Armando Javier Dely Valdés (5 January 1964 – 17 August 2004) was a Panamanian footballer who played as a forward. He was the elder brother of the twins Julio Dely Valdés and Jorge Dely Valdés.

Club career

He started his playing career with Técnica y Deportes in Panama. In 1983, he was signed by

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

and went on to win a number of major titles with the club. They were back-to-back league champions in the Metropolitano 1984 and the Nacional 1985. They went on to win the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and the 1985 Copa Interamericana, and played in the Copa Intercontinental against Juventus of Italy.Pele Dely, un colonense que reinó en Argentina
- Somos Lasele Nicknamed ''Pelé'', Dely Valdés left Argentinos Juniors for another Argentine team, Instituto de Córdoba. He went on to play for San Martín de Tucumán in Argentina, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Tel Aviv in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

International career

Dely Valdés represented his country in 4 FIFA World Cup qualification matches His final international was a December 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup match against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Retirement and death

After retiring as a player he worked as the assistant manager of the Panama national team between 1996 and 2001 and became the coach of the Panama Under-20 team in 2001. He also managed Plaza Amador and Árabe Unido. On May 29, 2001, Daly Valdés suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

which left him in a coma from which he never recovered. He was left in a permanent vegetative state in which he suffered

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

and lung infections amongst other complications. He died in the Manuel Amador Guerrero Hospital in Colón in 2004."Murió Armando Dely Valdéz, jugador de Argentinos Jrs., hermano mayor de Julio César y Jorge Dely Valdéz"
- ''Mediotiempo'' After his death, the

Panamanian Football Federation The Panamanian Football Federation (), known as FEPAFUT, is the official governing body of football in Panama and is in charge of the Panama national football team. FEPAFUT was a founding member of CONCACAF in 1961. Association staff See a ...

renamed the Árabe Unido football stadium to Estadio Armando Dely Valdés.

Honours

Argentinos Juniors * Primera División Argentina: 1984,

* Copa Interamericana:

References

External links

*
''Clarín'' obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dely Valdes, Armando 1964 births 2004 deaths Footballers from Colón, Panama Men's association football forwards Panamanian men's footballers 20th-century Panamanian sportsmen Panama men's international footballers C.D. Árabe Unido players Argentinos Juniors footballers Copa Libertadores–winning players Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba footballers San Martín de Tucumán footballers Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Beitar Tel Aviv F.C. players Peñarol players Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo) players C.D. Plaza Amador players Panamanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Argentine Primera División players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players