Humberto de la Cruz Núñez Cubillas (born 3 May 1945) was a former

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

and manager.

Football career

''Nene'' Núñez came to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

through the

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3 and plays its hom ...

. He kept goal for Hércules for ten years, one of them loan to

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

. He helped Hércules win two promotions from the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and Second to the First Division. Núñez spent one season on loan at CD Málaga, where he was well known for his towering size and punched clearances. After his retirement as a player, he became the "house coach". He was placed on the lower grades, director of football, the second first-team coach, and was mainly devoted to training of first-team goalkeepers. On several occasions he was

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

first team. Humberto died after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in his sleep while he was napping in his hotel room where the Hércules was preparing the pre-season in July 2004.Fallece en Alicante el ex portero paraguayo Humberto Núñez
In

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, he was considered a very dear person, having worked for the Hércules for 35 years and died while serving the club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Humberto 1945 births 2004 deaths Sportspeople from Asunción Paraguayan footballers Paraguayan football managers Paraguayan expatriate footballers Paraguay international footballers River Plate (Asunción) footballers Club Rubio Ñu footballers Club Sol de América footballers Club Olimpia footballers Hércules CF players CD Málaga footballers Hércules CF managers Expatriate footballers in Spain Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football goalkeepers