Ernesto Lazzatti

Ernesto Lazzatti (25 September 1915 – 30 December 1988) was an Argentine football midfielder and sports journalist. As a player, he won 10 titles with Boca Juniors, the only Argentine team where he played. Lazzatti's position on the field was central midfielder, being notable for his skills with the ball and elegant style of playing. In 503 official matches played, Lazzatti was never sent off.

Biography Lazzatti was born in Bahía Blanca, but he grew up in the neighboring city of Ingeniero White, where he played in local club Puerto Comercial as right inside forward. Santos Ursino was the central midfielder and captain of that team and then became his adviser. After a representative of Boca Juniors (who was also Lazzatti's uncle) wrote a letter to the club recommending Ernesto, the club decided to pay the cost of travel to bring Lazzatti to Buenos Aires by train. At 18 years old, the young promise arrived to the club and played three matches (a friendly one and two in the reserve team) before debuting in the senior squad in 1934, when Boca beat Chacarita Juniors by 3–2 on April 8.

In the year of his debut, Boca Juniors (managed by Mario Fortunato) was champion, with 101 goals scored in 39 games. Lazzatti was the central midfielder alongside Enrique Vernieres and Pedro Arico Suárez. In 1935 Boca won another championship.

Lazzatti played only four matches for the Argentina national team between 1936 and 1937. He was part of the squad that won the 1937 Copa América when Argentina beat Brazil by 2–0 in the final at Estadio Gasómetro. Lazzatti was part of the midfield line along with Antonio Sastre and Celestino Martínez.

In Boca Juniors, Lazzatti formed a midfield line with Carlos Sosa and Natalio Pescia in the squad that won the 1943 and 1944 championships. River Plate's La Máquina was active during this period, and the Boca team is sometimes regarded as one of the club's best teams ever.

Lazzatti played a total of 14 seasons in Boca Juniors, totalizing 503 matches and 7 goals scored. He was never sent off in his whole career. When he became a free agent at the age of 32, Lazzatti refused to play for other team in Argentina, so Uruguayan player and former teammate Severino Varela offered him to play at Danubio. Lazzatti accepted and joined the club, playing there until his retirement in 1948 at 33 years old. His performances were praised by Uruguayan media, remarking that "his quality is as expected".

Despite that success, he never returned to management, pursuing a career in sport journalism, working in El Gráfico when the magazine was directed by Dante Panzeri. When Panzeri left in 1962, Lazzatti followed him. Nevertheless, Lazzatti continued his career as journalist writing for newspaper La Prensa and in the TV show Deporte con Opinión in Canal 7.

Titles Player Boca Juniors Primera División (5): 1934, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1944 Copa Ibarguren (2): 1940, 1944 Copa de Competencia Británica (1): 1946 Copa Escobar-Gerona (2): 1945, 1946

Argentina Copa América (1): 1937

Manager Boca Juniors Primera División (1): 1954

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