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Obdulio Varela

File:Obdulio_varela_uruguay.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Obdulio Varela

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Uruguayan footballer (1917–1996)

OverviewAI-generated

Obdulio Varela, known by the pseudonym "El Negro Jefe," was a Uruguayan association football player and coach. Born in Montevideo on September 20, 1917, he played as a midfielder for Club Atlético Peñarol, Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, and the Uruguay men's national football team. His professional career spanned from 1936 to 1955.

Varela represented Uruguay in several international tournaments, including the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 1942 and 1945 South American Championships. He was a citizen of Uruguay and spoke Spanish. Varela died in Montevideo on August 2, 1996.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Key facts

1955
Peñarol
Full name
Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela
Date of birth
( 1917-09-20 ) September 20, 1917
Place of birth
Montevideo , Uruguay
Date of death
August 2, 1996 (1996-08-02) (aged 78)
Height
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Positions
Holding midfielder centre back
Years
Team
1936 1938
Deportivo Juventud
1938 1943
Montevideo Wanderers
1943 1955
Peñarol
1939 1954
Uruguay

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Family name
Varela
Gender
male
Citizenship
Uruguay
Place of birth
Montevideo
Place of death
Montevideo
Languages spoken
Spanish
Position played
midfielder
Country for sport
Uruguay
Mass
80
Image
Obdulio varela uruguay.jpg
Height
178
Show 10 more facts
date of birth
1917-09-20
date of death
1996-08-02
Commons category
Obdulio Varela
pseudonym
El Negro Jefe
start of work period
1936-00-00
end of work period
1955-00-00
different from
Varela
ethnic group
Afro-Uruguayan
name in native language
Obdulio Varela
birth name
Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela
Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela ( Spanish pronunciation: [oβˈðuljo βaˈɾela]; September 20, 1917 — August 2, 1996) was a Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguay national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popularly known as the Maracanazo. He was nicknamed "El Negro Jefe" (The Black Chief) because of his dark skin and the influence he had on the pitch, especially during the unlikely victory over Brazil. He was of African, Spanish and Greek ancestry. Commonly regarded as one of the greatest classic holding midfielders, Varela was adept in defence and was renowned for his tenacity and leadership. He is regarded as one of the greatest captains in football history, and "he remains one of the biggest sporting heroes in Uruguay".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Obdulio Varela” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)