He trained in River, went to the Malvinas War and now makes a living as a real estate agent

The Malvinas war conflict in 1982 is an event that continues to be a wound in the hearts of Argentines. What happened on the islands has endless stories and some of them are linked to football. There are even several former players who have said they were present in the war as Omar of Felipe, Juan Colombo, Claudio Petruzzi, among others. However, today we will talk about Gustavo de Lucaa former striker who knew how to wear the shirt of River Plate.

The former player had the good fortune to be born in Buenos Aires on February 13, 1962. Since he was young, De Luca’s plans were linked to the world of football. Although what happened in the Malvinas temporarily cut his dream short, the scorer was able to play in local clubs as well as stand out in international football, more precisely in Chile.

What was Gustavo De Luca’s football career like?

“Pelado” was formed in the lower ranks of River Plate. In the “Millonario” quarry, Gustavo was lucky to share a team with players like Sergio Goycochea, Nestor “Pipo” Gorosito and Daniel “Chino” Tapia. On April 2, 1982, the player who was in the reserve of “La Banda” received the call to duty with his country. Days later he had to live a nightmare for two months: the war in the Malvinas.

“We thought that everything was going to be resolved very quickly and peacefully. But it all started with the sinking of General Belgrano… there was a lack of food, winter clothing and we had nothing to protect ourselves with. We also lacked weapons. “We couldn’t compare ourselves with England,” commented the former player in an interview for Infobae.

In turn, the player who was a River player at that time said that the war was terrible for everyone since they were only doing military service, but they were not career soldiers. According to De Luca, all the soldiers had other dreams to fulfill and many could not get it because of what happened on the islands.

In the middle of a battle, Gustavo suffered a gunshot wound near his waist, in addition to some injuries caused by shrapnel from a bomb that had been detonated near his position.

After what was the terrible experience in the war, he decided to continue with his life and his career as a soccer player. According to De Luca, football saved him from being imprisoned of the terrible memories that the conflict left him. While other combatants were never able to heal, the ball helped the former scorer not to fall into depression and even suicide, as he did with other ex-combatants.

Once he returned to River, Gustavo suffered an injury to his knee that led him to have surgery. That is why, more than he carried the stigma of being a former combatant, the Núñez club let him free, taking away his chance to debut in the first team.

After the “Millonario” had not given him a chance, starting in 1983 the forward brought his goals to Argentine promotion. Nueva Chicago, All Boys, Climbing Remedies Workshops and Douglas Haig They were the clubs that opened the doors to Pelado in Argentina, regardless of his experience as a soldier on the islands.

In 1987, the former soccer player went to the second division of Chile, a country where he had his greatest moments. He set out on his way Santiago Wanderers and a single tournament was enough for De Luca to be the competition’s top scorer with 16 goals. Then in 1988 he had a small step in Copperola and then play Sports La Serenawhere he once again became the top scorer but this time in the first category.

De Luca’s good performances led him to visit Switzerland to compete on loan in Baden, but it was a fleeting step. A few months later, the former goalscorer found himself in Chile again to play in O’Higgins.

Already in 1992, the Argentine was loaned to Colo Colo where he knew the feeling of winning a title in professional football, since he became champion of the Recopasudamericana of said year. After winning the championship with one of the greats of Chilean soccer, the player returned to O’Higgins in 1993.

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Between 1994 and 1996, Gustavo wore the shirts of Lima Alliance (Peru) and other Chilean teams such as Atacama Regional, Sports Temuco, Santiago Wanderers and Everton. The knee injury that he had suffered since he was young forced De Luca to hang up his boots at the age of 34 when he might have had some goals left to score.

“They told me that I was going to play between 10 and 12 years as a professional, but it was 14 until the time of retirement. It was not a decision for football or anything in particular, just as a result of the injury,” he commented in the interview with Infobae.

What happened to Gustavo De Luca’s life after his retirement from football?

After having to hang up his boots due to his injury, Gustavo had the same idea that many footballers have when it comes to retirement: to remain linked to football. Because of that, De Luca lived one more year in Chile, had surgery and returned to Argentina to take the technical director course, a study that took him two years.

However, the former player commented that things were settling in another direction, which is why the field changed drastically. From then until now, Gustavo de Luca has dedicated himself to being a real estate agent due to the investments he was able to make with properties in the country. “The truth is that I should have returned to Chile because I am better known there than here for directing, but I did not want to move from my country of origin,” reflected the former player.

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Gustavo De Luca’s story is a reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the importance of pursuing your dreams with courage and determination. Just as he did in Malvinas, the former River youth player highlights a great ability to overcome adversity and reinvent himself; His testimony is a great inspiration for resilience and perseverance.