Jump to content

Tomás Carlovich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tomás Carlovich
Carlovich with Central Córdoba, c. 1975
Personal information
Full name Tomás Felipe Carlovich
Date of birth (1946-04-19)19 April 1946[1]
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina
Date of death 8 May 2020(2020-05-08) (aged 74)
Place of death Rosario, Argentina
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
1960–1964 Rosario Central
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1968 Sporting of Bigand 70 (25)
1969–1970 Rosario Central 2 (2)
1971 Flandria 4 (1)
1972–1975 Central Córdoba 58 (48)
1975–1976 Independiente Rivadavia 15 (8)
1976 Rosario Central 3 (1)
1977 Colón de Santa Fe 5 (1)
1978 Central Córdoba 2 (1)
1978–1979 Deportivo Maipú 13 (7)
1979 Andes Talleres 17 (16)
1980–1983 Central Córdoba 82 (34)
1984 Pergamino 10 (5)
1985 Newell's Old Boys
of Cañada de Gómez		 7 (4)
1986 Central Córdoba 8 (2)
1987–88 Argentino (MM) 40 (23)
Total 336+ (179+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tomás Felipe Carlovich (19 April 1946 – 8 May 2020), nicknamed El Trinche,[3][4][5][6] was an Argentine professional football player and coach. His position on the field was central midfielder, playing in several clubs although he is mostly associated with Central Córdoba, where he became an idol[4][7] and the most representative player of the club along with Gabino Sosa.[8] Due to his ball control and dribbling ability, many people saw Carlovich as a pure representative of creole football, although he had played only a few matches in the top division of Argentine football.[4] Carlovich also had a brief stint as coach in Central Córdoba, although he stated that he was not interested in taking over the senior squad again after resigning.[9] He is the only one recognized by the regional league. Two of the world's greatest football superstars like, Diego Maradona and Pelé.[6]

Career

[edit]
Carlovich with Central Córdoba in 1973

Carlovich grew up in Belgrano neighborhood, Rosario. Carlovich (Croatian: Karlović) was of Croatian descent: his father, Mario Karlović, was an immigrant from Zagreb. Once settled in San Francisco de Santa Fe he met Carlovich's mother, Elvira Vega being the last of seven siblings, three girls and four boys. He started in the youth ranks of Rosario Central, and in 1965 he was briefly loaned to Sporting de Bigand, where he won the Southern Sports League championship.[3] in 1969 decade he began to play football in Rosario Central, but he received most recognition during his tenure in Central Córdoba. Playing for Central Córdoba, Carlovich won the promotions of 1973 and 1982. He was in Central Córdoba in four stages: 1972–1975, 1978, 1980–1983 and 1986, playing nine seasons, and scoring 28 goals in 236 games.[10][11]

In 1976 he played for Independiente Rivadavia. In one of the friendly matches, the team defeated Italian AC Milan with a score of 4–1. In 1977 he played for Colón de Santa Fe. In 1978 he played for Central Córdoba Played 2 matches in the Argentina championship. In 1978–1979 he played for Deportivo Maipú. In 1979, the team defeated Inter Milan with a score of 3–1 in a friendly match. In 1979 he played for Andes Talleres. In one of the friendly matches, the team defeated AC Milan with a score of 3–2.[12][13][14]

Furthermore, in 1984 he went through Provincial of Pergamino and, in 1985, he played for Newell's Old Boys of Cañada de Gómez, an entity belonging to the Cañadense Football League. He retired in October 1988, at the age of 42, in Argentino, from Monte Maíz.[15]

The historical "forward and back nutmeg"

[edit]

During a match between Central Córdoba and Talleres de Remedios de Escalada, a supporter encouraged Carlovich to make a double nutmeg, moving the ball first forward, then back. This request was immediately fulfilled by "El Trinche", causing a huge ovation from his fans in the grandstand. This nutmeg would be repeated many times by Carlovich during his career.

A specialist in pipes, one of his characteristic plays was the so-called "double pipe", by which he passed the ball between the opponent's legs in two consecutive moments, snubbing the same player twice.[16]

Legend the 1974 consecration

[edit]

The last match as a preparation for the 1974 World Cup found the Argentina national football team going to Rosario to play a friendly game against a squad formed exclusively by players born in that city. Some of the Rosarian players were prominent footballers, such as Mario Zanabria, Daniel Killer, Carlos Aimar and Carlovich as well.[17]

At the end of the first half, the team from Rosario led 3–0. The supremacy of the local team was so big that the Argentina national team coach, Vladislao Cap, asked for his colleague to exclude Carlovich for the second half, and this is what finally happened. The final score was 3–1 [18][19]

In 1976, he was called up to the Argentina national team for one of the friendly matches before the 1978 World Cup, but did not arrive at the team's location.[6]

Style of play and temperament

[edit]
Carlovich playing for Independiente Rivadavia in 1976

Left-foot talent, number 5 in Central midfielder the back, Carlovich was a very technically gifted player. During the friendly match against the Argentine selection in 1974, he inflicted a legendary bridge on Francisco Sá.[20] The legend, unverifiable, says that he invented the double small bridge, even more humiliating for the adversary.[5] El Trinche himself wanted to put things into perspective. “Here in Rosario, there are tons of inventions around me. But they are false. People in Rosario love to tell stories. I would have made small bridges going back and forth (the famous doble caño), but it’s not that important.[3] El Trinche was also a tall and rather slow player. Those who have seen him play often compare him to Diego Maradona for his ball-keeping skills and to Fernando Redondo, Juan Román Riquelme for his presence on the pitch.[3]

The prestigious sports magazine El Grão described him like this: He had his style: he was an elegant, virtuous and somewhat disdainful central midfielder. He walked slowly, but with reasoning inversely proportional to his walk. Carlovich is something like the greatest exponent of the lyrical arc of Argentine football.[3] Because he played most of his career in lower categories of Argentine football (he gave up fame and the first division to continue playing with his friends), GloboEsporte.com defined him as "The best Argentine player that the world hasn't seen".[21]

Personal life and health

[edit]

In 2002, the municipality of Rosario named him an Illustrious Athlete, which allowed him to collect the only money he contributed monthly in the house he shared with his wife and two of his children at that time, until he began laying floors with one of his siblings. His tribulations came from before, when severe pain began to afflict him that turned out to be the product of coxofemoral osteoporosis. Friends and relatives mobilized and, with the collaboration of Rosario mayor Miguel Lifschitz, he was able to get a prosthesis on his right hip in October 2005.[16]

In 2011, the program Informe Robinson on the Spanish radio station Canal Plus made a special program about him. During that report, Jorge Valdano revealed that the former Rosario player and technical director Marcelo Bielsa attended Central Córdoba games, for four uninterrupted years, to see him play. Furthermore, in said report, it was mentioned that Trinche was once considered a reinforcement for the New York Cosmos, but that Pelé would have prevented him from being hired.[22]

In 2019, a play titled El Trinche, the best soccer player in the world, written by Jorge Eines and José Ramón Fernández, inspired by his legacy, was presented at the Cooperation Cultural Center in the city of Buenos Aires.[23][24]

Death

[edit]

On 6 May 2020, Carlovich was assaulted and beaten by a young man who stole his bicycle. Carlovich fell and hit his head on the ground, Taken to hospital and died two days later On 8 May 2020.[25] Juan Ariel Maidana, 32, was arrested by the police as the alleged perpetrator of the attack, and he was remanded in preventive detention.[26] After due judicial process, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the crime of homicide.[27] On May 10, he was farewelled at the Central Córdoba stadium by a crowd of fans who violated the ban on gatherings issued in connection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic.[28]

Recognition

[edit]
Carlovich with Colón de Santa Fe in 1977

The lack of audiovisual documentation of his matches has meant that, through oral transmission, his figure has reached mythical records.[29]

Carlovich was even compared with Diego Maradona when some referred to him as "the Maradona that never was" because of his bohemian style of life his refusal Famous teams like Boca Juniors and his refusal to play in clubs outside Argentina.[3][5][30] famous overseas teams like. AC Milan, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain tried to sign him, but Carlovich declined the offers. At the end of his career, Brazilian star Pelé tried to convince him to play for the New York Cosmos but he also refused.[6][14][31][32]

Carlovich is considered one of the best Argentine football players ever. José Pekerman chose him as the best central midfielder he had ever seen; César Luis Menotti said, "Carlovich is one of those kids whose unique toy has been a ball since they were born. Watching him playing football was impressive". Diego Maradona, when arriving at Newell's Old Boys and after being defined by a journalist as "the best footballer", replied: "The best footballer has already played in Rosario, and his name is Carlovich".[17] In February 2020, when Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata went to Rosario to play Rosario Central, Maradona met Carlovich and expressed his admiration again, saying to him "you were better than me".[6][33]

Legacy in his own words

[edit]

"Many things about me were told, but most of them were not true. The real thing is I never liked being so far from my neighborhood, my parents' house, the bar I used to go, my friends, and 'the Vasco' Artola, who teach me how to hit the ball when I was a boy.[34]

"Sometimes I sat on the ball during the matches, but I did it just to have a break and not to mock the rivals on the field. My style of playing football was very modest, as my own life was, despite the sins of youth I could have committed".[34]

"The most beautiful gift that football gave me were Central Córdoba and Independiente Rivadavia; I would define them as 'the two loves of my life'. In both teams I have played the best years of my career which totalises 16 years as a professional. With the 'Charrúas' I obtained two Second Division championships, in 1973 and 1982. The club administrators paid me a special bonus by nutmeg and double bonus by double nutmeg. The fans used to encourage me from the grandstand shouting like this: 'Go Trinche, make a double nutmeg'".[34]

"When Diego (Maradona) came to Rosario, some Central Córdoba executives emphasized on me so much to go see him at the hotel, that I said 'well, let's go'. I was 20 meters away from where Diego –surrounded by 15 or 20 people– was... Suddenly he appeared in front of me, gave me a hug and began talking non-stop. He even signed me a t-shirt and put on it 'Trinche, you were better than me.' The only thing I could answer is 'Diego, now I can leave this world in peace, you were the greatest player I saw in my life. Unusual things happen to me'.[14][33]

Honours

[edit]

Sporting of Bigand[3][35]

  • Southern Sports League Bigand Sporting: 1965

Central Córdoba[10][34]

Rosario Central[13]

  • Mendoza Cup Independiente Rivadavia: 1976

Individual

  • Central Córdoba Hall of Fame: 2020

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Murió El "Trinche" Carlovich, la leyenda y mito del fútbol argentino que aseguran que fue mejor que Maradona". Archived from the original on November 1, 2020.
  2. ^ Tomás Carlovich: "el Trinche” Textos: José Félix Suárez 31 de diciembre de 2013
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Pujol, Ayelen, Jorge (January 21, 2018). "Carlovich: El mito viviente". Elgrafico.com (in Spanish). El Gráfico. Retrieved May 9, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c Murió Tomás "El Trinche" Carlovich, el mito del fútbol argentino: el talento rosarino de las historias imposibles by Diego Morini on La Nación, 8 May 2020
  5. ^ a b c Clarín.com (May 8, 2020). "Murió el Trinche Carlovich, el crack que bailó a la Selección, cautivó a Pelé y no quiso ser Maradona". www.clarin.com (in Spanish). Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Así era el 'Trinche': el mito que no quiso ser Maradona". May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020.
  7. ^ Murió el Trinche Carlovich, un mito del fútbol argentino by Facundo Martínez, Pagina/12, 8 May 2020
  8. ^ Gabino Sosa: El payador de la redonda by Borocotó on El Gráfico, 1934
  9. ^ La palabra de Tomás Carlovich, Charrúa a Full website, February 17, 2011
  10. ^ a b El Trinche on CIHF website (sources: "Historia en Azul y Amarilla" (La Capital); La Capital. La Prensa, 24–30/8/1969; La Capital 18 Apr 1974; Goles magazine #1241
  11. ^ UK Meet Argentina's forgotten genius who was a world away from modern master Messi Yahoo Sport Guillem Balague Wed, 28 Mar 2018
  12. ^ "Mitos y verdades del Trinche Carlovich: el crack que huyó del éxito". November 20, 2018. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Cavalcante, Juan José (May 11, 2020). "Ídolo en todos lados. Cuando el Trinche brilló en la tierra del Sol y el buen vino: histórico triunfo sobre Milan en 1979". El Ciudadano. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Trinche Carlovich: Argentina mourns the maverick Maradona called the greatest Goal.com, 8 May 2020.
  15. ^ "La historia del mágico jugador rosarino". www.infocielo.com (in Spanish). January 25, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "El hombre que pudo ser el mejor". May 19, 2008. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "1977 – Tomás Carlovich" on Colón con o sin Tiento website
  18. ^ "El hombre que pudo ser el mejor", March 9, 2012
  19. ^ Dicen que fue mejor que Maradona, Interview to Carlovich on Revista Catalina, September 9, 2010 (archived)
  20. ^ "Voici 10 histoires de petits ponts mythiques". SOFOOT.com (in French). March 28, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  21. ^ globoesporte.globo.com/ O melhor jogador argentino que o mundo não viu
  22. ^ "La leyenda del Trinche Carlovich". ESPN Chile. May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  23. ^ Mattia Luconi (June 21, 2019). "Federico Buffa porta in scena "Esta noche juega El Trinche", una storia romantica - Spettakolo.it". Spettakolo! (in Italian). Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  24. ^ "EL TRINCHE, EL MEJOR FUTBOLISTA DEL MUNDO". thlp. March 19, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  25. ^ ""Lo mataron por una bicicleta: así fue el violento robo que le costó la vida al Trinche Carlovich"". Infobae. May 8, 2020.(in Spanish)
  26. ^ Página/12 (May 9, 2020). "Un detenido por el robo y ataque al Trinche Carlovich". Retrieved May 10, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Redacción (June 6, 2023). "Condenaron a 33 años de prisión al ladrón que mató al Trinche Carlovich". Rosario3. Rosario (Argentina). Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Dariusz Wołowski (May 11, 2020). "Najlepszy z nieznanych piłkarzy został zamordowany. Argentyna w żałobie". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  29. ^ "Crece la leyenda: el "Trinche" Carlovich, el primer funeral popular en cuarentena". Tiempo Argentino. May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020. El "Trinche" era un mito en el que muchos futboleros elegían creer, porque muy pocos lo vieron jugar.
  30. ^ The day that the Trinche Carlovich refused to play in the Boca de Maradona: the reasons Archysport.com, 08-05-2020
  31. ^ Trinche Featured earlier on In Bed with Maradona but thought I would share it here too Golazoargentino. February 15, 2013 · by pedrocoates · in articles, Uncategorized.
  32. ^ Why Tomas 'the Fork' Carlovich, idol to Maradona, was the greatest player in soccer you've never seen ESPN FC, May 13, 2020
  33. ^ a b Las historias que transformaron en mito al Trinche Carlovich, Infobae, 8 May 2020
  34. ^ a b c d "Maradona: 'El mejor fue Carlovich'" Tipete.com 03/12/2008
  35. ^ "Trinche, idolatrado en todos lados: de joven ganó la Liga Deportiva del Sur con Sporting de Bigand". Diario El Ciudadano y la Región (in European Spanish). May 13, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2022.

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tomás Carlovich.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tomás_Carlovich&oldid=1243246811"