Miguel Ángel Rugilo (January 19, 1919 in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

– September 16, 1993 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine footballer who played for clubs of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

Career

Rugilo debuted in the first division in 1937, playing for Vélez Sársfield against River Plate at Estadio Monumental, where Vélez was beaten 3–0. Rugilo would last 5 matches, replacing Jaime Rotman, who was injured. By 1942 Rugilo consolidated as a titular goalkeeper, playing in the División de Ascenso (then

Primera B 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 ...

). In 1943 Vélez won the championship, promoting to Primera with Rugilo in the goal. A year later, he was sold to

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

of México, returning to Vélez in 1945. In 1945 the Argentina national team coach,

Guillermo Stábile Guillermo Stábile (17 January 1905 – 26 December 1966) was an Argentine professional football player and manager who played as a centre forward. At club level, Stábile won two national championships with Huracán and played in Italy and Fran ...

called Rugilo to play two matches in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, facing

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

.Interview to Rugilo in ''Siete Días Ilustrados'', 1972 Although Rugilo only played four matches for the Argentina national team, he gained recognition on May 9, 1951, when Argentina played against

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. Although Argentina was beaten 2–1, journalists praised his performance at the match, nicknaming him "El León de Wembley" ("The Lion of Wembley"), and he would be called that way until his death in 1993. Soon after his memorable performance at Wembley, Rugilo suffered a severe injury, breaking his leg. At the end of 1952, he left Vélez as a free player, being hired in 1953 by the Brazilian team

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

, returning then to Argentina to play for Tigre and later moving to O'Higgins of Chile. Rugilo retired in 1958 at 41.

In his own words

In 1972, Rugilo gave an interview to an Argentine magazine, where he detailed some anecdotes of his most famous match:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rugilo, Miguel Angel 1919 births 1993 deaths Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers Club Atlético Tigre footballers Argentine Primera División players Club León footballers Liga MX players O'Higgins F.C. footballers Chilean Primera División players SE Palmeiras players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Buenos Aires 20th-century Argentine sportsmen