Roque Máspoli


Roque Gastón Máspoli Arbelvide was an Uruguayan football player and coach. He was the goalkeeper for the Uruguay national team that won the 1950 World Cup. He was also the head coach for the Uruguayan team that won the 1980 Mundialito.

Career

Born in Montevideo, into a Ticinese family originally from Caslano, Maspoli began playing in the youth ranks of Club Nacional de Football. He would make his Uruguayan Primera División debut with Liverpool de Montevideo in 1939.
After one season with Liverpool, he joined C.A. Peñarol. He would spend the rest of his playing career with Peñarol, winning six Primera titles with the club.
In the final match of the 1950 World Cup, known as the "Maracanazo" due to Uruguay's surprising win at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, in front of near 200,000 Brazilian fans, Máspoli allowed one goal as the visitors beat favorites Brazil 2–1.
Máspoli also coached Uruguayan club Peñarol, with which he won five national championships, the Copa Libertadores and the 1966 Intercontinental Cup, when the team beat Real Madrid 4–0 on aggregate. Later, he managed teams in Spain, Peru and Ecuador.
In the 1980s, Máspoli spent several years coaching the Uruguay national team. He took charge again in 1997, becoming the oldest ever manager of any national football team at the age of 80.
Roque Máspoli was hospitalized on 10 February 2004 with heart trouble. He died twelve days later at the age of 86. His remains are buried at Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo.

Honours

As a player

Club

Nacional
Peñarol
Uruguay

Club

Peñarol
Defensor Lima
Barcelona SC
Uruguay