Humberto de la Cruz Núñez Cubillas (3 May 1945 - 23 July 2004) was a former

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an football

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and manager.

Football career

''Nene'' Núñez came to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

through the

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

. He kept goal for Hércules for ten years, one of them loan to

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

. He helped Hércules win two promotions from the Third Division to

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Second to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. Núñez spent one season on loan at CD Málaga, where he was well known for his towering size and punched clearances. After his retirement as a player, he became the "house coach". He was placed on the lower grades,

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

, the second first-team coach, and was mainly devoted to training of first-team goalkeepers. On several occasions he was

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

first team. Humberto died after 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 ...

in his sleep while he was napping in his hotel room where the Hércules was preparing the pre-season in July 2004.Fallece en Alicante el ex portero paraguayo Humberto Núñez
In

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, he was considered a very dear person, having worked for the Hércules for 35 years and died while serving the club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Humberto 1945 births 2004 deaths Footballers from Asunción Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguayan football managers Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Club River Plate (Asunción) footballers Club Rubio Ñu footballers Club Sol de América footballers Club Olimpia footballers Hércules CF players CD Málaga footballers Hércules CF managers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Men's association football goalkeepers