Hugo Alejandro Sotil Yerén (18 May 1949 – 30 December 2024) was a Peruvian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er. Nicknamed ''El Cholo'', he played as a striker or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Together with Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz, he was one of Peru's most recognized football players of the 1970s. He also was a popular player in Peru, and a biopic on his life was released in that decade. He was a member of the Peru national team that won the

1975 Copa América The 1975 edition of the Copa América football (soccer), football tournament was played between 17 July and 28 October. The tournament saw many significant shifts to its format, such as changing its name from South American Championship to Copa A ...

and reached the quarterfinals in Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978. Sotil made his professional debut in 1967, standing out with

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian Association football, football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their succ ...

and became one of the most popular players in Peru. In 1973 he gained international fame by signing for

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

forming a historic attacking duo with the Dutch star

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

winning the

Spanish Primera División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

in his first season after 14 years of drought for the Catalan club. He became the first Latin American player to wear the "10" for FC Barcelona. Carrying the number 10 on his back in addition to getting two league runners-up and one in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

after four seasons with the Barça shirt. In 1977 he returned to Peru and became two-time national champion with

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peru, Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District, Lima, La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on February ...

in 1977 and 1978. In 1973 he joined the starting team of the America national team that faced the Europe team of

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Stri ...

and

Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti (; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official ga ...

. The match ended 4–4, and Sotil scored the third goal for his team, then in a penalty shootout the American team won 7–6. That night he played alongside other South American figures such as Rivellino, Fernando Morena, Miguel Brindisi, Víctor Espárrago, Teófilo Cubillas and others. He was international with the Peruvian team, with which he played two editions of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

: those of 1970 and 1978, where he reached the quarterfinals in both World Cups. On a continental level, he won the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

in 1975, where he scored the only goal of the final match against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, giving the Inca team the title of Champions of America. Sotil has been one of the most popular athletes in his country, to the point that in 1972, he starred in a film directed by Bernardo Batievsky (his great admirer) entitled ''

Cholo ''Cholo'' () was a racial category used in 18th-century Spanish America to refer to people who were three-quarters Amerindians, Amerindian by descent and one-quarter Spanish people, Spanish. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for Multi ...

''.

Club career

Deportivo Municipal

In 1968, Sotil made his debut at the professional level for

in the

Peruvian Segunda División The Peruvian Second Division (; known simply as ''Second Division'', and Liga 2 Caja Cusco for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 2, is the second-highest division in the Peruvian football league system. Founded in 1943, it is a profess ...

, which he helped to obtain promotion to the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

that year. Sotil also played and scored the opening goal in an all-star match between Europe and South America in 1973 at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

in Barcelona. Football greats such as

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

, Rivellino and Teófilo Cubillas took part in that game. The game finished 4–4 and in penalty kicks, South America won 7–6.

Barcelona

In 1973, Sotil moved to

of Spain, where he was teammate of the stars

Juan Manuel Asensi Juan Manuel Asensi Ripoll (born 23 September 1949) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Born in Alicante, Valencian Community, Asensi began his career at local Elche – at the time in La Liga – b ...

and Carles Rexach, among others. He was the club's striker, holding the number ten shirt. He made his debut for ''Barça'' on 22 August, winning the

Joan Gamper Trophy The Joan Gamper Trophy (, or simply TJG) or Joan Gamper Cup is an annual association football exhibition match held in August, before the start of Barcelona's La Liga season, where top division clubs from the world compete against them. The compe ...

after beating

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

4–2 in penalties (2–2 in normal time), with Sotil scoring the opening goal. In the 1973–74 season, Barcelona won the

after 14 trophyless seasons. Sotil was part of the team which demolished

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

5–0 in the Spanish League game played at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

, where he scored the fifth goal. On 21 August 1974, Sotil won his second

after a 4–1 victory against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. By then, he was one of the Spanish League's most recognized players Barcelona's hiring of Dutchman

Johan Neeskens RCH may stand for: * Radio Club de Honduras, an amateur radio organization * Railway Clearing House, the British financial clearing house and technical standards bureau for railways * The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal), a unit of the Canadian ...

, who took a foreigner slot, resulted in his relegation from the first team in the 1974–75 season. Barcelona occupied third place, and Catalan people demanded the return of Sotil to the team first for 1975–76 season. He stayed with Barcelona for three seasons (1973 to 1976), played 111 games, and scored 33 goals.

Alianza Lima

In 1977, Sotil returned to Peru and played for

. He had a brief resurgence in form that lasted for two seasons, showing that, although he had lost some of his pace, he retained his skills. He helped the team to win the 1977 and 1978 titles leaving a trail of 23 goals in 48 matches and a good 1978 Copa Libertadores.

Independiente Medellín

In 1979, Sotil went to Colombia, where he did not perform well. Constantly in and out of the lineup and only able to score 8 goals in 33 matches Sotil considered retiring from playing.

Second stint at Deportivo Municipal

But Sotil decided he would make one final push going back to

and playing there until 1982, and returning briefly to football in 1984, playing for Los Espartanos, a small provincial team.

International career

Summary

Sotil made his debut for the Peru national team on 4 February 1970, in a friendly game against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

for Peru in a 5–3 win. He made a total of 62 appearances for Peru between 1970 and 1978, scoring 18 goals.

1970 FIFA World Cup: Quarter Finals

Sotil was part of the Peru national team in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and although he was used most often as a substitute in the tournament, he was still able to play in a 3–2 win against

, a 3–0 win against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and a 3–1 loss to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He was also in the quarterfinal loss against eventual champions

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

by 4–2. Sotil is also much remembered for his assists, as he helped teammate Teófilo Cubillas to capture the ''Bronze Boot''.

Copa America 1975: Champion

Sotil won the

, playing only in the final game since his club did not allow him to travel often. Sotil arrived in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, where the final was played, and he went immediately from the airport to the stadium, arriving when all his teammates were warming up. In that game, against

, Sotil scored the only goal, giving Peru its second title as South American champions.

1978 FIFA World Cup: Second Round

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

finished first in the South American qualifying subgroup for the

1978 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at Guatemala City. Argentina, as the hosts, and West Germany, as the defending champions, qualified ...

after draws with

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, 1–1, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, 1–1, in the first leg and wins by 4–0 against

a victory against

2–0 in the second leg, with Sotil scoring one and assisting the other to Juan Carlos Oblitas. At the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

Sotil appeared in two out of three group stage matches. His first start of the competition was a 3–1 win over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on 3 June. After a draw with

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, 0–0, and a win over

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

4–1, Peru pushed the Netherlands into second place in Group 4. Expectations were high for Peru, however, with three losses, Peru finished at the bottom of their group went out in the second round. Sotil failed to score in the tournament.

Style of play

Sotil was a skilled forward, with great

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

. He also played as

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and was a great assistant of football, due to the large number of goal passes he offered to his teammates. He became famous for his great passing qualities and excellent dribbling, but allegedly various personal problems curtailed his playing career.

Death

On 20 December 2024, Sotil was hospitalized in Lima under intensive care after experiencing

septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International C ...

due to

multiple organ failure Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring immediate medical intervention. There are different stages of organ dysfunction for certain different organs, both in acute and in chronic ...

. He died ten days later, on 30 December, from kidney and liver failure. Sotil was 75.

Career statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 1973–74; runner-up 1975–76 *

: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 *

runner-up: 1973–74 Alianza Lima *

: 1977, 1978 * Metropolitan Championship: 1978 Deportivo Municipal *

: 1968 * Peruvian Primera División runner-up: 1981 Los Espartanos *

Copa Perú The Copa Perú is a association football, football tournament in Peru and the fourth-highest division of the Peruvian football league system. Despite its name, it is not entirely an elimination-cup competition involving all Peruvian clubs, but ra ...

: 1984 Peru *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Individual * Peruvian Footballer of the Year: 1973 *

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

XI All-Star Team: 1973 * Peruvian Footballer of the Year: 1974 * Named one of the Great Stars of the World Cup History: 2006 *

top goalscorer (14 goals):

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

References

External links

*
Some of the Maximum Figures of World Soccer
www.terra.com
The 4 greats of Barcelona
www.terra.com
Hugo "Cholo" Sotil, a great one for all time
www.conmmebol.com

www.arkivperu *
Profile
�� www.weltfussball.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotil, Hugo 1949 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Ica Peruvian men's footballers Peru men's international footballers 1970 FIFA World Cup players 1975 Copa América players 1978 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football midfielders Peruvian Primera División players La Liga players Categoría Primera A players FC Barcelona players Club Alianza Lima footballers Independiente Medellín footballers Deportivo Municipal footballers Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Copa América–winning players Deportivo Municipal managers Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia 20th-century Peruvian sportsmen Deaths from multiple organ failure