René Houseman

1971/73 Defensores de Belgrano (ARG) 38 matchs, 16 buts

1973/80 Huracán (ARG) 266 matchs, 108 buts

1981 River Plate (ARG) 12 matchs, 1 but

1982 Colo-Colo (CHL) 18 matchs, 3 buts

1983 Amazulu (AFS)

1984 Independiente (ARG) 3 matchs

1985 Excursionistas (ARG) 1 match

With the National Team :

55 caps, 13 goals

(Friendly matches: 34 caps, 8 goals)

(World Cup: 12 caps, 4 goals)

(Atlantic Cup: 6 caps, 1 goal))

(Copa Newton: 1 cap)

(Copa Lipton: 1 cap)

(Copa Carlo Dittborn: 1 cap)

1st cap: May 17, 1973 against Uruguay (1-1)

Last cap: June 25, 1979 against the Rest of the World (1-2)

René Orlando Houseman

Born July 19, 1953 in La Banda (ARG)

Died March 22, 2018 in Buenos Aires (ARG)

Argentine, Right Winger, 1m65

Nicknames: Loco, Hueso

La Banda, 1953, is the place and year of birth of one of the best Argentine wingers in history. Revealed by the Defensores de Belgrano, René Houseman spent most of his career in Huracán. He is a fine dribbler, fast, comfortable with both feet, this little Argentinian winger of 1 meter 65 made a sensational debut. And for his first season, he won the Metropolitano championship of 1973. And during that same season, he reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores. He is already one of the best wingers on the continent.

During the 1970s, he was regularly selected with the Argentina national team where he debuted in 1973, on May 17 to be precise, during a match against Uruguay which ended in a 1-goal draw. His first season was simply phenomenal, and he was also invited to the world selection assembled by FIFA for the jubilee of Garrincha, the Brazilian winger.

At just 21 years old, he participated in the 1974 World Cup, where he scored 3 goals, against Italy, Haiti and East Germany. He is one of the best wingers in the world despite his age, and in addition to being technical he is formidable in front of goals. In 1978, he was again in the Argentine team which participated in the World Cup in Argentina. Substitute in the final against the Netherlands, he came on in the 75th minute and was one of the players in the victorious extra time for Argentina. His history in the World Cup is magical, a total of 12 appearances for 4 goals.

Very fast, excellent dribbler, the one nicknamed "El Loco", the madman, was a whimsical player, capable of eliminating any goalkeeper or defender with a dribble. He was also an excellent ball striker, very good at finishing, on penalties or on long-distance shots.

But at the same time as his departure from the Huracán team, his performances collapsed and those, because of his pronounced addiction to alcohol. He goes through several clubs without success, the criticisms are rife. Collectively, he still won the 1984 Copa Libertadores with Independiente, but he hardly played any more.

He died on March 22, 2018 at the age of 64 after a year of fierce struggle against the consequences of his alcoholism on his body. A sad end for a player who could have aimed for the heights.

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