Uruguay Graffigna

Uruguay Graffigna
Personal information
Full name Uruguay Gustavo Graffigna Banhoffer
Date of birth (1948-01-14)14 January 1948
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Date of death 12 March 2021(2021-03-12) (aged 73)
Place of death Quillota, Chile
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966–1967 El Tanque Sisley
1968–1970 San Luis
1971 Unión San Felipe
1972 Unión Española
1973 Pachuca
1973 Atlético Español
1974 Aviación
1974–1975 Los Angeles Aztecs 38 (21)
1975–1979 PEC Zwolle
1979 Santiago Morning
1980–1983 San Luis
1984 Iberia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Uruguay Gustavo Graffigna Banhoffer, also known as Uri Banhoffer or Yuri Banhoffer (14 January 1948 – 12 March 2021[1]), was a Uruguayan footballer who played for clubs in Uruguay, Chile, the Netherlands and the United States.

He died from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile, and Alzheimer's disease.

Career

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Graffigna moved to Chile in 1968 after playing for Defensor Sporting in his homeland.[2] He helped Unión San Felipe win the 1971 Primera División title and after a spell with Antofagasta, he moved to Mexico to play for C.F. Pachuca.[3]

Graffigna played two seasons in the NASL for the Los Angeles Aztecs and won the championship in 1974.[4] He next moved to the Netherlands where he joined Eerste Divisie club PEC Zwolle. Graffigna spent three seasons with PEC,[5] and had a goal disallowed as the club lost the 1976–77 KNVB Cup final to FC Twente.[6] In 1978 he clinched promotion to Holland's top level after winning the Eerste Divisie league title.[7] He left for Chile in 1979 after his father died there and to be close to his mother.[8]

Personal life

He naturalized Chilean in 2015, keeping the Uruguayan nationality.[9]

In 1968, he came to Chile to join Unión La Calera where his older brother, Pedro Graffigna,[10] played since 1966.[9]

He lived in Quillota, Chile.[9]

References

  1. ^ A los 73 años falleció Uruguay Graffigna, ídolo de San Luis de Quillota Archived 14 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Leal, Patricio (5 July 2004). "Garra y talento futboleros" (in Spanish). El Mercurio de Valparaíso.
  3. ^ van Enckevort, John (28 October 2013). "Great seasons: Union San Felipe (Chile) 1971". Soccer Stories.
  4. ^ Levin, Dan (2 September 1974). "The penalty for success". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Banhoffer, opgewonden standje in Zwolle" (in Dutch). De Stentor. 6 July 2010.
  6. ^ "José Graffigna: Wereldburger en zoon van Yuri Banhoffer" (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  7. ^ "In Memoriam: Yuri Banhoffer" (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. ^ Yuri Banhoffer blijft voor altijd verbonden aan PEC Zwolle - De Stentor (in Dutch)
  9. ^ a b c Morales Salinas, Claudio (17 April 2015). "Uruguay Graffigna ya es chileno: el querido ex futbolista obtuvo la doble nacionalidad". SoyChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Pedro GRAFFIGNA". Memoria Wanderers (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2022.