Lázaro Darcourt Martínez, sometimes spelled as Lázaro Dalcourt (born 25 April 1971) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Club career

Nicknamed ''el Pindi'', Darcourt played his entire career for local side

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''. History Pinar del Río was ...

, except for half a season in Germany with

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its women's football department won the List of German women's football champio ...

, when then Cuban leader

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

approved for the whole Cuban team to join the German 4th level side for part of the 1998/99 season. He also had a one month-trial with

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...

along with compatriot

Osmín Hernández Osmín Hernández Hernández (born 15 July 1972) is a Cuban retired footballer. Club career Hernández played his entire career for local side Pinar del Río, except for half a season in Germany with Bonner SC, when then Cuban leader Fidel Cast ...

in 1998, only for a Cuban official to prevent him to sign professional terms. Born in Candelaria, then in

Pinar del Río Province The Pinar del Río Province is one of the 15 provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. The capital and largest city is Pinar del Río (191,081 pop. in 2022). Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost p ...

, he won 5 Cuban league titles and was voted Cuban footballer of the year in 1991, 1992 and 1995.Diálogo con una estrella que dice adiós
- Artemisa Diario

International career

One of the leading players of the Cuban team during the 1990s, he made his international debut for

in 1995 and has earned a total of 73 caps, scoring 21 goals. He represented his country in 15

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches (6 goals) and played at 3

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

final tournaments. His final international was a July

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one country, with ga ...

match 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 ...

, quitting international football due to a persistent knee injury.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Cuba's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Pinar del Río Province Sportspeople from Artemisa Province Men's association football midfielders Cuban men's footballers Cuba men's international footballers 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players FC Pinar del Río players Bonner SC players Cuban expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Germany {{Cuba-footy-bio-stub