Rodolfo Almeyda Morando (10 June 1923 – 12 July 2006) was an Argentine, naturalized Chilean,

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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or defender, usually in the position of

centre-half 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 ...

. Almeyda played his early career in Argentina for Avellaneda Racing Club, and transferred to Chile in 1944. He initially won his fame playing for Universidad Católica, and later played for Unión Española and Palestino. He was part of the 1949 Universidad Católica team that won the Primera División de Chile1949, la primera estrella.
and was also part of the 1955 Palestino team that won the Primera División de Chile. In Argentina as well as the early years in Chile he played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, but later in his career, during his period in Palestino, he moved to the role of

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 ...

, and was known in particular for his technique and ability in the air. Following his nationalization, he played 22 games for Chile's national squad from 1954 to 1960. Famously he was part of the team that beat

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

4–1 during the

1956 South American Championship South American Championship 1956 was a football tournament held in Uruguay, who won it. Chile were runners-up. Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador withdrew from the tournament. Enrique Hormazábal from Chile became top scorer of the tournament with ...

in Uruguay, helping his side to a second-place finish in the tournament.

Honours

Universidad Católica * Primera División de Chile: 1949 Palestino * Primera División de Chile: 1955

References

External links

* 1923 births 2006 deaths Argentine emigrants to Chile Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine men's footballers Naturalized citizens of Chile Chilean men's footballers Chile men's international footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Unión Española footballers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Chilean Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Men's association football defenders Place of birth missing {{Chile-footy-defender-stub