José María Buruca, also known as José Buruca Laforia (

Atalaya Atalaya (Spanish for watchtower) may refer to: Places Spain * Atalaya, Badajoz, a municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura * Atalaya (Madrid), a ward in Madrid * Atalaya del Cañavate, a municipality in the province of Cuenca, Castile- ...

, Spain, 16 May 1884 - Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 Jun 1957) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

association football goalkeeper. Nicknamed ''El Vasco'', Buruca Laforia is considered the first great goalkeeper of Argentina."Manos mágicas"
by Pedro Uzquiza, ''Clarín'', 13 Jan 2001

Career

Although Buruca was short height to play as goalkeeper, his intuition made him to be just in time under the goal. His playing style (usually getting away from the goal area) made Alumni's captain Jorge Brown told him off several times. He is considered a predecessor of other goalkeepers such as Ubaldo Fillol or

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

. Buruca started his career playing for Central Athletic Club, then moving to Barracas A.C. where he stayed until 1904. That same year he was the goalkeeper in the first international match played by an Argentine side v. a British team, Southampton in Buenos Aires. In 1905 he moved to Alumni, along with forward

Carlos Lett Carlos Arturo Lett (November 4, 1885 - March 8, 1956) was an Argentine footballer who played as forward. Lett played most of his career in Alumni (where he won 16 titles) and the Argentina national team. Biography Lett joined Alumni in 1905 alo ...

.''Alumni, Cuna de Campeones y Escuela de Hidalguía'' by Ernesto Escobar Bavio - published by Editorial Difusión, Buenos Aires, 1953 Buruca won 3

Primera División 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, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

championships among other titles. In 1909 Buruca moved to Independiente where he played until 1911, then playing for Argentino de Quilmes and Racing Club de Avellaneda.''Historia en Rojo y Negro'' by Carlos Durhand; Javier Parent - Ediciones La Capital, 2010 After his father died, Buruca decided to quit from football. Buruca was the first goalkeeper to play for the Argentina national team in an official match, playing v. Uruguay in Montevideo on July 20, 1902. Buruca only played four times for Argentina, being his last match on August 15, 1907 vs. Uruguay for the Copa Lipton. He was injured at 60' and replaced by forward Alfredo Brown who had to switch to goalkeeper because substitutions were not allowed by then. His goal remained unbeaten, setting a record."Information on world records and short biographies of the record holders (1901-1910)"
IFFHS (Archive, 7 Feb 2012)

Honours

; Alumni *

(3):

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

* Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires (2): 1905, 1906 * Copa de Competencia Jockey Club (2): 1907, 1908 * Tie Cup (6): 1906, 1907 * Copa de Honor Cousenier (1): 1906

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buruca Laforia, Jose 1884 births 1957 deaths Argentine footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Argentina men's international footballers Argentine Primera División players Alumni Athletic Club players Club Atlético Independiente footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Footballers from Buenos Aires Spanish emigrants to Argentina