Delfín Benítez Cáceres (24 September 1910 – 8 January 2004) was a

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 striker. Benítez started his career in Libertad of his native country. As one of the key players of the

Paraguay national football team The Paraguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Paraguay) represents Paraguay in men's international Association football, football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya ...

in the early 1930s, he gained the attention of

Argentinian 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, ...

club Boca Juniors and signed with them in 1932. He soon became one of the key players in the team and during the seven years he spent at the club he scored 107 goals in 162 matches, making him the fifth all-time top scorer in Boca Juniors' histor

Boca fans consider Benítez as "perhaps the best foreign player to ever wear the blue and gold jersey of Boca Juniors

Near the end of his football career, Benítez also played for Argentinian sides Racing Club de Avellaneda, Racing Club (1939–41) and

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 foot ...

(1941–44). During his time at Racing he became the top scorer in the

Primera División 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, Venezuelan musician, c ...

and in South American football for 1940 with 33 goals, tied with Isidro Lángara of San Lorenzo. He earned 15 caps for Paraguay, including his participation at the

1929 South American Championship The twelfth edition of the South American Championship was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1 to 17 November 1929. The 1928 edition was postponed due to the participation of Chile, Uruguay and Argentina in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in A ...

and both of the team's matches at the 1930 World Cup against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

; he scored three goals for Paraguay. Later, he appeared once for the Argentina national football team in 1934, scoring one goal. After retiring from football as a player, he became a coach and led

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardo ...

to a Colombian national championship in 1955. He also managed Sporting de Barranquilla,

Boca Juniors de Cali Boca Juniors de Cali is a professional football club which represented the city of Cali since its creation in 1937 until its exit from professional football in 1957 and again from 2019 onwards competing in the Categoría Primera B, the second t ...

and

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 ...

. He also coached several

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n football teams.

References

External links

Stats in Boca Juniors
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benitez Caceres, Delfin 1910 births 1930 FIFA World Cup players 2004 deaths Sportspeople from Asunción Paraguayan footballers Argentine footballers Argentina international footballers Paraguay international footballers Club Libertad footballers Boca Juniors footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Paraguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Colombia Association football forwards Paraguayan football managers Dual internationalists (football) Independiente Medellín managers Millonarios F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Colombia Expatriate football managers in Venezuela Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Paraguayan expatriates in Colombia Paraguayan expatriates in Venezuela