Juan Ramón Verón (; (17 March 1944 – 27 May 2025) was an Argentine
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 ...
er. He played as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
or
forward most notably for
Estudiantes, where he won three consecutive
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 ...
titles. He was the father of former player
Juan Sebastián Verón.
Career
Estudiantes
Nicknamed ''La Bruja'' (),
Verón was born in
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
. He was capable of playing both as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
and as a
striker, and was renowned for his technical skills, ability with the ball at his feet and his goal-scoring prowess. He played for
Estudiantes de La Plata
( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...
, who were a dominant force in Argentine football during the late 1960s.
Among the memorable goals he scored are his "
bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...
" goal against
Racing Club, his header in the
Intercontinental Cup championship against
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and, most famously, his glorious
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
against Brazil's
Palmeiras in the finals of the
1968 Copa Libertadores.
Later years
Known as one of Estudiantes' all-time great players, he moved on to play for
Panathinaikos of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Greece in 1972. After a successful seasons he returned to his beloved Estudiantes in 1975.
In 1976, he moved to Colombia where he played for
Atlético Junior
Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, capital of the department of Atlantic ...
where he helped the team to win the 1977 Colombian title and then
Cúcuta Deportivo before returning to his home club in 1980.
After retirement
After retiring, he had a brief career as coach in Central America and worked as a special advisor for Estudiantes.
Personal life
His son
Juan Sebastián Verón, nicknamed ''La Brujita'' (The Little Witch), is also a footballer who played for Estudiantes before moving to European football. In 2006, he returned to Estudiantes, captaining them to their first title in 23 years in the
Apertura 2006 tournament and then came out of retirement to play for Estudiantes once again in 2017.
[La Brujita nació en un clásico](_blank)
Juan Ramón died on 27 May 2025, at the age of 81.
Honours
Estudiantes
*
Primera División Argentina:
Metropolitano 1967
*
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 ...
:
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
,
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
,
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
*
Intercontinental Cup:
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
*
Copa Interamericana
The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...
:
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
Atlético Junior
*
Colombian League: 1977
References
External links
*
*
*
Veron playing for Argentina national team*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veron, Juan Ramon
1944 births
2025 deaths
20th-century Argentine sportsmen
Argentine men's footballers
Footballers from La Plata
Men's association football forwards
Men's association football midfielders
Argentina men's international footballers
Estudiantes de La Plata footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Super League Greece players
Panathinaikos F.C. players
Atlético Junior footballers
Cúcuta Deportivo footballers
Copa Libertadores–winning players
Argentine football managers
Guatemala national football team managers
Comunicaciones F.C. managers
Atlético Junior managers
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Argentine expatriate football managers
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Colombia
Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Guatemala
Expatriate football managers in Guatemala
Verón–Verde family