This March 30, 2023 was the 108th anniversary of Arsenio Erico's birth.
The Paraguayan is still the top scorer in the history of Argentine soccer.
A scorer without equal. A man who forever attached his name as a synonym of shout, of celebration, of joy. A surname that was linked to two jerseys that crossed his chest and his history: Nacional de Asunción and Independiente de Avellaneda.
He was born in the capital of Paraguay on March 30, 1915 and at only 15 years old, he made his debut in Nacional's first division. In 1932 he played for the first time on Argentine soil (in a series of friendly matches), dazzling the managers of two of the biggest clubs in Argentina: River Plate and Independiente. Soccer in this country was just taking its first steps in professionalism, which had begun in 1931.
The date of May 6, 1934 was engraved in red in the almanac. On that day he made his official debut in the shirt of Independiente, in a two-goal draw with Boca Juniors as a visitor. A week later, on May 13, the romance with the net began. He scored his first two goals in a 3-1 home win over Chacarita.
In both 1934 and 1935, Independiente were runners-up to Boca Juniors, until, in 1937, Erico produced a tremendous explosion by scoring no less than 47 goals in 34 matches played, being the undisputed top scorer of the competition. He would repeat this feat in the two following tournaments with very high scores: 43 in 1938 and 40 in 1939.
Precisely in 1938, his achievements led Independiente to win the first title in its history. He remained in the memory as one of the best Argentine soccer teams of all times, scoring 115 goals. Erico shared the squad with other legends such as goalkeeper Fernando Bello and his strike partners Vicente de la Mata, Antonio Sastre and José Zorrilla.
The champion's cry was repeated in 1939, when Independiente went on to win 12 consecutive matches. Once again, the extraordinary Paraguayan striker topped the scoring charts with 40 goals.
The return home.
After some disagreements with the directors, he decided to return to his homeland to give himself an immense pleasure: to win the championship for his beloved Nacional, which took him to the Olympus of the idolatry of this club.
In 1943 he returned to Independiente and played a few more seasons in El Rojo, until 1947, when he was transferred to Huracán, where he arrived injured and barely played 7 matches.
Is a grimace of fate, his last match in Argentine soccer was against Independiente in Avellaneda, with a 3-0 defeat. It was a farewell, but it was a provisional farewell. His image, his lineage of unique striker, had been perpetuated for all times.
With absolute justice, the Avellaneda club gave his surname to a stand and Nacional de Asunción, plays its matches in the stadium that also bears his name. So that Don Arsenio can continue to shout goals from there.
Source images: Twitter CONMEBOL.
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