With a lineup that includes Lionel Messi, Angel Di Mara, Rodrigo De Paul and Emiliano Martnez, Argentina will head into the 2022 World Cup as one of the favorites to win it all. To win their third cup, the two-time world champions will rely on their star players, but occasionally it’s the supporting cast that steps up to make a difference. For instance, John Brooks scored a game-winning goal for the United States against Ghana during the 2014 World Cup.
With regard to Argentina, the Albiceleste is well aware of World Cup heroes; Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes, and Di Mara have all excelled for their country. But there is one instance in particular of a player who excelled, one who fought the odds and earned a spot in all Argentine soccer fans’ hearts.
Sergio Javier Goycochea rose to fame unexpectedly in the summer of 1990 after Argentina’s starting goalie Nery Pumpido broke his leg during the team’s second match against the USSR, turning him into a national hero. Goycochea had a meagre club career and just one senior cap to his name before arriving in Italy.
A Horrible Team
One of the weakest teams Argentina has ever sent to a competition was the 1990 World Cup team. It was a very defensive club that lacked any significant offensive threat. Only four years prior, Maradona famously inspired an equally drab team to win the championship. This Argentine team included many of the same players from the 1986 squad, but they were all in the midst of career declines, none more so than Maradona, who was just six months away from testing positive for cocaine and being permanently expelled from Italy.
An Argentine Hero Was Needed
In the second game, an uneven Argentina team needed to defeat the USSR badly, but tragedy struck in the 11th minute when Pumpido shattered his leg trying to intercept a ball. Goycochea, a former cap who was most known for warming the bench at River Plate and went unnoticed playing for Colombian club Millionarios, was called in by head coach Carlos Bilardo.
In 1982, Goycochea, a product of Defensores Unidos, got his big break with River Plate. From then until 1988, “Goyco” was a backup goalkeeper for several keepers, including Pumpido. Nevertheless, Goycochea participated in 58 games over that time and won four championships.
