BioBioChile spoke with the authors of the biographical book of Elías Figueroa, which has a luxurious prologue.
Earlier this year the book was released ‘Don Elias’, written by Nelson Osses and Pablo Arteche, which collects the best anecdotes and data from who is considered the Best Chilean Soccer Player of the 20th Century.
The book has a luxurious prologue since Franz Beckenbauer himself, the best German defender in history and two-time world champion, dedicated a few words to the former Santiago Wanderers, Peñarol and Porto Alegre International player.
“From Europe I always felt identified with their quality of play, since we shared the defensive position (…) When they compare us, rather than competing for who is the best, It fills me with pride to be considered together with him as one of the best in history ”, indicates in the book.
BioBioChile had the opportunity to talk with those who wrote ‘Don Elías’, a book that has stories from Elías Figueroa himself and his close circle.
– How did you manage to have a prologue by Frank Beckenbauer?
Nelson Osses: “Although Elías has been living in Chile for many years, he is always invited to multiple national and international activities and his name opens many important doors. Through contacts that he still maintains and with the help of his son Ricardo, we managed following months to get him to send us a greeting in English, which we transcribed trying to be as faithful as possible to the words of he “.
“To be honest, and without detracting from the importance of the German idol, our first option was to have a greeting from Pelé, which was entirely possible given his ever-present friendship with Elías. However, in 2022 he was very ill and did not participate in any activity, finally passing away as we all know in December ”.
– Do you feel that the new generations take the weight of the figure that was Elías Figueroa?
Pablo Arteche: “It seems to me that they don’t have to do it if they don’t know their history. That is partly why we made it our mission to produce this book and have the authorization of Elías himself, to convey its importance to the entire public. The diffusion that it has hopefully brings the new generations closer to understanding that we have history and a path traveled, through which we must recognize those who contributed before us ”.
“In recent years, a spirit of sweeping away everything from the past has prevailed, perhaps sometimes excessive, because the country that our parents and grandparents built was done with what they had at hand, with success and also failures, of which there are to learn to build something better, before just criticizing and destroying. That is the biographical story that we built of Elías, with his great moments but also with the difficulties that life brought him and then success, which always has two faces, not everything always being positive on a personal and family level ”.
– How do you manage to show that you were the best centre-back in history in ‘Don Elías’?
Nelson Osses: “We carried out an exhaustive investigation with access to documentation that Elías himself kept and information that has circulated publicly for years. We also interviewed the journalist Lazaro Candal, who in the 1970s created the award for the best player in America from the Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, who confirmed that this award, which Pelé also won a year before Elías received it three consecutive times , it was awarded to any American player in the world, not only to those who were in clubs on this continent, which is the criteria of the award that is given today”.
“Coach Cesar Menotti, world champion with Argentina in 1978, said in one of his books that he was the best defender he had ever seen, among many others who have declared the same, such as Daniel Passarella, Franz Beckenbauer, Teofilo Cubillas and Carlos Caszely. . The Spanish newspaper Marca el año 2020, through its journalist specialized in soccer history, Julio Maldonado, placed Elías in the ideal South American team of all time, being the only Chilean nominated. Figueroa was also included in the award of the best 100 players in history made by FIFA when he celebrated his centenary. There are many antecedents that we present so that it is irrefutable that he is the best not only in Chile, but in the whole world ”.
– Apart from football, what lessons can be drawn from the life of Don Elías?
Pablo Arteche: “As we had the opportunity to meet him and have long discussions with him for this book, the first thing that always stands out is his humility and simplicity. He is always in a good mood and open to chat. Regarding his story, he had a difficult childhood, with some serious illnesses from which he was able to get ahead at a very young age and later become a great athlete. We also rescued the example of his family life, which was always his first priority and which sometimes defined important decisions in his career, such as returning to Chile when he was at the height of success in Brazil ”.
“To this day, he maintains his marriage to Marcela, whom he met when they were both teenagers in Quilpué, before he was a professional soccer player, and who today have a beautiful family at this point with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We think that he is a great example in sports and non-sports for the new generations, a national heritage that we should respect and spread as part of our Chilean culture”.
