Javier Guzmán

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Javier Guzmán
Personnel
Surname Javier Guzman Colin
birthday January 9, 1945
place of birth El Higo ,  Mexico
date of death August 14, 2014
Place of death Ciudad Juarez ,  Mexico
size 182 cm
position Defense
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1961-1964 CD Tampico
1964-1988 Cruz Azul
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1970-1977 Mexico 38 (3)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
Cruz Azul (junior str.)
Cruz Azul Hidalgo
1 Only league games are given.

Javier Guzmán Colin (born January 9, 1945 in El Higo , Veracruz ; † August 14, 2014 in Ciudad Juárez ) - also known by the nickname Kalimán , a Mexican comic hero - was a Mexican football player who usually acted as a central defender and considered one of the best pre-stoppers in the history of Mexican football .

biography

society

Javier Guzmán made his professional football debut in 1961 for the Tampico CD in a game in the Mexican Primera División when he was just 16 years old. When his club relegated to the Segunda División at the end of the 1962/63 season, he initially stayed in Tampico and played in the second division season 1963/64 against Cruz Azul , whose coach Jorge Marik was so impressed by Guzmán's talent that he immediately saw him after the promotion of his team at the end of the same season. Over the next few years, Cruz Azul became the most successful team in the country and won the championship five times with "Kalimán" Guzmán, once the Copa México and three times the CONCACAF Champions Cup .

Even after his active career he remained under contract with Cruz Azul, where he worked for a long time as a coach in the youth field and for a while coached the reserve team Cruz Azul Hidalgo.

National team

Guzmán made his debut in the jersey of the Mexican national team in a friendly against Bulgaria (1-1) on February 15, 1970. The performance of the debutant was so convincing that he was called up by national coach Raúl Cárdenas in the World Cup squad . Already at the beginning of the tournament, Guzmán had developed into a regular player who played all Mexican World Cup games in full. In the last group game against Belgium (1-0), he saved his team's victory when he blocked a hard shot from Johan Devrindt for his already beaten goalkeeper Ignacio Calderón .

Kalimán played his last of a total of 38 international matches on October 22, 1977 as part of the 1978 World Cup qualification against Canada. After the Canadians had already taken the lead in the 9th minute, it was left to central defender Guzmán (who had only scored one goal in his previous 37 internationals), his team with two goals within just five minutes (39th and 44th) .) to be traced back to Siegerstrasse. Hugo Sánchez set the final point in the 65th minute for "el Tri" to win 3-1.

illness

His right leg had to be amputated because of advanced diabetes . But Kalimán Guzmán never let this severe blow of fate get him down:

“I feel great, I am fine. It is true that I had an incident; but it does not mean the end, just another aspect of my life that I face with a lot of courage and strength because I still want to do a lot. "

Guzmán analyzed his illness in a philosophical way :

“It's a paradox . For many years my legs were the most important thing I had; I owe all of my material wealth to them. Today I only have one leg and can no longer kick the ball, which has always been my favorite pastime. But I still don't give up. All are just stages. Challenges that life poses. I lost a battle, but with a lot of strength and willpower, I can win the war. "

successes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Murió Javier 'Kaliman' Guzmán

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Guzmán, Javier
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guzmán Colin, Javier (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION mexican soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH El Higo , Mexico
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 2014
Place of death Ciudad Juarez , Mexico