“The ‘Hachita’ was born with a ball under his arm and to be a soccer player.” The phrase was pronounced more than half a century ago by a resigned Pedro Ludueña, Luis Antonio’s father. The man, tired of going out to look for him in the pastures of Villa Revol when the boy ran away from school, had already tried, unsuccessfully, making him learn a trade so that he might earn a living. Until one day, Don Pedro assumed that the conditions of his son for soccer might solve the livelihood of the future.
However, that was only a patch to support that popular saying that says “bread for today and hunger for tomorrow.” Sure, “the Axe” made money, signed generous contracts and turned down offers that any other colleague would have presumed. But his trouble, in reality, was not solving how to fill the pot, but guessing where he would bite the round to go look for it. Everything else was secondary. Even the money.
Luis Antonio Luduena, who died this Thursday at the age of 69 was, above all, a monument to the footballer. Or rather: the genuine representative of the person who plays ball. One who is capable of dispensing with the context in which it rolls. He faced the final of a professional championship in the same way and that of a friendly neighborhood for soda. That was Ludueña.
“I always play with the same responsibility. From the previous Friday until the next day I live for the game, and when we lose I don’t sleep thinking regarding discovering the errors to try to improve through this work”, he was able to say in March 1978, even though everyone knew regarding his escapes to concentrations and acts of indiscipline that conspired for an even more brilliant career than he did.
He hit his first balls on the Sarmiento Park skating rink, until at age 13, Roberto Molina, a family friend, took him to San Lorenzo in the Las Flores neighborhood. In the “Los Turcos” team, the same one that projected Llamil Simes and Sebastián Viberti, he stood out in a meteoric career.
He appeared with the Barça shirt number “5″ on March 18, 1972, in a home run organized by Escuela Presidente Roca for teams from Cordoba. That day, his team beat the late Palermo 3-2, in what was a triumphant debut. A handful of spectators, who left 714 pesos at school ticket offices, unknowingly attended the presentation of one of the best soccer players this province gave.
“With a solid defense and a brilliant midfield thanks to the excellent work of its number five Ludueña, the offense saw its work facilitated,” wrote the evening newspaper Córdoba in a brief commentary on the match. Hand in hand with the “Axe”, San Lorenzo won promotion that year and regained his place in the upper circle following five seasons.
In 1973 its definitive takeoff took place. He shone with San Lorenzo despite the fact that his team finished in last place and Talleres, who was beginning to put together the sensational team for the following year, did not hesitate to pay a fortune for his transfer: 15 million pesos. As fate would have it, his farewell to San Lorenzo is for the last date of the Qualifying Tournament, on September 30, once morest who would be his next teammates. It was a 0-0 tie.
“In the last presentation wearing the Barça colours, the efficient midfielder became the best figure of the match, demonstrating his ability, both in skill and power, back and forth. Without the necessary support, he had to resign his attempts to touch ”, La Voz del Interior highlighted it in its classic “Special Mention” space, dedicated to the best of the day.
Workshops, the national consecration
Barely 48 hours following saying goodbye in San Lorenzo, Ludueña put on the Albiazul shirt for the first time. It was on October 2, 1973, in a very particular friendly match, in which Talleres faced Boca Juniors as a luxury preliminary to the Belgrano-Huracán clash, brand new champions of the Cordoba League and the AFA, respectively. A curiosity? The “T” had three stellar reinforcements: Mario Kempes, Osvaldo Ardiles (both from Instituto) and Pablo Comelles (from Argentino Peñarol). Once once more, his presentation was victorious: 1-0 with a goal from “Matador”.
His time at Talleres is the best known of his campaign. His high-flying football was recognized even in Buenos Aires, earning him the first big note in the Buenos Aires weekly El Gráfico, which in September 1974 sent the best writer in its newsroom, Osvaldo Ardizzone, to interview him in the house he rented with his brand new wife. “Like the Rojitas, the Chirolas, the Housemans… Ludueña found a fairy for the same story,” said the headline of the three-page article. He was starting to fly.
“I don’t know if Luis Ludueña will achieve great fame,” wrote the journalist, to then paint a perfect x-ray of what he might be. “Some like him arrive. Others get lost on the long road. Others fade prematurely. In any case, they will be born, they will continue to be born, like the testimony of a folklore, like the unequivocal symbol of a lineage… They are built in their own way. With the freedom of the birds. They are capriciously modeled. Like the stones carried by the river. So no one knows them. No one approaches them to influence their mentality, their personality, their formality, all the solemn and educational methods that “serious men” use… They arrive alone, in their own way… With a dirt road, with a poor ball and a lot of timid passionate dreams. Just with all that…
In the selection
It wasn’t long until César Menotti summoned him for the first time to the national team that was preparing to be world champion. In June 1975, “El Flaco” called him for the first and unrepeatable version of the “interior selection” that the coach made to open the game for “everyone’s team.” His debut took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in a match that the albiceleste beat the local team 2-1 with goals from Daniel Astegiano (from Ingenio Ledesma de Jujuy) and Osvaldo Ardiles (Instituto). Of that squad, five were world champions in 1978: in addition to “Pitón”, there were also Luis Galván and Miguel Oviedo (Talleres), Daniel Valencia (Gimnasia de Jujuy) and Ricardo Villa (Atlético Tucumán).
Ludueña participated in the senior team until the summer of 1977, when following an act of indiscipline carried out by “el Hacha” in Mar del Plata, Menotti closed the doors to the selection. Later, while he was waiting for a pardon that would allow him to rejoin, he cut his Achilles tendon in a domestic accident and the dream of playing in the World Cup was shelved forever.
For many, he was the number one to perform in the ’78 World Cup. He had the facility to play “8 ″ or “5 ″, without ever failing to see the goal in front. No one might argue with his class and in a very federal team, like the one Menotti put together, his contribution seemed essential. In fact, in the collection of figurines from that World Cup, Ludueña’s face adorned the album. But he watched the tournament on TV.
Quoted and controversial
Apart from this, the offers on his hiring rained down on the Talleres headquarters. All the greats of the Federal Capital made their offers to take it away, as did some international intermediaries. But he was one of Amadeo Nuccetelli’s favorites, the albiazul starter who did not want anything to do with transferring him. “If we get rid of one of our key figures such as Ludueña or Valencia, Galván or Oviedo, Talleres ceases to be Talleres,” said “el Pelado” in January 1977.
Off the field, Ludueña gave all kinds of advantages. He was not attached to the sacrifice of the concentrations and he always had a hard time separating himself from his affections. The best example of this was when an irrefutable proposal from Málaga of Spain arrived at the club in 1981. The Iberian club paid out 125,000 dollars and, in addition, took charge of organizing three Workshop matches in Spain, at the same time as other comparisons were processed in France and Belgium.
Once all the details were agreed upon, the albiazul squad, including Ludueña, traveled to Madrid. In Malaga everyone was enthusiastic because the player had emerged in the same club as Viberti, a hero of the entity. But as soon as he set foot on Spanish soil, “el Hacha” repented and unleashed an institutional crisis. Big deal. In the midst of this quagmire of broken negotiations, the “T” got rid of part of the compensation, leaving another player in exchange, Amadeo Gasparini.
Upon early return, Talleres separated Ludueña from the squad and there began the slide of his career. They did not want to see him even in figurines, although he imposed the burden of training as if he were going to play. After a few months the “pardon” arrived and he put the shirt back on in a few games of Nacional ’82. But his cycle was already exhausted.
Despite his youth (he was 28 years old), his performance entered a steep slope. He went to Estudiantes de Río Cuarto to play in the Provincial Championship, where he fully enjoyed winning a final once morest Belgrano, his eternal rival, to whom he scored a goal in the remembered final played at the Córdoba Stadium (3-1). . With those of the Empire, he qualified for the first time in the AFA First Division National and managed to play three games in the highest category.
The following year he tried to return to big football and joined the Institute, but he might barely play six games, always as a relay. He was already a shadow of what he had been and following breaking the contract with those from Alta Córdoba, he took his last steps in Vélez Sársfield de Catamarca.
This Thursday, “the Ax” left us forever. The ball has no comfort.
The technical sheet of the “Axe” Ludueña
Date and place of birth: February 21, 1954 in Córdoba. He was 69 years old.
Position: Central or right steering wheel.
Trajectory: San Lorenzo de Córdoba (1972-73, 25 games, 12 goals), Talleres (1974-82, 340 games, 113 goals), Estudiantes de Río Cuarto (1983), Instituto (1984, 6 games), Vélez Sársfield de Catamarca ( 1985), Newbery and Everton from Cruz Alta (1985) and Juventud Celulosa from Río Blanco, Jujuy (1986).
Debut in First Division: March 18, 1972, in San Lorenzo, which that day beat Palermo 3-2, with a homer on the field of Escuela Presidente Roca. San Lorenzo formed with Viada (Enrique Ficini); Luis Godoy, Ramón Peralta, Lascano and Ocampo; Rubén Oviedo, Luis Ludueña and Rubén Valdez; Eduardo Ficini, Alberto Quintana and Raúl Bonaldi. “El Hacha” scored his team’s second goal.
Senior Argentine team: He made his debut on June 28, 1975 once morest Bolivia, at the Félix Capriles Stadium, in Cochabamba for the Cornelio Saavedra Cup. Argentina played with Oscar Quiroga; Victorio Ocaño, Luis Galván, Pablo de las Mercedes Cárdenas and Rafael Pavón; Osvaldo Ardiles, Miguel Oviedo (Rubén Giordano) and Daniel Valencia; René Alderete (Julio Villa), Daniel Astegiano and Antonio Alderete (Luis Ludueña). The following year he also played once morest Sevilla of Spain, in a friendly that ended 0-0. He also played some games once morest Argentine clubs and regional teams.
Olympic selection: He participated in the team that won the Colombian Pre-Olympic in 1980, qualifying for the Moscow Olympic Games. He played six games and scored two goals. Finally, the team did not attend the Games, as our country joined the boycott promoted by the United States government.
Titles: Official First B of the Cordoba League 1972 (with San Lorenzo), Zonal and Official 1974, Opening and Closing 1975, Opening and Closing 1976, Copa Hermandad 1977, Opening and Closing 1977, Closing and Official 1978, Opening and Official 1979 (with Talleres), Provincial Championship 1983 (with Estudiantes de Río Cuarto) and Pre-Olympic 1980 (Argentine National Team).
