Sergio Livingstone

Sergio Livingstone

Personal information
Full name	Sergio Roberto Livingstone Pohlhammer
Date of birth	March 26, 1920 (1920-03-26)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1938–1942	Universidad Católica	?	(?)
1943–1944	Racing Club	30	(0)
1944–1956	Universidad Católica	?	(?)
1957	Colo-Colo	?	(?)
1958–1959	Universidad Católica	?	(?)
National team
1941–1954	Chile	52	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Sergio Roberto "Sapo" Livingstone Pohlhammer (born March 26, 1920 in Santiago, Chile), affectionally called Sapito Livingstone, is a former Chilean goalkeeper, considered the first great footballer in the country's history, who later became a well regarded journalist. He was called El Sapo (Spanish "The Frog") for his typical posture in the goal mouth. In his football career spanning from 1938 to 1959 he played mainly for CD Universidad Católica in Santiago. With Chile he took part in seven South American Championships and one World Cup.

Career

Livingstone's family originated in Scotland, and his father John, who played for Santiago National FC, is considered one of the major pioneers of the game in Chile. It is even said, that he brought the first football as such into the country.

Livingstone in the jersey of Racing

The young Sergio Livingstone originally joined Unión Española. As he hardly got any playing time he abandoned football to study law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Soon he made acquaintance there with the university's football team, and from 1938 he began to establish himself as the goalkeeper of CD Universidad Católica.

He debuted in the national team at the 1941 South American Championship which took place in Chile, winning 5-0 against Ecuador. By the end of the tournament Chile ended third, and Livingstone was considered the best player of the tournament. Altogether, Livingstone played between 1941 and 1954 in 52 matches for Chile, which made him the country's record international until 1962, participating in five more South American Championships, totalling 34 matches in this competition, which remains record. He also took part in the World Cup 1950 in Brazil, where Chile exited after the first group phase.

On club level he spent 1943 in Argentina playing 30 matches for Racing Club. He cut short his his time in Argentina for sentimental resaons and rejoined Católica in 1944, winning the national championships of 1949 and 1954. After the second title the club had the misfortune to be relegated in the season immediately thereafter, but managed to return to the first division as quickly. After a brief spell on loan in 1957 with CSD Colo-Colo he once more returned to Católica where he finished his career in 1959.

After his football career Livingstone became a well-known sports journalist and a television figure with TVN, where continues until today. Since 2009 a street in the district of Independencia in Santiago has been named after him.

Titles

Universidad Católica

• National Championship: 1949, 1954

External links

• Sergio Livingstone FIFA Player Profile
• Claudio Pizarro: Sergio "Sapo" Livingstone, un crack de 89 años: "Si jugara ahora, sería farandulero" 18 September 2009, The Clinic
• Jorge Guerrero Cortés: El libro no escrito de Sergio Livingstone 4 June 2010, DOREMIFAGOL