Francisco Varallo

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Francisco Antonio Varallo (Template:IPA; Template:Nowrap – Template:Nowrap) was an Argentine footballer who played as a forward for the Argentina national team from 1930 to 1937, also representing the country at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930.

During his career, Varallo won four Primera División titles (one with Gimnasia y Esgrima LP and three with Boca Juniors) and with 194 goals in 222 official matches, is Boca Juniors' 3rd. highest all-time leading goalscorer.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=loscinco/><ref>Francisco Varallo biography on Historia de Boca</ref> Besides, Varallo is placed 11th. among the all-time Argentine Primera División top scorers with 216 goals.<ref>Francisco Antonio Varallo – Goals in Argentina League</ref>

Varallo died in his home-town of La Plata on Template:Nowrap, aged 100. He was the last surviving player from the 1930 World Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Club career

Early years

Varallo was born in Los Hornos, a district of La Plata Partido in Buenos Aires Province, on 5 February 1910. He made his debut aged 14, and early in his career gained the nickname cañoncito (in English: "little cannon") for his shooting ability.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100" />

Aged 18, Varallo had a trial with Estudiantes de La Plata, scoring eleven goals in three games for the club. However, the board of the club where Varallo was a youth team player were supporters of Estudiantes' town rivals Gimnasia y Esgrima, and therefore denied him the opportunity to join Estudiantes. Varallo ultimately joined Gimnasia, making his debut for the club's reserve side, before making his debut for the first team in 1929.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100" /> During his first season with Gimnasia, Varallo won the Primera División championship with the club after beating Boca Juniors by 2–1 in the final.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1930, the forward was loaned for free by Gimnasia to Vélez Sársfield to play for the team during their Pan-American tour.<ref name=velez>Template:Cite web</ref> He totaled 17 goals during the tour.<ref name=velez/><ref name=veleztour/><ref>1930. Varallo y Bernabé juntos en la gira de Vélez, El Grafico, 10 April 2018</ref>

Boca Juniors

File:Varallo vs sanlorenzo.jpg

Varallo in action v San Lorenzo, c. 1935

Varallo moved to Boca Juniors for the start of the 1931 season (the first professional season in Argentina)<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" /> for a fee of approximately $8000.<ref name="Varallo, el goleador del siglo (Spanish)">Template:Cite web</ref>

He continued to play for the club for the next nine years during which time he won the Primera División title three times, in 1931, 1934 and 1935, as well as coming runner up in 1933, when he was the top goalscorer in the league and of South America scoring 34 goals.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100" />

In his nine years at Boca Juniors he became the club's 2nd. top goal-scorer (after Roberto Cherro, although both would be surpassed by Martín Palermo in 2010),<ref>Boca goleó y Palermo superó el récord de Cherro, La Nueva, 12 April 2010</ref> with 194 goals in 222 games (scoring average 0.87 per game),<ref name=loscinco>"Los 5 jugadores que más goles marcaron en partidos oficiales" on Historia de Boca website</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Martín Palermo.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" />

During the 1930s Varallo formed strong partnerships with teammates Roberto Cherro and Delfín Benítez Cáceres, who both also scored over 100 goals for the club. In 1938, he was only able to play one game because of a bad knee injury and, although he played more frequently the next year, was forced to retire in 1940, aged 30.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" />

International career

File:Varallo (Selección Argentina) - El Gráfico 755.jpg

Varallo with the Argentina national team on a cover of El Gráfico magazine in 1933

Varallo represented Argentina at the inaugural World Cup in 1930, held in Uruguay, where he was the youngest player.<ref name="Xinhua" /> He played in all three of the team's group games; scoring one goal in the match against Mexico, but missed the semi-final against the United States due to injury.Template:Citation needed However, he was fit to play in the World Cup final against Uruguay and started at inside right forward.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" /> Argentina were leading 2–1 at half time, but eventually lost to the hosts 4–2.

Varallo was also a member of the Argentine team that won the South American Championship in 1937. He scored three goals during the tournament, including a brace in the 2–1 win over Chile.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100"/>

International goals

Argentina's goal tally first

No.	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Competition
1	25 May 1930	Template:Fb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Estadio Gasómetro	1930 Copa Newton
2	19 July 1930	Template:Fb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Estadio Centenario	1930 FIFA World Cup
3	14 December 1933	Template:Fb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Estadio Centenario	Friendly
4	30 December 1936	Template:Fb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Estadio Gasómetro	1937 South American Championship
4	23 January 1937	Template:Fb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Estadio Gasómetro	1937 South American Championship

After retirement

Varallo retired from football in 1940, due to injury problems.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" /> Then he was coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima between 1957 and 1959. Varallo's career was recognised in 1994, when he was awarded with the FIFA Order of Merit for his contributions to football.<ref name="Guardian-Obituary" /> He has also received honours from the Argentine Football Association and the South American Football Confederation.<ref name="Xinhua">Template:Cite web</ref>

In his late 90s Varallo had joked that he would have to come out of retirement should Martín Palermo overtake his record of 181 professional goals for Boca.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100" />

He marked his 100th birthday in February 2010 in his hometown near Buenos Aires by recalling the 1930 clash between his country and neighbouring Uruguay. In an interview he gave to FIFA to mark his birthday, he stated that losing in the final to Uruguay was his 'greatest disappointment'.<ref name="Last surviving player from first World Cup final dies">Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Template:Wikinews Varallo died on 30 August 2010, in his hometown of La Plata aged 100.<ref name="Football glory Francisco Varallo dies at age 100" /> Leading tributes to the former player, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that "The news that Francisco Varallo is no longer with us fills us with great sense of loss, both for his qualities as a person and an ambassador for our beloved sport ... In these grief-filled moments I can take immense pride from the fact that a character such as Francisco Varallo, whom we shall never forget, represented the football family with such dignity".<ref name="An idol bids final farewell">Template:Cite web</ref> The president of the South American Football Confederation Nicolás Léoz also released a statement expressing sadness at Varallo's death.<ref name="En memoria de un pionero de nuestra grandeza">Template:Cite web</ref>

Following his death, both of his former clubs, Gimnasia and Boca announced a day of mourning, while the South American Football Confederation announced that a minute's silence was to be held during all Copa Sudamericana fixtures the following week.<ref name="Profundo dolor por el fallecimiento de Varallo">Template:Cite web</ref>

Honours

Club

Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)

• Primera División (1): 1929

Boca Juniors

• Primera División (3): 1931, 1934, 1935

International

Argentina

• Copa América (1): 1937
• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1930

Individual

• Primera División top scorer (1): 1933
• Golden Foot (1): 2010, as a football legend<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Records

• Boca Juniors 3rd. highest all-time goalscorer: 194 goals <ref name="FIFA" />
• Argentine Primera División 4th. all-time topscorer (236 goals) <ref>El debut de Varallo con la azul y oro by Luciana López on Vavel, 31 May 2020</ref><ref>Varallo, Antonio F. on GELP</ref>
• FIFA Order of Merit 1994 <ref name="FIFA">Template:Cite web</ref>
• CONMEBOL Order of Merit 2006 <ref name="FIFA" />
• The last surviving player from the 1930 World Cup <ref name="Guardian-Obituary" />

See also

• List of centenarians (sportspeople)

External links

• Template:FIFA player
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