Soccer in Sun and Shadow

The Fun Lovers

Julio Pérez, one of the Uruguayan champions from 1950, used to cheer me up when I was a child. They called him “Pataloca,” which means “Crazy Leg,” because he could take himself apart in the air and leave his adversaries rubbing their eyes. They couldn’t believe that his legs could fly one way while the rest of his body headed off in precisely the opposite direction. After eluding several opponents with such bodily taunts, he would back up and repeat the maneuver. In the stands we loved to cheer this party animal of the playing field, whose antics unleashed our laughter along with anything else that happened to be tied down.

Several years later I had the good luck to see the Brazilian Garrincha play, and he too had fun cracking jokes with his legs. Sometimes, when he was at the point of climax, he would back up, just to prolong the pleasure.