Obdulio Jacinto Varela

Obdulio Jacinto Varela was born on September 20, 1917, in Paysandú (the third-largest city in Uruguay). He was an Uruguayan football player that started as a centre half and senior player at Deportivo Juventud since he joined the club in 1936. His first division debut was with the Montevideo Wanderers two years later. In 1943, he joined C.A. Peñarol, club for which he would play until his professional retirement in 1955. His last match was in June 19, 1995 when Peñarol faced America. He played on the second half and when he realized he wasn’t able to continue he retired. Varela died in August 2, 1996.

Obdulio Jacinto Varela was the captain of the Uruguay national team on the 1950 World Cup. That was the team that won the decisive final round match against a favorite Brazil that needed only a tie to win the cup. Later on, the match became popularly known as the Maracanazo. Due to his dark skin and the influence he had on the pitch, Varela was Nicknamed El Negro Jefe (The Black Chief), and became especially popular after the improbable victory over Brazil. Varela is remembered as one of the greatest classic centre halves, a midfield player equally adept in defense as in creating scoring chances.