John Harley (also known as Juan Harley) (5 May 1886 – 15 May 1960) was a Uruguay international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

of Scottish background.

Early life

Harley was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland in 1886. By 1906 he had become a

railway engineer Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, comput ...

working in

Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...

, near Glasgow. In that year he moved to South America to work on railways along the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

. Initially he worked in Argentina where he worked for the

Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway The Bahía Blanca and North Western Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Bahía Blanca al Noroeste) was a British-owned railway company that operated in Argentina. The original project was the rail line to run through the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba ...

and the

Buenos Aires Western Railway The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was ...

. On arriving in Uruguay in 1909 Harley worked for the Central Uruguay Railway. He worked for the railway for 37 years until his retirement.

Playing career

Club career

In Argentina Harley played for

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...

before being recruited by Uruguayan club

Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (mostly known for its acronym CURCC) was a Uruguayan sports club, originally established by British railway workers for the practise of cricket. Nevertheless, the club would be notable for its football section, ...

(later

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

). Harley was spotted by C.U.R.C.C. when they played a friendly match against

in 1908. Harley played with C.U.R.C.C./Peñarol from 1909 until his retirement from football in 1920. He captained C.U.R.C.C./Peñarol for ten seasons.

International career

Harley played his first match for

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in September 1909. He played the last of his 17 matches for the national team in October 1916.

Management career

Harley acted as a player/manager of the Uruguay national team from 1909 until at least 1910. After retiring as a player Harley managed Peñarol.

Legacy

Harley's time with Peñarol as a player and manager is considered significant for the fact that he changed the Uruguayan style of football from a focus on

long ball In association football, a long ball is an attempt to move the ball a long distance down the field via one long aerial kick from either a goalkeeper or a defender directly to an attacking player, with the ball generally bypassing the midfield. R ...

to a game that featured short passing. This style of play is considered to have contributed to Peñarol and Uruguay achieving significant success up to the 1920s.

Later life and death

In 1951 Harley was honoured with a match between

and

Rampla Juniors Rampla Juniors Fútbol Club, commonly known as Rampla Juniors, is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The team was actively playing the 2021 season by January 2021. In their home stadium, Rampla won the Uruguayan championship in 1927. ...

at the

Estadio Centenario Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay ...

. Over 40,000 spectators, including many former colleagues and members of successful Uruguayan teams, turned out to honour Harley's contribution to Uruguayan football. Harley died in 1960 in Uruguay, and was buried in The British Cemetery in Montevideo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, John 1886 births 1960 deaths Uruguayan footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Scottish emigrants to Uruguay Scottish footballers Association football forwards Peñarol players Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Uruguay international footballers Uruguayan football managers Peñarol managers Burials at The British Cemetery Montevideo Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Footballers from Glasgow Scottish railway mechanical engineers Uruguayan engineers