Sergio Iván José Messen Angarita (8 March 1949 – 1 January 2010) was a Chilean footballer. Nicknamed "Keko", he played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

primarily for

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

in the early 1970s whilst primarily remaining with

Palestino The term ''Palestino'' is the Spanish word for "Palestinian". The word "''Palestino''" is used in Cuba as a disparaging nickname for illegal migrants within the country. The nickname is used as a rhetorical device, that compares illegal migrants ...

throughout the majority of his career as a player. He also played for his home country of

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 ...

throughout the 1970s including the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Club career

Messen began playing within the youth sector for Universidad Católica where he would stand out for being a major goalscorer. He would make his senior debut on 1967 as a reserve and would play until 1970 as he then played for

. Between 1971 and 1973, he would play in 90 matches with 30 goals being scored. He would oversee the club winning their 11th title in the

1972 Primera División de Chile The 1972 Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, was the 40st season of top-flight football in Chile. Colo-Colo won their eleventh title following a 1–1 draw against Huachipato in the championship 33rd matchday on December 16, 1972, also qu ...

and play in the 1973 Copa Libertadores finals. During the second semester of the

1974 Primera División de Chile The 1974 Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol Profesional was the Chilean football top tier's 42nd season. Huachipato was the tournament's champion, winning their first top-level title, and became the first team from Southern Chile to be national champi ...

, he would sign for

and would win in the

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. ...

and

1977 Copa Chile The 1977 Copa Chile was the eighth edition of the Chilean Cup tournament. The competition started on February 6, 1977, and concluded on April 9, 1977. Palestino won the competition for their second time, beating Unión Española 4–3 on the fin ...

as well as in the

1978 Primera División de Chile The 1978 Campeonato Nacional was Chilean first tier's 46th season. Palestino was the tournament's champion, winning its second title. Standings Results Topscorer Liguilla Pre-Copa Libertadores ---- ---- Liguilla play-off match ...

, winning its second title. He would retire from professional football in 1981.

International career

Messen represented

in eleven matches. His official debut would be on 22 March 1970 in a friendly in a 0–5 loss against

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 ...

. He would score his first international goal in another friendly against Brazil on 4 October 1970 in a 1–5 loss. His second goal would be within another friendly against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

in a 4–3 victory on 15 August 1971 as most of his international appearances would be friendlies. He would play in the 1972 in the second match with his final international appearance being in a 0–2 loss against

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 ...

during the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as he would not make the final squad despite Chile ultimately qualifying for the tournament.

Death

Messen was found dead on 1 January 2010 at Providencia, Santiago. Initial reports would state that he had died through suicide, but later reports would state that he had been killed through assault. However, the finalized cause of death for Messen was determined to be through a

diabetic coma Diabetic coma is a life-threatening but reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. Three different types of diabetic coma are identified: #Severe diabetic hypoglycemia, low blood sugar in a diabetic person #Diabetic ketoac ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messen, Sergio 1949 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Concepción, Chile Chilean men's footballers Chile men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Chilean Primera División players Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Colo-Colo footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers 20th-century Chilean sportsmen