Ernesto Lazzatti

Lazzatti was born in Bahía Blanca but he grew up in neighbor city Ingeniero White, where he played in local club Puerto Comercial as right inside forward. Santos Ursino was the central midfielder and captain of that team and then became his adviser.[2] After a representative of Boca Juniors (who was also Lazzatti's uncle) wrote a letter to the club recommending Ernesto,[3] the club decided to cost the travel to bring Lazzatti to Buenos Aires by train. With 18 years old, the young promise arrived to the club and played three matches (a friendly one and two in the reserve team) before debuting in the senior squad in 1934 when Boca beat Chacarita Juniors by 3–2 on April 8.

In the year of his debut, Boca Juniors (managed by Mario Fortunato) was champion, with 101 goals scored in 39 games.[4] Lazzatti was the central midfielder alongside Enrique Vernieres and Pedro Arico Suárez. In 1935 Boca won another championship.

Lazzatti played only four matches for the Argentina national team between 1936 and 1937. He was part of the squad that won the 1937 Copa América when Argentina beat Brazil by 2–0 in the final at Estadio Gasómetro. Lazzatti was part of the midfield line along with Antonio Sastre and Celestino Martínez.

In Boca Juniors, Lazzatti formed a memorable midfield line with Carlos Sosa and Natalio Pescia in the squad that won the 1943 and 1944 championships. That team overshadowed River Plate La Máquina, being regarded as one of the best Boca Juniors teams ever.

Lazzatti played a total of 14 seasons in Boca Juniors, totalizing 503 matches and 7 goals scored. He was never sent off in his whole career. When he became a free agent at the age of 32, Lazzatti refused to play for other team in Argentina, so Uruguayan player and former teammate Severino Varela offered him to play at Danubio. Lazzatti accepted and joined the club, playing there until his retirement in 1948 with 33 years old. His performances were praised by Uruguayan media, remarking that "his quality is as expected".[1]

After his tenure on Uruguay, Lazzatti returned to Argentina becoming manager of Boca Juniors in 1950. The team was runner-up to Racing Club but he resigned after a conflict with an executive of the club. Far from football environment, Lazzatti opened a car dealership in Temperley, working there until Boca Juniors called him to take over the team in 1954. With Lazzatti as manager, Boca Juniors won a title after a decade without league championships. With players such as Julio Musimessi, Eliseo Mouriño, Pescia, José Borello, Boca set a record of attendance, with an average of 30,000 spectators per match, selling a total of 900,000 tickets during the tournament, which remains as the highest record in Primera División.[1][5]

Despite that success, he never returned to management, pursuing a career in sport journalism, working in El Gráfico when the magazine was directed by Dante Panzeri. When Panzeri left in 1962, Lazzatti followed him. Nevertheless, Lazzatti continued his career as journalist writing for newspaper La Prensa and in the TV show Deporte con Opinión in Canal 7.

I have fond memories of Lazzatti. He knew how to led the team because of his football abilities and ethics. He took over the midfield line, always playing with the head up. Not only his short and long passes were perfect, he was a great header as well.

— Claudio Vacca[3]

He was one of the great centrojás[note 1] of Argentine football. His distinctive style was fair play, intelligence and quality. A man with no great ball control but who knew how to pass the ball in the right moment. He didn't argue or play hard but he knew how to organise the team, being also an excellent person according to my personal experience and what my fellowmates told about him

— Rinaldo Martino[3]

Notes