railway station located in the commune. Demographics According to the ...

due to his speed to mark as a defender. His son, Humberto Cruz Floh, was with the Universidad Católica youth ranks and represented Chile at under-20 level in the 1985 South American Championship. Another son, Claudio Cruz, played for

Deportes Antofagasta Deportes Antofagasta is a Chilean football club based in the city of Antofagasta currently playing in the Campeonato Nacional. The club's home stadium is the Estadio Bicentenario Calvo y Bascuñán, which has a capacity of 21,178. History The ...

and

Audax Italiano Audax Club Sportivo Italiano () is a Chilean football club based in La Florida. Founded in 1910, it plays in the Campeonato Nacional and has spent most of its history in the top tier of Chilean football. Audax has been national champions four t ...

Honours

Colo-Colo * Primera División: 1963, 1970 Chile *

: Third place

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

: Third place

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

* Copa O'Higgins:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

* :

References

External links

FIFA Profile

at PartidosdeLaRoja 1939 births Living people Chilean footballers Chile international footballers Santiago Morning footballers Colo-Colo footballers O'Higgins F.C. footballers Ñublense footballers Ferroviarios footballers Chilean Primera División players Primera B de Chile players 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players Association football central defenders Chilean football managers Magallanes managers Santiago Morning managers Unión Española managers Arturo Fernández Vial managers Ñublense managers Deportes Antofagasta managers Deportes Melipilla managers Primera B de Chile managers Chilean Primera División managers {{Chile-footy-defender-stub