Teófilo Cubillas

Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga (born 8 March 1949) is a Peruvian former footballer. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50.^[1] He is one of only two players to have scored five goals in two different FIFA World Cups; the other is Germany's Miroslav Klose.

Nicknamed El Nene (The Kid), he was part of the Peru national team that won the 1975 Copa América.^[2] He helped Peru reach the quarter finals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup^[3] and again at the 1978 World Cup^[4] and was elected the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972.

Cubillas was a midfielder of excellent technical ability, with a powerful shot and great dribbling. He was a prolific goalscorer (with 515 goals in his career), and his 10 World Cup goals place him in seventh place in the ranking of the World Cup all-time scorers, and is the most by any midfielder in the World Cup. He is the all-time leading scorer for his country, with 26 goals in 81 matches.In 2004 Pelé selected Cubillas as one of the FIFA 100, a list of 125 footballing greats.^[5] In February 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Brazilian World Cup victory, he was selected in the All-Star First Team of South America of the past 50 years.^[6]

Club career

Nicknamed "Nene" (the babe) for his boyish looks, Cubillas was born near Puente Piedra, Lima. His career began with Peruvian club Alianza Lima at the age of 16. Whilst at Alianza he was top scorer in the Peruvian Primera División in 1966 and 1970.^[7]

In 1972, he had his most successful season in several years. He was Libertadores Cup top scorer and South American Footballer of the Year.^[8] During his first stint at Alianza, he scored 116 goals in 175 games between 1966 and 1972.

On 27 August 1973, All-Star teams from the American and European continents played against each other in Barcelona, Spain. Soccer greats such as Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Rivelino, and Cubillas participated in that game. The game finished 4-4, and in Penalty kicks, America won 7-6. By then, he was considered one of greatest soccer stars in the world at that time.

After a successful career in Peru he left his homeland to play for Swiss football club FC Basel, for whom he scored two goals in the 1973–74 European Cup.^[9] Later on in the 1973-74 season he moved to Portuguese club FC Porto for a fee of £200,000,^[10] where he scored 65 goals in 108 games, but trophies still evaded him.

Cubillas returned to Peru in the 1977-78 season for a second stint with his beloved Alianza Lima, where he won two Peruvian league titles and scored 42 goals in 56 appearances. His European and international experience had shaped him into an amazing player.

In 1979, Cubillas followed the leads of many of the great players of the time like Pelé, Johan Cruyff, George Best, and Franz Beckenbauer by joining the NASL — the United States' rapidly rising soccer league. Nene signed for George Best's Fort Lauderdale Strikers, where he spent five seasons, scoring 65 goals in 141 games and notably scoring three goals in seven minutes against the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981.^[11] At this point, Cubillas' best days were behind him, he joined the Fort Lauderdale Sun of the U.S. second division United Soccer League (USL).

He made a return from retirement to play for Alianza Lima after its entire team died in an aircraft crash in the ocean near Ventanilla, Callao, Peru, on 8 December 1987, the worst tragedy in the history of Peruvian football. Cubillas scored three goals in 13 matches. But the comeback was really only to give hope to the fans and respect to the fallen players of the team he loved.

In May 1987, Cubillas signed with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the American Soccer League.^[12] The Strikers went to the ASL title game where they fell to the Washington Diplomats.^[13] Following the loss to the Diplomats, the Strikers released Cubillas.^[14] In March 1989, he signed with the Miami Sharks but was released on July 3 after scoring only one goal in eight games.^[15] He continued to play at the amateur level with Miramar Ilusiones of the Gold Coast League.^[16] He eventually settled in Coral Springs, Florida, where he lives to this day teaching football to the children at his academy with his sons (both former professional players).

International career

Cubillas played in two World Cups eight years apart and scored five goals in each, something that had never been achieved before, making him one of the most prolific scorers in World Cup history. Also, he is considered one of the greatest World Cup players of the 1970s.^[17]

1970 World Cup: Quarter Finals

Cubillas was only 20 when he made his World Cup debut at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Not only did he fulfil all the fans' expectations, he became a household name after the tournament. He was considered no less a star than Jairzinho, Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer and Gianni Rivera. Some even compared him to a youthful Pelé.

Cubillas helped Peru advance to the quarter-finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He scored in all of Peru's four matches: once against Bulgaria, twice against Morocco, and once against West Germany, all in the first round. Cubillas then scored another goal in the quarter-final loss against eventual champions Brazil, and he thus finished as the third highest goal scorer in the tournament.^[3]

He had picked up the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award, Bronze boot award (he finished behind Jairzinho and Gerd Müller — impressive considering he played two less games), made the World Cup All-star team, and far exceeded the expectations of a humble football nation. After the World Cup, Pelé himself named Cubillas his "successor".

1975 Copa America: Champion

Peru did not qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, but a year later, Cubillas helped the Peruvian team win its second South American title, the Copa América 1975. Cubillas scored against Brazil in the semi-final, and then played in the play-off match in the final.^[2]

1978 World Cup: Quarter Finals

In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, he scored five goals for the Peruvian national team, finishing joint second highest goal scorer after Mario Kempes. Peru advanced to the second phase of the tournament thanks to goals from Cubillas: he scored two goals in the opening match against Scotland (one of which was an excellent free-kick),^[18] and he then scored a hat-trick in the game against Iran, including two penalties. However, just like in Mexico, Peru failed to win against stronger opponents and this time they lost to Brazil, Poland, and Argentina, although Cubillas played in all six Peruvian matches in the tournament.^[4]

1982 World Cup: First Round

He was also in the Peruvian squad for 1982 FIFA World Cup, there were high expectations for Peru as a dark horse favorite to win the cup with a team that included such notable players as César Cueto, José Velásquez, Julio César Uribe, and Cubillas. However, Peru were knocked out in the first round, after draws against both Cameroon (0-0) and Italy (1-1) and a loss against Poland (1-5). Months later, Cubillas retired from the Peru national team.

Honors

Club

Alianza Lima

• Peruvian League
  • Winner (2): 1977, 1978
  • Runner Up (1): 1971
• Metropolitan Championship
  • Winner (1): 1978

Basel

• Swiss League Cup
  • Winner (1): 1973

Porto

• Portuguese Liga
  • Runner Up (1): 1975

FL Strikers

• North American Soccer League
  • Runner Up (1): 1981

South Florida Sun

• United Soccer League
  • Winner (1): 1985

National team

• Copa America
  • Winner (1):1975

Individual

• 1966 Peruvian Championship: Top Scorer^[7]
• 1970 Peruvian Championship: Top Scorer ^[7]
• 1970 FIFA World Cup: Best Young Player
• 1970 FIFA World Cup: All-Star Team (Player)
• 1970 World Cup Bronze Boot
• 1972 Libertadores Cup: Top Scorer
• 1972 South American Footballer of the Year
• 1973 CONMEBOL All-Star Team ^[19]
• 1975 Copa America: Best Player
• 1978 FIFA World Cup: Silver Boot
• 1978 FIFA World Cup: All-Star Team (Player)
• 1980 NASL All-Star teams, all-time ^[20]
• 1981 NASL: Best Midfield
• 1981 NASL All-Star teams, all-time ^[20]
• 1984 Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Top Scorer, all time.^[21]
• 2000 France Football: World Cup Top-100 1930-1990 ^[22]
• 2000 World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time ^[23]
• 2000 Placar: The 100 Players of the Century ^[24]
• 2000 Placar: The 100 Players FIFA World Cup^[25]
• 2004 FIFA 100
• 2006 IFFHS' Best Players of the Century for Peru ^[1]
• 2006 World - Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 48^[1]World - Player of the Century Retrieved on January 3, 2009</ref>
• 2006 South American - Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 17 ^[26]
• 2007 The Best of The Best - Player of the Century: Top 50^[27]
• 2008 CONMEBOL All-Star first team 1958-2008 ^[28]
• 2008 Peru National Team all-time scoring leader

Records

• Cubillas played in 13 World Cup matches for Peru.
• 7th place in the all-time World Cup goalscoring list. (10 goals)
• He was the first player in World Cup history to score at least 5 goals in each of 2 World Cups (1970, 1978). Miroslav Klose of Germany is the only other player to have achieved the feat (2002, 2006).
• On the international level, he is the all-time highest scorer for Peru's national team, with 45 goals in 117 national team matches.
• Younger Scorer of the Peruvian League all-time (17 years, 7 months), in 1966 (19 goals, 23 matches).
• 16th place in the NASL all time players points table, with 179 points, 5 seasons, 120 matches, and 59 goals

Statistics

Career statistics

Competition statistics

• Primera División : 469 appearances 268 goals
• Portuguese Cup : 13 appearances 10 goals
• Swiss Cup : 2 appearances 2 goals
• Copa Libertadores : 16 appearances 13 goal
• UEFA Champions League : 2 appearances 2 goals
• UEFA Cup : 10 appearances 7 goals
• FIFA World Cup : 13 appearances 10 goals
• Copa America : 5 appearances 2 goals

International goals

General statistics

• The information includes official and friendly games.

References

External links

• CubillasInc.com and Nene Cubillas Camp Futbol - Official Website