Roberto Gramajo
Gramajo in 1970
Personal information
Full name Roberto Artemio Gramajo
Date of birth (1947-07-28)28 July 1947
Place of birth La Banda, Santiago del Estero, Argentina
Date of death 1 July 2023(2023-07-01) (aged 75)
Place of death Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1962–1966 Central Argentino de La Banda
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1972 Rosario Central 160 (57)
1972–1974 Panathinaikos 9 (2)
1974–1975 Huracán
1976 Quilmes
1977 Deportivo Cuenca
1978 Jorge Newbery de Ucacha
1987 Olimpo
International career
1971–1972 Argentina 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto Artemio Gramajo (28 July 1947 – 1 July 2023) was an Argentinian football player. Nicknamed "Chango", he played as a forward primarily throughout the 1970s with his most notable participation being with Rosario Central, Panathinaikos and Huracán. He also briefly played for Argentina to be listed in the Brazil Independence Cup roster despite not traveling with the team.

Club career

Rosario Central

Gramajo began his career when he was fifteen years old with Central Argentino de La Banda. Despite just turning sixteen, he would be a starting player within his home province of Santiago del Estero. As an adolescent he would be a starting player within his club, but had disciplinary problems and had issues with all the demands placed on him.[1] He would begin his senior career by signing on for Rosario Central after a 4,750,000 Argentine peso transfer. Arriving at Rosario in 1967, he would only play in one match within the third before playing from the reserves for the rest of the year. He made his debut within the Argentine Primera División at the 1967 Campeonato Nacional against Platense in a 3–0 victory at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa.[2]

He then gained an opportunity to become a starting player as in his prior match, Gramajo would be the substitute for Enzo Gennoni who had recently been removed from the starting line-up. He would score his first goal within the club in his second match against River Plate at the Estadio Monumental despite the team losing 2–3 in the match. Due to his physical status not being the ideal to appear as a starter and would return to the reserves to play as a substitute. His second season with Rosario Central came in the 1968 Campeonato Metropolitano and would score 11 goals in the tournament, becoming the top-scorer for Rosario Central. During the 1968 Campeonato Metropolitano, he would participate in nine matches, scoring two goals in the process.

In 1969, Rosario Central would only participate in the 1969 Campeonato Metropolitano, scoring just one goal in the tournament. Gramajo would have a better season during the 1970 Campeonato Metropolitano, playing in nineteen matches and scoring nine goals with an additional thirteen matches during the 1970 Campeonato Nacional. Gramajo recalls an unforgettable night on 2 October 1970 during a match against Independiente at the Estadio Presidente Perón where the match would end 5–3 with the match being televised. Another match he would remember from the season would be the annual Rosario derby against Newell's Old Boys where Central would win 4–1 at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa. When recalling the chronology of the match, he would partake in a gambit against Carlos Fenoy and would have the ball cross the goal line barley half a meter. With the same movement and pacing, he would aim with his right hand and scored a goal, being described as a waiter carrying a tray.[3]

During the 1971 Campeonato Metropolitano, he would play in 32 matches and score 5 goals. Following the club's qualification to the 1971 Copa Libertadores, he would play in four matches and would score a goal during Rosario Central's match against Sporting Cristal. During the Metropolitano Championship on August 22, 1971, he would observe the 2–1 defeat against Racing, taking particular note on the movements and penalty kick of Juan Carlos Cárdenas after their two goalkeepers were expulsed from the match. Afterwards, Gramajo would execute 14 penalties while with Rosario Central of which he converted 10, 2 were detoured and only two were stopped with a similar scenario occurring with Miguel Ángel Santoro during the 1970 Campeonato Nacional.[4] Gramajo would play as a right-winger during the 1971 Campeonato Nacional where he would be part of the winning team along with players such as Ramón Bóveda and Aldo Poy and play in 13 matches with 7 goals.[2]

His last season with Rosario Central would occur during the 1972 Campeonato Metropolitano where he would score three goals. During the subsequent 1972 Copa Libertadores, he would score the winning goal against Atlético Nacional in a 1–0 victory.[5] In total, Gramajo would play in 160 matches and score 57 goals for Rosario Central. He would also play in 16 editions of the Rosario derby and would only lose one with the rest being five wins and ten draws. He would score five goals against the Rojinegros with one against Jorge Traverso in the 1969 edition and the other four against Carlos Fenoy with two during the 1970 Campeonato Metropolitano in a 1–1 draw and 3–1 victory as well as an additional two during a 4–1 victory at the Campeonato Nacional with one of them being a penalty kick.[2]

Career in Greece and return to Argentina

In 1972, Gramajo would be transferred to the Greek club Panathinaikos. His career there however wasn't as prominent as in within his career in Rosario Central as he would only play in 9 matches and scored 2 goals during the 1972–73 season and the 1973–74 season. His relationship with the club's manager, Ferenc Puskás wasn't great either and Gramajo decided to return to Argentina. He would attempt to return to Rosario Central but the club had already decided on making Mario Kempes his successor as the club's main midfielder.[6]

In 1974, Gramajo decided to play for Club Atlético Huracán upon the request of the club's manager, César Luis Menotti. While within the club, he would be part of the Huracán squad to reach runners-up during the 1975 Campeonato Metropolitano. In 1976, he would transfer over to Quilmes where he would play in 10 matches and score 3 goals.[7] In 1977, he would play in Ecuador as he was signed over to play for Deportivo Cuenca where he would play in the 1977 Copa Libertadores. In 1978, he would return to Argentina again to play for Club Jorge Newbery de Ucacha with his final season playing for Atlético Olimpo Asociación Mutual in 1987.[2]

International career

He played for the Argentina national football team in a friendly against France on 8 January 1971 at La Bombonera. The match ended in a 4–3 victory for the French with Gramajo being substituted for Ángel Marcos during the second half of the match. The team was managed by Juan José Pizzuti and Gramajo played alongside other players such as Norberto Madurga, Roberto Perfumo, Juan Ramón Verón, Jorge Carrascosa, Alfredo Obberti and others.[8] He was also listed for the Brazil Independence Cup but Gramajo ultimately did not travel with the rest of the team.[9]

Gramajo passed away on 1 July 2023.[2]

References

  1. Vatalaro, Buqui. "Roberto Artemio Gramajo". Locos x Central (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pesar para el fútbol y dolor para los hinchas de Central: falleció el Chango Gramajo". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). 1 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. Casale, Torito (7 October 2017). "El gol de Gramajo". Medium (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. Durhand, Carlos. "Central está de luto: falleció Roberto Gramajo, campeón con los canallas en el Nacional 1971". La Capital (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  5. "Archivo de torneos y fotos". Los Guerreros (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. Brisaboa, Jorge (1996). Homo Sapiens (ed.). De ROSARIO y de CENTRAL (in Spanish). Rosario. p. 139. ISBN 9508081007.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. "Ficha de Roberto Artemio Gramajo". BDFA (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. "Argentina tiene una ventaja en el historial ante Francia". Argentine Football Association (in Spanish). 19 January 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. Pérez Pérez, Eliézer Sebastián (2007). "Brazil Independence Cup 1972 - Additional Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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