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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 (), nicknamed ''La Albirroja,'' represents Paraguay in men's international Association football, football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fút ...

in the early 1930s, he gained the attention of

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

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 assoc ...

(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 Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

; he scored three goals for Paraguay. Later, he appeared once for the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team (), nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' (), represents Argentina in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino ( ...

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 (association football), football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their ...

to a

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n national championship in 1955. He also managed Sporting de Barranquilla, Boca Juniors de Cali and Millonarios. He also coached several

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n football teams. He is the father of the footballer Delfín Edmundo Benítez.

References

External links

Stats in Boca Juniors
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benitez Caceres, Delfin 1910 births 1930 FIFA World Cup players 2004 deaths Footballers from Asunción Paraguayan men's footballers Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Paraguayan emigrants to Argentina Club Libertad footballers Boca Juniors footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Paraguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Men's association football forwards Paraguayan football managers Dual internationalists (men's 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 expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela 20th-century Argentine sportsmen Categoría Primera A managers