Antonio Rattín

Football player infobox
playername = Antonio Rattín


fullname = Antonio Ubaldo Rattín
nickname = "El Rata" ("The Rat")
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1937|5|16
cityofbirth = Tigre
countryofbirth = Argentina
currentclub = "Retired"
position = Midfielder
youthyears = ?
youthclubs = Boca Juniors
years = 1956-70
clubs = Boca Juniors
caps(goals) = 352 (26)
nationalyears = 1959-1969
nationalteam = Argentina
nationalcaps(goals) = 34 (1)
pcupdate = 2005
ntupdate = 2005

Antonio Ubaldo Rattín (born May 16, 1937 in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province) is a former Argentine football player, best known as a Boca Juniors midfielder, and because of an incident in a match at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He later became a politician.

A Boca fan since childhood, Rattín joined their youth team, and debuted professionally on September 9 1956 against Boca's major rival River Plate. Replacing injured Eliseo Mouriño, he had a good game which Boca won 2-1. Slowly he became the team's steady "number 5", and won the hearts of the fans with his sober and solid playing abilities.Fact|date=April 2007

In his fourteen-year professional career, Rattín played only for Boca Juniors, winning the Argentine championship in 1962, 1964 and 1965, and the "Nacional" in 1969.

With the Argentina national football team Antonio Rattín played thirty-two times, including the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and as the captain in the 1966 FIFA World Cup that took place in England.

It was in the quarter-final match against the host team that Rattín was sent off by the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein for "violence of the tongue", despite the referee speaking no Spanish. Rattín was so incensed with the decision, believing the referee to be biased in favour of England, that he initially refused to leave. As a way to show his disgust, he sat on the red carpet which was exclusively for the Queen to walk on. He eventually had to be escorted from the field by two police officers and as a final sign of disgust he wrinkled a British pennant before he was escorted out. This incident, and others surrounding the same game, arguably started the long-lasting rivalry between both national teams.

After a total of 357 matches and 28 goals with Boca Juniors, Rattín retired from professional football in 1970. He worked as coach of the youth teams of Boca Juniors, and coached the first division teams of Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata in 1977 and 1979, and Boca Juniors in 1980.

Argentine writer Alfredo Luis Di Salvo published in 2000 the book "Antonio Ubaldo Rattin - El Caudillo" (ISBN 987-43-1624-1).He remains as one of the greatest idols of Boca Juniors.

In 2001, Rattín was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies for the conservative Federalist Unity Party, led by alleged torturer Luis Patti. He was the first footballer to enter Congress and chaired the Sports Committee. He stepped down in 2005.

External links

* [http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7689056 Antonio Rattín at Big Soccer]
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=19356 Career details] at National Football Teams
*es [http://www.informexeneize.com.ar/biografia_antonio_ubaldo_rattin.htm Informe Xeneize biography]
*es [http://www.bocampeonweb.com.ar/Historia/idolos/rattin.htm Boca Juniors micro-biography]