Abdón Porte

Abdón Porte (1893 – 5 March 1918) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as defensive midfielder. Nicknamed El Indio he won many titles with his club Nacional, and also a Copa América with the Uruguay national team. He committed suicide on 5 March 1918, by shooting himself in the center of the field at Estadio Gran Parque Central, an incident still remembered by the sport community of Uruguay.

Club career

Porte arrived in Montevideo in 1908, where he played for Colón, then moving to defunct club Libertad. He was later transferred to Nacional, debuting on 12 March 1911, v. Dublin F.C. Porte played as a right back.

Playing for Nacional, Porte gained notability being also team's captain. He was defined as a fierce midfielder and good at stopping rival players and heading the ball. He played a total of 207 games for Nacional, winning 19 titles with the club.

Porte was cited by writer Xosé de Enríquez in his book Hacia el Campo van los Albos:

Porte would play his last match v. Charley F.C. (Nacional won by 3–1) before committing suicide one day later.

International career Porte debuted for the national team in 1913, against Argentina, and scored his only goal for the national team in that occasion. He'd be capped in another two matches, against Chile in 1916, and against Brazil in 1917. He was a member of the Uruguay squad that won the 1917 South American Championship but did not play a game at the tournament.

Death Before starting the 1918 season, Nacional's committee decided to replace Porte by defender Alfredo Zibechi as starting player, sending Porte to the bench due to his poor performance during the last games played with the club. On 4 March, Nacional played Charley F.C., winning by 3–1 with Porte playing the entire match at a good level. That night, executives and players met at the club headquarters for a celebration as was usual. Porte left the club at 1:00 a.m. and took a tram to the Estadio Gran Parque Central, Nacional's venue.

Once Porte arrived at Parque Central, he went into the centre of the field and shot himself. His body and a suicide note were found the next morning.

quotation|"Dear Doctor José María Delgado: I ask you and other members of the committee to take care of my family and my dear mother, as I did. Goodbye, dear friend of life"|Letter to the president of Nacional, José M. Delgado

quotation|"Nacional was Porte's ideal, he loved the club like a believer loves his faith, like a patriot loves his flag"|Numa Pesquera, Nacional's executive Another Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano, remembered Porte in a short chapter in his book El Fútbol a Sol y Sombra entitled "Muerte en la cancha" (Death on the pitch).

The club named "Abdón Porte" the western stand of Gran Parque Central. In March 2008 the Uruguayan Post Office printed a stamp honoring Porte. In August 2013, Nacional's supporters made a mosaic with the face of Abdón Porte.

Honours Nacional Uruguayan Primera División: 1912, 1915, 1916, 1917 Copa Competencia: 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915 Copa de Honor: 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 Tie Cup: 1913, 1915 Copa de Honor Cousenier: 1915, 1916, 1917 Copa Aldao: 1916

Uruguay Copa América: 1917