Arsenio Erico

Arsenio Erico

Personal information
Full name	Arsenio Pastor Erico
Date of birth	30 March 1915(1915-03-30)
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Date of death	23 July 1977(1977-07-23) (aged 62)
Place of death	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1930–1933	Nacional	?	(?)
1933–1946	Independiente	325	(295)
1946–1947	Huracán	7	(0)
1947–1949	Nacional	?	(?)
National team
	Paraguay	26	(56)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Arsenio Pastor Erico (30 March 1915 - 23 July 1977) was a Paraguayan football forward. He is the all-time highest goalscorer in the Argentine first division, with 295 goals, all of them scored in Independiente . He is considered the best Paraguayan footballer of all time.

Career

As a player

Erico, born in Asunción, Paraguay, started his career in Club Nacional of Paraguay and made his debut in the club's first team squad at the age of 15. During the early 1930s, Erico was part of the Paraguayan Red Cross football team that was on tour in Argentina in order to gather funds for the Chaco War. Because of his good performances during the friendly matches in the mentioned tour, Club Atlético Independiente of Argentina signed him. He made his debut for Independiente on 5 May 1936 and began to demonstrate why he had acquired the nickname 'red jumper'. Before the 1938 FIFA World Cup Erico was offered an extravagant amount of money to play for the Argentine national football team but he rejected it, gaining the praise of the general Argentine public for remaining loyal to his country of origin.[2] Soon after this, however, Erico caught an infection which led to a long period out on the sidelines. Then, in 1935, he broke his leg. After he recovered, however, he reminded everyone of his talent by taking Independiente to the league title in 1938 and 1939. Later, he joined Huracán where he only played 7 games in 1947 before retiring.

As a coach

Arsenio Erico had a brief career as a football coach after retiring from professional football. He managed the club where he started his career as a footballer, Nacional and also had a brief stint in Club Sol de América where he led the team to a second place finish in the 1957 Paraguayan league.

Legacy

Arsenio Erico was an inspiration to Argentine player Alfredo Di Stéfano, who considered him one of the greatest players ever. Other figures like Brazilian striker Leônidas da Silva and Paraguayan Delfín Benítez Cáceres also consider Erico as one of the best players in history. Argentine striker Francisco Varallo remembers Erico as a "phenomenon" that would excel in scoring headers due to his high jumps.

Club Nacional stadium is named after him, and sections of the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Paraguay and the Libertadores de América stadium in Avellaneda also carry Arsenio Erico's name. He died on 23 July 1977.

Career summary

Arsenio at El Gráfico magazine, June 1969

Club performance			League		Cup		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Argentina			League		Cup		Total
1934	Independiente	Primera División	21	12
1935			18	22
1936			26	21
1937			34	48
1938			30	43
1939			32	41
1940			30	29
1941			27	26
1942			3	0
1943			29	17
1944			26	12
1945			30	20
1946			19	4
1947	Huracán	Primera División	7	0
Career total			332	295