Ricardo Elvio Pavoni Cúneo (born August 8, 1943 in Montevideo) is a

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 ...

an former football defender who played the majority of his career for Club Atlético Independiente in the

Argentine First Division Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish language, Spanish (Grammatical gender, masculine) or (Grammatical gender, feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be resident ...

Career

Club

Pavoni began his football career with the Montevidean club

Defensor Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Defensor (comics), a character in ''Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions'' * Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise People *Defensor, a ...

. Disillusioned with life as a footballer, he was on the point of abandoning the game completely and going to work in a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

as a

croupier A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos. Origin of the word Originally a "croupier" meant ...

until he was convinced to play football for Independiente of

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 ...

. The left-sided full-back has been described as a natural leader and the perfect man-marker. He was also responsible for scoring 57 goals. He arrived to Independiente at age 21 to replace Tomás Rolan, another Uruguayan who had suffered a serious injury. His first match for Independiente was on March 24, 1965, in a Copa Libertadores match. Independiente beat Boca Juniors by two goals to nil. For twelve seasons (1965–1976) he was idolised by the Independiente fans. He was particularly remembered for his powering runs along the left wing, putting away free kicks with his left foot and for his frequent last-ditch efforts to clear the ball from the goal-line. He is considered by many to be the archetypal Uruguayan footballer. Pavoni (affectionately known as "el Chivo") won many honours during his career, including the

Argentine first division Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish language, Spanish (Grammatical gender, masculine) or (Grammatical gender, feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be resident ...

championships three times, the Copa Libertadores five times, the

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana ( en, Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition contested between a representative from North America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACA ...

on three occasions and one

Copa Intercontinental The European/South American Cup, more commonly known as the Intercontinental Cup and from 1980 to 2004 as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, was an international football competition end ...

. He was also a member of the Uruguayan squad that took part in the World Cup of 1974, in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Since retirement, he has been involved with the club as a trainer with reserve and youth teams. He has also been caretaker manager of the first team on several occasions.

International

Pavoni played 13 times for the Uruguay national team between 1962 and 1974, scoring two goals. He was part of the Uruguay squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup.rsssf: Uruguay 1974 World Cup Squad
/ref>

Honours

;Independiente * Argentine Primera División (3): Nacional 1967, Metropolitano 1970, Metropolitano 1971 * Copa Libertadores (5): 1965,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, 1974,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

(3):

, 1974,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

* Intercontinental Cup (1):

References

External links

Futbol Factory profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavoni, Ricardo 1943 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan footballers Defensor Sporting players Club Atlético Independiente footballers Copa Libertadores-winning players Argentine Primera División players Uruguayan expatriate footballers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Argentina Uruguay international footballers 1974 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football defenders