Legendary goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol, a leading figure in Argentina's 1978 World Cup triumph on home soil, has been robbed of the gold medal he won in the Albiceleste's successful campaign.
Fillol, who is considered to be one of the nation’s best keepers in history, fell victim to a house robbery after having his car keys stolen while having dinner at the restaurant in Floresta, Buenos Aires.
Upon leaving the eating establishment, the 73-year-old icon discovered that his papers and house keys were missing. When he returned home, he found his flat ransacked and a number of personal items had been stolen, including his gold medal from Argentina’s 1978 triumph – the most precious piece of memorabilia from his entire career.
Police investigating the crime found that the flat had not been broken into and have opened an investigation into the burglary.
"I feel tremendous pain, I feel exposed in the face of the growing insecurity we are facing. They also took replicas of the jersey from the final against the Netherlands, but what hurts me most are the medals," Fillol told the Todo Noticias news channel.
Regarding the ongoing investigation into the crime, the former goalkeeper said that the thief could be identified and explained that "you can see a person in the video.”
“They managed to get my address from inside the car,” he explained.
Fillol, who is commonly known as ‘El Pato,’ came up through the ranks at Quilmes, but excelled mainly with River Plate. He also played for Racing, Argentinos Juniors, Flamengo (Brazil), Atlético de Madrid (Spain) and Vélez Sarsfield, where he retired in 1990 at the age of 40.
The shot-stopper played 21 seasons in the top flight and made a record 26 penalty saves throughout his career.
– TIMES/AFP
Comments