Gilberto Cuero, one of the iconic players of the early years of América de Cali, died this Saturday in the capital of Valle, at the age of 79.
According to the criteria of
Before the club’s glorious era, he was the player with the most games played for América: 420 matches, between the League and Copa Libertadores.
Today he occupies sixth place on that list, behind Antony de Ávila, Álex Escobar, Julio César Falcioni, Luis Eduardo Reyes and Juan Manuel Battaglia.
Gilberto Cuero’s career with América de Cali
Cuero, born on September 23, 1944 in Buenaventura, only acted for América. He played in all attacking positions, although he also covered emergencies in other positions. “The only thing I lacked was playing goalkeeper,” he acknowledged this year, in an interview with Hernán Peláez and Martín de Francisco, on W Radio.
He debuted in 1966, when the América coach was the Argentine José María Minella, and in 1969 he was part of the team that finished as runner-up, behind Deportivo Cali, with which the team had, the following year, its first participation in the Cup. Libertadores, to which it would only qualify again in 1980.
He retired from football in 1976 and after leaving professional practice, he studied chemistry and biology at the University of Santiago de Cali.
He played two matches with the Colombian Senior National Team, both friendlies: on October 16, 1968, against Mexico (0-1) and on May 20, 1970, against England in El Campín (0-4), when the then champion of the world played in Bogotá in preparation for the cup in Mexico.
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