Pablo Larios Iwasaki (, July 31, 1960 – January 31, 2019) was a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He was nicknamed "El Arquero de la Selva" (The Goalkeeper of the Jungle), both for being from

Zacatepec Zacatepec Fútbol Club is a Mexican professional football club based in Zacatepec, Morelos, that competes in Liga Premier, the third level division of Mexican football. Founded in 1948 as Club Social y Deportivo Zacatepec by workers of the Me ...

, a town in the Mexican state of

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

known for his humid and warm climate, and for starting his career with his hometown's football club.

Career

Larios was a goalkeeper for

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

and

Toros Neza Neza Fútbol Club is a Mexican football club based in the city of Nezahualcóyotl, State of Mexico, that plays in the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. Founded in 1991 as Toros UTN, then the club was moved to Pachuca, Hidalgo and played the 1993–94 ...

during his playing career. He played for the

Mexico national football team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in men's international association football, football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation, Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (). It has been a member of FIFA since 1929 and c ...

at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

, where Mexico reached the quarter-finals and

1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the first edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the eleventh overall CONCACAF tournament. The last time the CONCACAF Championship was he ...

. He also participated in the

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, the second staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Japan from 26 August to 7 September 1979. It was the first FIFA tournament played in Asia. The tournament took place i ...

. He was the goalkeeper trainer in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

working for Ricardo Lavolpe.

Personal life

He has Japanese ancestors on his maternal side. In early September 2008, Larios's 19-year-old son, Pablo Larios Garza, was reported missing. After an intense search, he was found dead by the border police near the area of Grajeno, approximately 600 feet away from

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

. He attempted to illegally cross the border to visit his girlfriend, who lived in the US, since he had lost his visa.

Death

On January 31, 2019, Larios was pronounced dead at a hospital in Puebla at the age of 58. The former goalkeeper had been admitted to hospital due to an intestinal occlusion and

respiratory arrest Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period ...

, for which he underwent surgery from which he did not survive.

Honours

Zacatepec *

Mexican Segunda División Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

: 1983–84 Puebla *

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

: 1989–90 *

Copa México Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: 1989–90 *

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

: 1989–90 *

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

References

External links

* * * 1960 births 2019 deaths 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Men's association football goalkeepers Mexican people of Japanese descent Mexico men's international footballers Mexico men's under-20 international footballers Footballers from Morelos Zacatepec F.C. players Cruz Azul footballers Club Puebla players Toros Neza footballers Liga MX players Mexican men's footballers 20th-century Mexican sportsmen CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players {{Mexico-footy-goalkeeper-stub

Career

Personal life

Death

Honours

See also

References

External links