Horacio Casarín

Horacio Casarín Garcilazo (May 25, 1918 - April 10, 2005) was a Mexican football player and coach who established himself as one of his country's most popular sports figures in the 1940's and 50's. A symbol for CF Atlante, the team Casarín served for the majority of his career, the skilled forward also played for Necaxa, Leon, Asturias, Club América, Real España, CF Monterrey and Zacatepec in his country, as well as FC Barcelona in Spain and the Mexican national football team.

Career history

At the age of 17, Casarín debuted for Necaxa. Over the course of his career in Mexico, Casarín scored 236 goals at the amateur and professional levels (the Mexican League was founded in the early 1940's) and represented his country at the 1950 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil and scored a goal during the course of the tournament. A famous story involving Casarín takes place during a 1939 game between Casarin's Necaxa, and Asturias. After scoring a goal in the first few minutes of the game, defenders sought out Casarín and fouled him mercilessly, until the goalscorer was forced to abandon the pitch after only twenty minutes had gone by. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, but outraged Necaxa fans expressed their ire by burning Asturia's wooden stadium.

With Atlante, Casarín scored 95 goals and helped the "Potros" win the 1946-47 season championship, while cementing his popularity by acting in the football-themed movie, "The sons of Don Venacio". Word of Casarín's role in the film spread, and the movie became a box-office success in Mexico. Casarín played his last game as a professional on November 18, 1956, scoring a goal for CF Monterrey.

As a coach, Casarín's biggest achievement was coaching the Mexican U-20 national football team to a second place finish during the very first FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Tunisia in 1977. Casarín's squad lost the final game 9-8 in penalty kicks against the USSR. He also coached Atlante and UAG Tecos

Casarín's failing health finally gave out on April 10, 2005, only a few months after his wife, Maria Elena King, had died. He died of complications arising from Alzheimer's disease.

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/gonecaxa/historia/index.html Casarín bio (In Spanish)]
* [http://www.embajadoresaztecas.com/horacio_casarin.htm Casarín profile (In Spanish)]