The fact that you have been successful in a profession does not mean that you will always be tied to it. That’s what the story tells Osvaldo Santos, former American and Intercontinental champion archer with Boca Juniors.
Beyond having achieved great titles with Boca, the man born in Bahía Blanca on June 5, 1953 had an important career in local and international soccer. After his time in different clubs, he discovered a passion that he carries in his skin to this day, but first, do you remember the former footballer’s career on the pitch?
What was Osvaldo Santos’ football career like?
Osvaldo Santos made inferiors in the Ingenero White’s Huracán Club, coming from his hometown. After his formative time, the former goalkeeper reached the first team of “Globito” playing for Nacional in 1971. A year later he arrived in the south of the Capital to play in Club Atlético Lanúsa team where he played several seasons until making the leap to Europe.
In 1975 the Barcelona He laid his eyes on him and hired him as a promising archer. However he did not have success in the first team of the Catalan team so he played in Barcelona Atlético, subsidiary team of the first of Culé. In 1977 he was transferred to Real Valladolid for a year, but the club did not buy his pass. During the holidays of 1978, Santos traveled to Buenos Aires and did not like the idea of returning to Spain, even though he had known Johann Cruyff, Johan Mezger and Rinus Michelsthe coach of A Clockwork Orange in 1974. As luck would have it, Santos was loaned that year to one of the biggest teams in the country: Boca Juniors.
Santos arrived at Boca’s goal in 1978 and stayed until 1981. Throughout his stay at the Ribera club he played several games but was never considered an undisputed starter since he alternated the position with a historic Argentine soccer goalkeeper (Hugo Gatti) and Carlos “Pantera” Rodríguez.
However, the former goalkeeper played important games such as the first leg final with Borussia Mönchengladbach for the 1977 Intercontinental or the match with him Mineiro in the ’78 Copa Libertadores. These competitions were won by Boca Juniors, so Osvaldo Santos was a participant in some of the greatest sporting achievements in the club’s history.
In 1981, the former intercontinental champion was part of another notable milestone in the club’s history. The goalkeeper was one of the players who entered into the negotiation between Boca and Argentinos Juniors for the transfer of Diego Armando Maradonaa player with whom he later had a friendly relationship as well as his representative, William Coppola.
Mario Zanabria, Carlos Randazzo, Carlos Salinas, Eduardo Rotondi, Miguel Bordón and Osvaldo Santos They were the players who went from “Xeneize” to “Bichito”, but according to the former goalkeeper, they were not discarded players but rather were specially requested by the technical director of Argentinos at that time. Miguel Angel Lopez.
After a year in Argentinos, Santos went through Santa Fe Independent, Hurricane, racing and Lanus. In 1986, the former goalkeeper decided to hang up his gloves saving for “Granate”.
What happened to Osvaldo Santos’ life after retiring from football?
After his retirement in 1986 in Lanús, Osvaldo Santos dedicated himself fully to his passion: the cars. The former goalkeeper set up a company with two of his friends (one of them the father of the motorist Emanuel Moriatis) and a dealership was set up.
His second passion came from a younger age, when he was still playing soccer and imported vehicles began to arrive in the country. At the time he was cutting he bought a porsche and then he started buying cars from his favorite brand bmw (he has a tattoo with the logo of the German automaker).
However, Santos had other occupations besides the dealership: worked in Immigrations and in the Ministry of the Interior as immigration inspector at the Ezeiza Airport. According to Osvaldo, he did not continue to be involved in football because he did not believe he had the potential to be a technical director or leader. Furthermore, at that time the possibility of a car dealership had opened up, so he decided to immerse himself fully in another of his passions.
Today, Osvaldo Santos remains away from the courts and the world of work. Already retired, he is not doing any work.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
