Silvio Marzolini (4 October 1940 – 17 July 2020)Marzolini, un crack de todos los tiempos
by Daniel Guiñazú on ''Página/12'', 17 Jul 2020 was an Argentine football player who gained recognition during his tenure on Boca Juniors (1960–72). He is widely regarded as the best Argentine left back of all time, playing that position for the Argentina national football team 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 ...

and the 1966 FIFA World Cup, where he was elected as the best left back of that tournament. Marzolini played a total of 28 games for Argentina.

Biography

Marzolini's first steps as footballer were in Deportivo Italiano, soon moving to the young divisions of

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 ...

in 1955. After a discussion with the club managers asking to play in the Senior team, Marzolini was suspended for two years. Nevertheless, he debuted in Primera División in May 1959, playing against Boca Juniors, that would hire him the following year. Marzolini debuted with Boca on April 3, 1960 against Estudiantes de La Plata, defeating it by 2-1. Boca finished 3rd. at the end of the season, with Marzolini playing all of the games. In 1961 Marzolini scored his first goal in the top division, but Boca did not have a great campaign, finishing 5th. Marzolini played a total of 29 games scoring 2 goals. The first achievement came in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

when Boca won the title, with notable players such as goalkeeper Antonio Roma, Brazilian striker Paulo Valentim and

Norberto Menéndez Norberto "Beto" Menéndez (14 December 1936 – 26 May 1994) was an Argentine footballer striker. He was born in 1936 in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He scored one goal for the Argentina national team at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, agai ...

. Boca finished 1st with 42 points. Marzolini was also the most capped player of the season with 28 games played. After retiring as a player, Marzolini became manager of

All Boys Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known by its football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league s ...

where he stayed from 1975 to 1976. In 1981 Marzolini returned to Boca Juniors, with which he won the 1981 Metropolitano with superstar

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

as the outstanding player of the team. Other notable players for Boca were

Miguel Brindisi --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

, goalkeeper

Hugo Gatti Hugo Orlando Gatti (born 19 August 1944) is an Argentine former professional football goalkeeper who played in the Argentine Primera División for 26 seasons

and defender

Oscar Ruggeri Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri (born 26 January 1962) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as centre-back. Nicknamed ''El Cabezón'' ("The Big-Headed One"), Ruggeri achieved success at the international level with the Argentina nati ...

. In a 2007 interview with

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...

magazine, English great

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

named him in his dream eleven, describing him as a player who "wasn’t that fast, but his positioning was so good he didn’t need to be", and that he had "such good control that it gave him time and space to play the ball away safely". Marzolini suffered a stroke in 2019 and was later diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He died on July 17, 2020, at the age of 79.Silvio Marzolini se encuentra en estado crítico por un cáncer
by Paulina Pereyra on Via País 14 July 2020

Honours

Player

; Boca Juniors * Primera División (5):

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, 1965, 1969 Nacional, 1970 Nacional *

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

(1):

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

;

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 ...

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 ...

Manager

Club

; Boca Juniors * Primera División (1): 1981 Metropolitano

References

External links

* *
Marzolini biography
on AFA website
Informe Xenieze biography

Interview
by

BBC Mundo BBC Mundo (Spanish for ''BBC World'') is part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of 40 languages it provides. History BBC Mundo is the BBC's service for the Spanish-speaking world. It is part of BBC World Service. The w ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzolini, Silvio 1940 births 2020 deaths Argentine footballers Argentine Primera División players Boca Juniors footballers Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Italian descent 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players Argentina international footballers Argentine football managers All Boys managers Boca Juniors managers 1967 South American Championship players Association football defenders Deaths from cancer in Argentina