Hector Castro is an icon of Uruguayan football; He made his football glory despite the misfortune that hit him at an early age.
Castro was born on November 29, 1904 in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, before being exposed to a difficult situation that did not stop him from playing football.
Castro lived in difficult conditions, after his right arm was amputated with a chainsaw in an accident he suffered at the age of 13, and for that incident Castro wore the nickname “El manco”, which means the arm with one arm. alone or “disfigured”.
Hector Castro, the legend of Uruguay
Six years after the incident, Castro joined the ranks of Nacional, one of Uruguay’s largest and most prestigious clubs, and remained a player there until 1932.
In the summer of the same year Castro moved from Nacional to the Argentine Estudiantes, in an experience that lasted only a year, after which the Uruguayan champion returned to the mother team, which retired with the shirt in 1936.
🇺🇾 Uruguay 1930
🏆🇺🇾
🇺🇾 Uruguay 4-2 Argentina 🇦🇷
⚽️ 1-0 | Pablo Dorado 12 ‘
⚽️ 1-1 | Carlos Peucelle 20 ‘
⚽️ 1-2 | Guillermo Stable 37 ‘
⚽️ 2-2 | Pedro Cea 57 ‘
⚽️ 3-2 | Vittoriano Iriarte 68 ‘
⚽️ 4-2 | Ettore Castro 89 ‘🎥 https://t.co/Vk6EElrsSt pic.twitter.com/bqQoxxwmFx
– Sphera Sport (@SpheraSports) July 15, 2018
During this long journey, Al Manco won the Uruguayan Scudetto 3 times, in the seasons 1923-1924, 1932-1933 and 1933-1934.
Castro played his first match for the Uruguayan national team on November 1, 1923, after being called up by coach Leonardo de Luca, and the outstanding striker was about to reach his 19th year.
He joined Celeste’s team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and participated in two games.
Castro remained on the bench in his country’s match against the Netherlands in the first round, before shining in the quarter-finals against Germany, and made two crucial passes that contributed to the “Celeste” victory over Germany 4-1. .
Castro returned to the bench in the semi-final against Italy, but that did not stop Uruguay from beating Italy, albeit with a score of 3-2.
In the final against Argentina Castro was a starter for his country, and that match ended in a 1-1 draw, so the match was repeated according to the rules of that period, and the second confrontation in which Hector did not show up was ended with his country’s 2-1 victory, and with it the team won Olympic gold.
And this was the second consecutive time for the Uruguayan team, which won gold in football at the Olympics, after the 1924 Paris edition, in which Castro did not appear in any matches, despite his presence on the list.
In 1930 Castro was on an appointment with a new international appearance, this time in the first edition of the World Cup hosted by his country.
Win the first World Cup
Uruguay only played two games in the group stage, beating Peru in the first with a single goal from Castro, first World Cup goal for team “Celeste”, and in the second win over Romania 4-0 in the absence by Ettore.
With these results, the host nation overtook Group C, reaching the semi-finals, along with Argentina, Yugoslavia and the United States of America.
And before the final, Uruguay overwhelmed their Yugoslav counterpart 6-1, in a match missed by Castro, who made a sure comeback in the final.
On 30 July 1930 Castro was in the starting line-up for his country in the World Cup final, against Argentina.
That match reached its final moments and the result indicated that “Celeste” advanced 3-2, then Castro appeared and fired a bullet of mercy at “Tango” scoring the fourth goal in the 89th minute, to make sure. the victory of Uruguay in the match and the World Cup.
🦾 Hector Castro accidentally cut his arm while using a power saw at age 13 and was consequently known as “El Manco” (The One-Armed One)
🇮🇾 Didn’t stop him from scoring the only goal like @Uruguay won theirs #World Cup debuts today 90 years ago 👏 pic.twitter.com/dSEVPIancj
– FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 18, 2020
Castro’s one-armed tournaments didn’t stop at the gold medal at the Amsterdam Olympics and the World Cup, but also extended to continental titles.
Castro made it onto the podium of the Copa America twice, the first in 1926, after Uruguay led the table with 8 points, in a version in which only 5 teams participated.
The same result was repeated in 1935, in a tournament in which only 3 teams participated, in addition to Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Chile.
In total, Castro wore the Uruguay shirt in 27 games, during which he scored 19 goals, according to the numbers and statistics from the transfermarkt website.
Shortly after his retirement from football as a player, Castro became involved in the coaching field, which he continued with his mother team, Nacional.
Under the leadership of “Al Manco”, the Nacional won the Uruguayan Scudetto 5 times, 4 in a row between 1940 and 1943, and the last was in 1952.
Castro’s death caused a great shock in Uruguay, especially when he took his last breath, in full health, as he suffered a heart attack that ended his life on September 15, 1960, at the age of 55.
