Rafael Valek

Rafael Valek
Personal information
Full name Rafael Valek Moure
Date of birth (1932-12-18)18 December 1932
Place of birth Bogotá, Colombia
Date of death 17 June 2013(2013-06-17) (aged 80)
Place of death Pasto, Colombia
Playing position Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948 Santa Fe[1] 0 (0)
1948–1952 Millonarios[2] 19 (1)
1951 → Universidad Bogotá (loan)[3] 14 (7)
1953 Genoa
1955–1956 Oro
Celaya
1956–1957 Irapuato
1958 Cúcuta Deportivo
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Rafael Valek Moure (18 December 1932 – 17 June 2013) was a Colombian footballer who played professionally in the Colombian Professional Football League, Serie A and Mexican Primera División.

Club career

Born in Bogotá, Valek signed for Independiente Santa Fe as the club won the first Fútbol Profesional Colombiano title in 1948. He joined rivals Millonarios where he played mostly as a reserve from 1948 to 1952. He would win four more Colombian league titles with Millonarios.[4]

In 1953, Valek became the first Colombian to play professional football in Europe, although he signed as a Czechoslovak player through his parents' ancestry, with Italian Serie A side Genoa. Then, he would move to Mexico where he played for Oro, Celaya and Irapuato.[5] In 1958, he finished his playing career with Cúcuta Deportivo.[6]

Personal life

Valek died in Pasto, Colombia on 17 June 2013.[7] Valek was born in Bogota, Colombia on 18 December 1932. He was one of 9 children of Czech father Jan Válek and Colombian María Cristina Moure Bello. He was brother of Colombian Captain Vladimir Valek Moure, who died during the Korean War on the 22 May 1951.[8] While Valek, as the rest of his siblings, was born in Colombia, later in his life he reclaimed his Czech nationality. He was married three times and had 9 children. 6 live in Mexico, 2 live in Uruguay and 1 in Pasto. For unknown reasons and a supposedly jealousy incident by his wife in Mexico and some political comments he made, he was deported from Mexico and banned for life. He was never able to return and see his children which was the downfall of his professional career. He married a second time, under complex situations. After an argument with his second wife, on revenge, she had him deported again from Uruguay with no chance to see his two boys ever again. They grew estranged and separated. He missed his children to the last minute of his life and only reconciled with two of them from Mexico. His Uruguayan son remains uninterested to this day about his father's past.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Santa Fe statistics @ Golgolgol.net
  2. ↑ Millonarios statistics @ Golgolgol.net
  3. ↑ Universidad statistics @ Golgolgol.net
  4. ↑ "El 'Ballet Azul' llora la muerte de Rafael Valek" (in Spanish). Marca. 18 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Rosero Arteaga, Ramiro (17 June 2013). "Murió Rafael Valek Moure, primer colombiano que jugó en el exterior" (in Spanish). El Tiempo.
  6. ↑ "RAFAEL VALEK FUE PIONERO" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 6 September 1992.
  7. ↑ Rengifo, Hammer (18 June 2013). "Pasto despidió a Valek, primer campeón en Colombia" (in Spanish). Liga Postobon.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  9. ↑ http://www.eltiempo.com/deportes/futbol-colombiano/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12876738.html
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