Roberto Emilio Coll Marengo (born 20 April 1925−January 2013) 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 remembered by his spell at the Chilean club

Palestino Club Deportivo Palestino is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile. They play their home games at the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna stadium ...

, where he was considered an icon of the

1955 Primera División de Chile The 1955 Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, was the 23rd season of top-flight football in Chile. Palestino was the tournament’s champion, winning its first ever title. First Stage Scores Standings Championship stage Scores Standin ...

title. From 1943 to 1950, he was a member of one of the best if not the best version of River Plate: the team of

La Máquina ''La Máquina'' (Spanish for "the Machine") is a nickname given to the River Plate football team from 1941 to 1947, commonly referred by the media as the best Argentine team of its era and one of the best teams worldwide.

(1939−1949), where he began as a back-up player. Then, in 1950, he was part of a large group of Argentine players who left his country after troubles between the FAA (football

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

) and

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

's first government (1946−1952). Thus, among the footballers who departed to

México Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and also

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, Coll signed for the Colombian team

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

in June 1950. In that way, Coll was part of the first golden age in Colombian football, which is known as

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

(1949−1953) and had players like

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

, whose transference from

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

finished the period. In 1953, Coll was hired by the Chilean team

, a freshly promoted team from Segunda División de Chile which was controlled by the wealthy Yarur family.

Career

Coll began his career at River in 1943, when he was promoted to the first adult team by

Renato Cesarini Renato Cesarini (; 11 April 1906 – 24 March 1969) was an Italian-Argentine football player and coach who most notably played for Juventus in Italy as a midfielder or forward. He was a dual international footballer and played for both the Argen ...

, the coach of «La Máquina» from 1939 to 1944. Two years later, aged 20, he made his debut in the

1945 Argentine Primera División The 1945 Argentine Primera División was the 54th season of top-flight football in Argentina. The season began on April 22 and ended on December 2.Carlos Peucelle Carlos Desiderio Peucelle (13 September 1908 – 1 April 1990) was an Argentine football player who played as an inside forward or as a right winger and is considered one of Argentina's finest wingers in their history. He is also known for being ...

(1944−1946), who often used in the starting lineup to

José Manuel Moreno José Manuel Moreno Fernández (3 August 1916 — 26 August 1978), nicknamed "''El Charro''", was an Argentine footballer who played as an inside forward for several clubs in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia; for many who saw him play, he ...

Adolfo Pedernera Adolfo Alfredo Pedernera (15 November 1918 – 12 May 1995) was an Argentine football player and coach. Nicknamed "El Maestro" ("The Teacher"), he was widely considered to be one of the best world football players in the 1940s and one of the gr ...

Ángel Labruna Ángel Amadeo Labruna (28 September 1918 – 19 September 1983) was an Argentine footballer and coach who played as a forward. With 323 goals scored in official matches, which include 294 league goals, Labruna is the 2nd all-time top scorer of ...

, who remained as starters with the last coach of La Máquina period,

José María Minella José María Minella (1909–1981) was an Argentine football player and manager. He played for and managed Argentina's national team. Club career A midfielder, Minella started playing at local club Independiente of Mar del Plata. On 23 August ...

, who arrived in 1947 and stayed until 1957, many years after the end of La Máquina. With Moreno's departure to the Chilean rich team Universidad Católica, Coll was a starter until mid-1950. In 1950, Coll moved to Colombia and joined

. In his successful second season with Cali, he scored 19 goals in 34 games.

Palestino

In 1953, Coll was contacted by the Argentine coach of

, Antonio Ciraolo. In principle, he only came for three years, but he ended up staying for twelve years until he was 43. His elegant game, his improvisation on the field of play, and the ascendancy he had over his teammates positively called the attention of the football community. In 1955, he was considered the main reference of the Palestino champion team, where he was accompanied by other talented players like Rodolfo Almeyda, José 'Peta' Fernández and Guillermo Díaz. In 1968, a severe knee injury prompted his decision to retire from professional football, after 16 seasons wearing the Palestino jersey. In that club, he recorded 133 goals in 385 games.

Honors

Club

;River Plate *

Primera División de Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

(2):

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

;Palestino *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

(1):

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Career

Palestino

Honors

Club

References

External links

Further reading