Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈofilo kuˈβiʎas]; born 8 March 1949) is a Peruvian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. 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 was renowned for his technique, shooting ability and free kick ability.[2]
.png) Cubillas with the Peru national football team | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1949 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lima, Lima Province, Peru | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Alianza Lima | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1966–1972 | Alianza Lima | 175 | (117) | ||||||||||||||
| 1973 | Basel | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1974–1977 | Porto | 85 | (48) | ||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Alianza Lima | 47 | (35) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1983 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 139 | (65) | ||||||||||||||
| 1983 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers (indoor) | 9 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Alianza Lima | 4 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | South Florida Sun | 7 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Alianza Lima | 13 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 12 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989 | Miami Sharks | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 506 | (297) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1982 | Peru | 81 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Alianza Lima | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Nicknamed El Nene (The Kid), he was part of the Peru national team that won the 1975 Copa América.[3] He helped Peru reach the quarter finals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup[4] and again at the 1978 World Cup[5] and was elected the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972.
In 2004, Pelé selected Cubillas as one of the FIFA 100, a list of 125 footballing greats.[6] 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.[7] Cubillas is one of only three players to score five or more goals in two different World Cups, the other two being Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller.[8]
Club career
editNicknamed "Nene" (the kid) for his boyish looks, Cubillas began his career with Alianza Lima at the age of 16 in 1966.[9] Whilst at Alianza he was top scorer in the Peruvian Primera División in 1966 and 1970.[10]
In 1972, he had his most successful season in several years. He was Libertadores Cup top scorer and South American Footballer of the Year.[11]
In the summer of 1973, Cubillas transferred to Swiss football club FC Basel under head coach Helmut Benthaus. The Basler entrepreneur and transport company owner Ruedi Reisdorfer paid the transfer fee of £97,000.[12][13] After playing in four Cup of the Alps games, Cubillas played his domestic league debut for his new club on 18 August in the away game against Chênois. He scored his first goal for the club in the same game as Basel won 1–0.[14] Cubillas scored two goals for Basel in the 1973–74 European Cup, the first of which in the 1st leg against Fram on 19 September 1973 and the second in the return leg on 20 September.[15] He only remained at the club for six months, which was not long enough for him to show the extent of his talent. In these six months Cubillas played a total of 21 games for Basel scoring a total of eight goals.10 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, two in the Swiss Cup, four in the European Cup, four in the Cup of the Alps and one was a friendly game. He scored three goals in the league, two in the domestic cup, two in the European Cup and the other one was scored in the Cup of the Alps.[16]
Later on, for the second half of the 1973–74 season he joined Portuguese club FC Porto for a fee of £200,000.[13] In 1977, he returned to Alianza Lima.[16]
In 1979, Cubillas joined the NASL, signing for Fort Lauderdale Strikers, where he spent five seasons, scoring 59 league goals, including three goals in seven minutes against the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981.[17]
Following the December 1987 Alianza Lima air crash Cubillas returned from his Miami home to play for free for Alianza, who lost most of their players in the crash.[18] He also managed the club for a period in 1988.[19]
In May 1988 Cubillas signed with the newly resurrected Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the American Soccer League.[20] The Strikers went to the ASL title game where they fell to the Washington Diplomats.[21] Following the loss to the Diplomats, the Strikers released Cubillas.[22]
In March 1989, he signed with the Miami Sharks but was released on 3 July after scoring only one goal in eight games.[23] As of June 1991 he was playing and coaching at Miramar Illusiones of the Gold Coast Soccer League in Florida.[24]
International career
editCubillas played in three World Cups between 1970 and 1982.[25]
1970 World Cup
edit
Cubillas helped the Peru national team 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.[4]
He won the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award, and was third in the Golden Shoe award.[26]
1975 Copa America
editThe Peru national team did not qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, but a year later, Cubillas helped Peru 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.[3]
1978 World Cup
editIn the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Cubillas scored five goals for Peru, finishing co-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),[27] and he then scored a hat-trick in the game against Iran, including two penalties.[5]
However, Peru subsequently lost to Brazil, Poland and Argentina, although Cubillas played in all six Peru matches in the tournament. [citation needed]
1982 World Cup
editCubillas was also in the Peru national team for 1982 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three group games but did not score any goals.[25]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alianza Lima | 1966 | Peruvian Primera División[28] | 23 | 19[10] | – | |||||
| 1967 | 25 | 9 | – | – | ||||||
| 1968 | 26 | 19 | – | – | ||||||
| 1969 | 11 | 5 | – | – | ||||||
| 1970 | 27 | 22[10] | – | – | ||||||
| 1971 | 29 | 22 | – | – | ||||||
| 1972 | 29 | 14 | – | |||||||
| Total | 170 | 110 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| FC Basel | 1973–74 | Swiss Super League[28] | 10 | 3 | 2[29] | |||||
| Porto | 1973–74 | Primeira Liga[28] | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | 15 | 5 | |
| 1974–75 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 15 | ||
| 1975–76 | 29 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 38 | 36 | ||
| 1976–77 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 10 | ||
| Total | 85 | 48 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 108 | 65 | ||
| Alianza Lima | 1977 | Peruvian Primera División[28] | 32 | 23 | – | – | – | 32 | 23 | |
| 1978 | 15 | 12 | – | – | 10 | 7 | 25 | 19 | ||
| Total | 47 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 57 | 42 | ||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers[30] | 1979 | NASL[a] | 30 | 16 | — | – | – | — | 32 | 16 |
| 1980 | 34 | 18 | – | – | – | – | 34 | 18 | ||
| 1981 | 34 | 19 | – | – | – | – | 34 | 19 | ||
| 1982 | 18 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 4 | ||
| 1983 | 23 | 8 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 8 | ||
| Total | 139 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 65 | ||
| Alianza Lima | 1984 | Peruvian Primera División | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 |
| South Florida Sun | 1984[31] | USL | 5 | 4 | – | – | – | 5 | 4 | |
| 1985 | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | ||
| Alianza Lima | 1987 | Peruvian Primera División | 13 | 3 | 13 | 3 | ||||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1988[32] | ASL | 12 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 7 |
| Career total | 488 | 280 | 15 | 12 | 31 | 22 | 534 | 314 | ||
- ^ Total statistics for his time in the NASL (1979–83) include playoff matches.
International
edit- Scores and results list Peru's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cubillas goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 May 1969 | Bogotá, Colombia |  Colombia
|
2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 9 July 1969 | Lima, Peru |  Paraguay
|
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 17 August 1969 | Lima, Peru |  Bolivia
|
2–0 | 3–0 | 1970 World Cup qualifier |
| 5 | 7 February 1970 | Lima, Peru |  Czechoslovakia
|
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 9 February 1970 | Lima, Peru |  Romania
|
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 24 February 1970 | Lima, Peru |  Bulgaria
|
1–2 | 5–3 | Friendly |
| 8 | 2 June 1970 | León, Mexico | Bulgaria
|
3–2 | 3–2 | 1970 World Cup |
| 9 | 6 June 1970 | León, Mexico |  Morocco
|
1–0 | 3–0 | 1970 World Cup |
| 10 | 3–0 | |||||
| 11 | 10 June 1970 | León, Mexico |  West Germany
|
1–3 | 1–3 | 1970 World Cup |
| 12 | 14 June 1970 | Guadalajara, Mexico |  Brazil
|
2–3 | 2–4 | 1970 World Cup |
| 13 | 10 February 1971 | Lima, Peru |  South Korea
|
3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 14 | 4–0 | |||||
| 15 | 5 April 1972 | Mexico City, Mexico |  Mexico
|
1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 23 April 1972 | Bucharest, Romania | Romania
|
1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 17 | 4 March 1973 | Lima, Peru |  Guatemala
|
2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 18 | 4–1 | |||||
| 19 | 23 April 1973 | Lima, Peru |  Panama
|
3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 20 August 1975 | Lima, Peru |  Chile
|
2–0 | 3–1 | Copa America 1975 |
| 21 | 30 September 1975 | Belo Horizonte, Brasil | Brazil
|
2–0 | 3–1 | Copa America 1975 |
| 22 | 17 July 1977 | Cali, Colombia | Bolivia
|
2–0 | 5–0 | 1978 World Cup qualifier |
| 23 | 3–0 | |||||
| 24 | 3 June 1978 | Córdoba, Argentina |  Scotland
|
2–1 | 3–1 | 1978 World Cup |
| 25 | 3–1 | |||||
| 26 | 11 June 1978 | Córdoba, Argentina |  Iran
|
2–0 | 4–1 | 1978 World Cup |
| 27 | 3–0 | |||||
| 28 | 4–1 |
Honours
editPorto
- Taça de Portugal: 1976–77
Alianza Lima
Fort Lauderdale Sun
- United Soccer League: 1984, 1985
Peru
Individual
- Peruvian Primera División top scorer: 1966, 1970[10]
- FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1970
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 1970
- Copa Libertadores top scorer: 1972
- South American Footballer of the Year: 1972
- CONMEBOL All-Star Team: 1973[34]
- Copa America Best Player: 1975
- FIFA World Cup Silver Boot: 1978
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978
- NASL All-Star teams, all-time: 1980, 1981[35]
- NASL Best Midfield: 1981
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers top scorer, all time: 1984[17]
- France Football: World Cup top 100 1930–1990: 2000[36]
- World Soccer The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time: 2000[37]
- Placar The 100 Players of the Century: 2000[38]
- Placar The 100 Players FIFA World Cup: 2000[39]
- FIFA 100: 2004
- IFFHS' Best Players of the Century for Peru: 2006[1]
- World – Player of the Century Nº 48: 2006[40]
- South American – Player of the Century Nº 17: 2006[41]
- The Best of The Best – Player of the Century Top 50: 2007[42]
- CONMEBOL All-Star first team 1958–2008: 2008[43]
- Peru national team all-time scoring leader: 2008
References
edit- ^ a b Karel Stokkermans (30 January 2000). "World Player of the Century". IFFHS' Century Elections. RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ Teófilo Cubillas Planet World Cup
- ^ a b Martin Tabeira (12 August 2009). "Copa América 1975". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Group D". World Cup 1970 results and line-ups. RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Group D". World Cup 1978 finals – results and line-ups. RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ All-Star First Team Selection (1958–2008) Retrieved on 17 January 2009. Archived 4 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "World Cup Countdown: 12 Weeks to Go - The Story of Teofilo Cubillas, the Peruvian Pele". Sports Illustrated. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Clemente Lisi (14 February 2012). "What Ever Happened To... Teofilo Cubillas". US Soccer Players. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d Peruvian Championship: Top Scorer Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ José Luis Pierrend (22 December 2000). "South American Player of the Year 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Zindel, Josef (2018), "Die ersten 125 Jahre", 1974 - Cubillas, Pages 72 + 73, Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel
- ^ a b Jan Alsos. "Teofilio Cubillas (Peru)". Planet World Cup. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "CS Chênois - FC Basel 0:1 (0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ Antonio Zea and Marcel Haisma (9 January 2008). "European Champions' Cup 1973–74 – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ a b Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Teofilo Cubillas - FCB-Statistik". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Team Records and League Honors". Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ Philip Bennett (2 February 1988). "A Nation Grieves: With A Soccer Team's Death, Peru Loses An 'Island Of Hope'". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "ENTRENADORES". Historia Blanquiazul (in Spanish). Club Alianza Lima. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ CUBILLAS SIGNS WITH STRIKERS Miami Herald, The (FL) – Saturday, 7 May 1988
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1988". Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ STRIKERS LOSE FINAL, RELEASE CUBILLAS Miami Herald, The (FL) – Sunday, 28 August 1988
- ^ SHARKS OWNER CUTS CUBILLAS, CLAIMS POOR PLAY, LITTLE EFFORT Miami Herald, The (FL) – Monday, 3 July 1989
- ^ JEFF RUSNAK (21 June 1991). "Back Trouble". SunSentinel. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ^ a b Teofilo Cubillas: Legends of the Football World Cup Archived 4 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 19 May 2013
- ^ "1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ David Edbrooke (1 February 2008). "The 25 best free-kicks of all-time (#11)". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Cubillas: Teófilo Cubillas Arizaga" (in Portuguese). Fora De Jogo. Retrieved 4 November 2012. (stats assumed to be League-only)
- ^ Antonio Zea and Marcel Haisma (9 January 2008). "European Champions' Cup 1973–74 – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ David Litterer. "Part 1: Player Biographies, A-H". TOP INTERNATIONAL STARS IN THE NASL, 1967–1984. American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ "Teofilo Cubillas". North American Soccer League Players. Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ "Ft. Lauderdale Strikers". American Soccer League 1988 Season. A-League Archives. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ "Teófilo Cubillas – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
- ^ CONMEBOL All-Star Team Archived 10 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ NASL All-Star teams, all-time Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ France Football's World Cup Top-100 1930–1990 Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ Placar's 100 Craques do Século Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ Os 100 Craques das Copas (Placar Magazine) Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ World – Player of the Century Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ South American – Player of the Century Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ "The Best of The Best" Retrieved on 3 January 2009
- ^ CONMEBOL All-Star first team 1958–2008 Archived 4 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 January 2009
External links
edit