Uruguayan Soccer Player Juan Masnik Dies At 77

Former Uruguayan soccer player Juan Masnik, champion of the Copa Libertadores with the Nacional in 1971 and Pele’s partner in the New York Cosmos in the United States in 1975, died this Tuesday at the age of 77.

This was announced by the tricolor team with a publication on the social network Twitter in which he highlighted the titles achieved by whoever played as a defender and his time with the Uruguay team.

“At the age of 77, the glory of Nacional Juan Masnik passed away. Winner of the 1971 Libertadores, 1971 Intercontinental, and 1972 Intercontinental. In 1973 after the retirement of” Peta “Ubiña, the defender was Nacional captain. He played 33 games with @uruguay and he was captain for 2 years “, reads the text.

Born in the department (province) of Soriano, in the southwest of the country, the ex-footballer began his professional career in Cerro from where he left for Argentina to defend the colors of Gimnasia y Esgrima de la Plata.

In 1971, Masnik arrived at Nacional where he won two local titles and where he was a partner with renowned players such as the Brazilian goalkeeper Manga and the Argentine forward Luis Artime.

In that same year, he was part of the eleven that won the Copa Libertadores against Estudiantes de La Plata led by Carlos Salvador Bilardo and whose emblem was Juan Ramón Verón.

In addition, they won the Intercontinental against Panathinaikos after drawing 1-1 in Greece and winning 2-1 in Montevideo.

In the 1974 World Cup in Germany, Masnik was part of the squad that defended the Uruguayan team and was eliminated in the first round after equaling with Bulgaria and losing to Sweden and the Netherlands.

A year later, the footballer left for the United States where he defended the New York Cosmos alongside Pelé before returning to South America where he abandoned his professional career playing in Chile.

Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.

Leave a Comment