Roque Máspoli

Roque Gastón Máspoli (October 12, 1917 in Montevideo – February 22, 2004 in Montevideo) was a soccer goalkeeper for Uruguay. Máspoli started his career as a professional football player by the age of 17. He started playing for the team Nacional and after spending some time in Liverpool he finally got to the Peñarol where he developed most of his professional career. Roque Máspoli was hospitalized on February 10, 2004 for heart ailments. He died twelve days later in Montevideo, Uruguay when he was 86 years old.

Roque Máspoli was one of the light-blue ‘heroes’ for the Uruguayan national team of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Máspoli was the goal keeper in the final match, known as the "Maracanazo" for Uruguay's surprising win at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The team played in front of 200,000 noisy Brazilians fans, Máspoli allowed just one goal as the visitors beat huge favorite Brazil 2-1 and took the title home (if the game ended in a tie, Brazil would have won the title).

Máspoli retired as player in 1955 but he remained associated with sports. He coached Uruguayan soccer team Peñarol, winning five national championships, the Copa Libertadores and the 1966 Intercontinental Cup (when his team beat Real Madrid 4-0 on aggregate). Later, Máspoli led teams in Spain, Peru and Ecuador and in the 1980s he spent several years as a coach for the Uruguay national team.