Héctor Chumpitaz

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chumpitaz and the second or maternal family name is González.

Héctor Eduardo Chumpitaz Gonzáles (Latin American Spanish: [ˈeɣtoɾ ˈtʃumpitas]; born 12 April 1943, in Cañete) is a former footballer from Peru. He was voted one of the greatest defenders of all time,^[2] among the 30 best defenders in football history,^[3] and included within the 100 best players in the history of the World Cup by FIFA in 2018.^[4] He is also a member of the Historic Ideal Team of Copa América by CONMEBOL.^[5] In addition, he is the seventh highest-scoring South American defender in football history, with 65 official goals.

Héctor Chumpitaz

Personal information
Full name	Héctor Eduardo Chumpitaz González
Date of birth	(1943-04-12) April 12, 1943 (age 81)
Place of birth	Cañete, Peru
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
	Universitario
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1965	Deportivo Municipal	32	(5)
1966–1975	Universitario	245	(46[1])
1975–1977	Atlas	60	(6)
1977–1984	Sporting Cristal	128	(8[1])
Total		465	(65)
International career
1965–1981	Peru	105	(3)
Managerial career
1985	Unión Huaral
1985–1986	Sporting Cristal
1991	AELU
Medal record Men's football Representing  Peru Copa América Winner 1975 1979
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Considered by FIFA as one of the best South American defenders of all time, Chumpitaz is also one of the greatest exponents in the history of Peruvian football.^[6] He spent most of his career at Universitario de Deportes and Sporting Cristal. He currently has a football school named as him, where he is dedicated to training minors.

Chumpitaz was regarded one of the best defenders in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is widely considered one of the four best South American defenders of all time along with Elías Figueroa, José Nasazzi, and Daniel Passarella. With great defensive skills, excellent reading of the game, possession and distribution of the ball and an imposing leader role, he became one of the most legendary figures of Universitario de Deportes, a club with which he won five titles in the Peruvian League and was a finalist in the Copa Libertadores in 1972.

In addition to having won three other national titles with Sporting Cristal, Chumpitaz is remembered for having been captain of the American team that played a friendly match against the stars of Europe, among them were Giacinto Facchetti, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Johan Cruyff —who was the captain of Europe, among other figures. It was there that he was given the nickname "El Capitán de America" ("America's Captain").

At the national team level, for almost fifteen years Chumpitaz was the captain and great defensive bulwark of the Peru national football team that won the Copa América 1975 and reached the quarterfinals in the FIFA World Cup of Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978.

Chumpitaz is considered one of the greatest South American defenders of all-time and was named to the list of best World Cup players of all time by Terra.com in 2006. He was elected the 35th best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000.^[7]

Career

At the age of 19, Chumpitaz joined a second division team in Peru, the Unidad Vecinal. Chumpitaz became a first division player in 1964, when he was signed by Deportivo Municipal, a team where he stayed until 1965.

During 1966, Chumpitaz began playing for Universitario de Deportes, where he was part of the team that won five Peruvian league championships (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1974).

Chumpitaz captained the Universitario de Deportes side to a runner-up in the Copa Libertadores 1972, losing 2–1 to Independiente of the Argentina in the final.

In 1973, All-Star teams from the American and European continents played against each other in Barcelona, Spain. Football greats such as Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer participated in that game. Chumpitaz was selected captain of the American continent's team,^[8] thus earning the nickname "America's Captain". The game finished 4–4 and in Penalty kicks, America won 7–6.

The following year, Chumpitaz was signed for the first time by an international club, Club Atlas of Mexico.

In 1977, Chumpitaz went on to play for Sporting Cristal, a team he would play with until 1984. He won three Peruvian league championships (1979, 1980 and 1983) with the team.

Chumpitaz became the national soccer top scoring defender of Peruvian Primera División, with 65 goals in 456 matches.

International career

On April 3, 1965, Chumpitaz played his debut game with the Peru national football team when Peru lost to Paraguay, 1–0, in Lima. On May 16, 1965, Chumpitaz played his debut World Cup qualifier game where Peru beat Venezuela, 1–0, in Lima. His debut international game came that same year as Peru and Venezuela held a rematch in Caracas, with Peru defeating the Venezuelans, 6–3.

Chumpitaz secured his first World Cup action when Peru national football team, winning 1–0 in Lima, and soon tied with Argentina, 2–2, on August 31, 1969, in Buenos Aires. Chumpitaz played his first World Cup game on June 2, 1970, when the Peru defeated Bulgaria, 3–2, in León, Mexico. Although Peru advanced to the quarterfinals of that World Cup, they were eliminated by Brazil on June 14 in Guadalajara, by a score of 4–2.^[9]

Chumpitaz played for Peru's national team in the Brazil Independence Cup, held between June 18 and 25, 1972, in Manaus, Brazil. He helped his team to the championship game with a 1–0 victory over Venezuela, but Peru lost in its group's final game to Yugoslavia, 2–1.

In 1975, Chumpitaz played for the national team that won the Copa America held in Colombia.^[10]

Chumpitaz returned to the World Cup in 1978,^[11] when Peru played for the FIFA's most heralded championship in Argentina. Peru played six games in that World Cup, winning two of them. Peru were eliminated after losing to hosts Argentina, 6–0.^[12] This would turn out to be Chumpitaz's last World Cup participation; he retired from the Peru national football team after the team qualified for the 1982 World Cup, held in Spain. Chumpitaz played a total of 105 games with the national team.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 18, 1969	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Colombia	1–1	Draw	Friendly
2.	June 2, 1970	Estadio Nou Camp, León, Mexico	Bulgaria	3–2	Win	1970 FIFA World Cup
3.	October 10, 1979	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Paraguay	2–3	Lost	Friendly
Correct as of March 8, 2012[13]

Honours

Universitario de Deportes

• Peruvian League
  • Winner (5): 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1974
  • Runner-up (1): 1972
• Copa Libertadores
  • Runner-up (1): 1972

Sporting Cristal

• Peruvian League
  • Winner (3): 1979, 1980, 1983
  • Runner-up (1): 1977

National team

• Copa América
  • Winner (1): 1975

Individual awards

• 1969 Best Defender CONMEBOL
• 1971 Best Defender CONMEBOL
• 1973 All Stars CONMEBOL: Captain^[14]
• 2000 World Soccer's: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time^[15]
• 2004 South American – Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 35^[16]
• 2007 Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América^[17]
• 2007 Copa America All-Star team, all-time^[18]
• 2008 All Stars CONMEBOL in the last 50 years^[19]
• 2008 Defender all-time scoring: Ranking Nº 32^[20]
• Copa América Historical Dream Team: 2011

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Peru			League		Cup		South America		Total
1964	Deportivo Municipal	Primera División Peruana	0	0	-		-
1965							-
1966	Universitario	Primera División Peruana					10	2
1967							13	3
1968							10	1
1969
1970							8	0
1971							8	1
1972							7	0
1973							2	0
1974
1975
Mexico			League		Copa México		North America		Total
1975–76	Atlas	Primera División
1976–77					-
Peru			League		Cup		South America		Total
1977	Sporting Cristal	Primera División Peruana			-
1978							4	0
1979
1980							6	1
1981							6	1
1982
1983
Total	Peru		404	60	0	0	74	9	478	69
	Mexico		52	5	0	0	0	0	52	5
Career total			456	65	0	0	74	9	530	74

Current life

Despite retiring, Chumpitaz continued being a public figure, and, on December 3, 2004, he was found guilty and sentenced to four years of suspended sentence (probation), for allegedly accepting US$30,000 from presidential advisor and right-hand man Vladimiro Montesinos, supposedly after joining former minister Juan Carlos Hurtado in latter's quest to become mayor of Lima in 1998, during Alberto Fujimori's presidency. After the appeals process, on April 8, 2005, the Supreme Court of Peru nullified the sentence against Chumpitaz.^[21][22]

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

1. Behr, Raul. "Oh capitán, mi capitán" (in Spanish). Dechalaca.com. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
2. "Héctor Chumpitaz es nominado entre los uno de los mejores defensas según Diario as de España | FOTO | Twitter | Deportes - la República". Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
3. "¿Quiénes son los mejores defensores de la historia en el futbol? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
4. "FIFA recordó a Héctor Cumpitaz como representante de la Selección Peruana". rpp.pe. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
5. "Elías Figueroa integra el once sudamericano de todos los tiempos". www.cooperativa.cl. 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
6. Redacción-Futbolperuano.com (7 March 2018). "FIFA consideró a Héctor Chumpitaz como uno de los mejores defensores de la historia". Futbolperuano.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
7. IFFHS' Century Elections Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine – rsssf.com – by Karel Stokkermans, RSSSF, 2000.
8. "Captains the American and European: Chumpitaz and Cruyff". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
9. "World Cup 1970 finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
10. "Copa América 1975". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
11. "World Cup 1978 finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
12. Nzerem, Keme (4 April 2012). "Henry Kissinger and football's longest unsolved riddle". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
13. "Héctor Chumpitaz - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
14. "1973 All Star CONMEBOL". Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
15. "The Best x Players of the Century/All-Time". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
16. "IFFHS' Century Elections". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
17. Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Héctor Chumpitaz listed in the top 10
18. "Copa America All-Stars of All Time". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
19. "Named in the Ideal Selection of sudamerica in the last 50 years". Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
20. "The World's 80 most successful Top Division Goal Scorers among the defensive Players of all time". Iffhs.de. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
21. "Cuatro años de libertad condicional para Héctor Chumpitaz". Perú 21 (in Spanish). 3 December 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
22. "Chumpitaz condenado a cuatro años de prisión condicional". Terra (in Spanish). 3 December 2004. Archived from the original on 4 December 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2022.

External links

• arkivperu.com, in Spanish Archived September 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
• cooperativa.cl, in Spanish
• rsssf.com
• terra.com