Raúl Oscar Belén ( Roldán, Santa Fe, 1 July 1931 – 2 August 2010) was an Argentine football forward who played for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place be ...

. He also played for

Racing Club de Avellaneda Racing Club de Avellaneda, officially known as Racing Club or shortened to just Racing, is an Argentine professional sports club based in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered o ...

Biography

Belén gave his first steps as a footballer in

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

, where he played from 1951 to 1956. Nevertheless, he is mostly known for his tenure at

, where he played 174 matches scoring 42 goals. Belén's highlights with Newell were two goals v

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...

that helped his team to win both matches. Some of his teammates there were Jorge Griffa and

José Yudica José Antonio Yudica (February 26, 1936 – August 23, 2021) was an Argentine football player and manager. Yudica had limited success as a player, winning only two titles during his brief spell at Deportivo Cali. After retirement as a player he ...

.Raúl Belén, el roldanense que hizo historia como futbolista
by Nicolás Galliari on El Roldanense, 18 Jun 2021 Belén was part of the first tours that teams outside Buenos Aires went to Europe, playing with Newell's in some friendly matches in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. After he suffered

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

during one of those tours, Belén had to leave football for one year, but as his performances deceased due to the illness, Newell's executives decided to cancel his contract. As a result, he moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

to play for

. Although Belén started playing 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 ...

, he gained recognition as a left-winger, after Racing Club coach José Della Torre moved him to that position, although he denied playing as a winger at the beginning. Because of his performance at the 1959 South American Championship, Belén was considered the best left-winger in the competition.1959: El "Comandante" Belén
interview to Belén on ''El Gráfico'', by Raúl Goro, published 1959 Belén had 31 caps for the Argentina national team, scoring 8 goals. He was part of the team at the two editions of 1959 Copa América (in

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, where he was champion and runner-up, respectively). Belén also won the

1960 Panamerican Championship The 1960 Panamerican Championship was the third and final edition of Panamerican Championship, an association football tournament featuring national teams from North, Central and South America. It was hosted in San José, Costa Rica, between Marc ...

, being also one of the top scorers of Argentina along with Osvaldo Nardiello. Belén was part of the team that participated in the

in Chile.Argentina squad
1962 FIFA World Cup Chile on FIFA.com (archived, 22 Nov 2007)
(archived, 1 Jul 2013)

Titles

;Racing * Primera División (2):

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

;Argentina * Copa América (1): 1959 (A) *

Panamerican Championship The Panamerican Championship was an international football tournament held by the Panamerican Football Confederation every four years with three editions held from 1952 through 1960.

(1):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

References

1931 births 2010 deaths Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers 1962 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players Footballers from Santa Fe Province {{Argentina-footy-forward-stub