Football player José Luis Brown, who scored Argentina’s opening goal in their win against West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final, has died at 62 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.
The country’s football association confirmed the former central defender’s death in a tweet.
#RIP Jose Luis Brown…..1986 @FIFAWorldCup winner with @Argentina and goalscorer in the WC Final pic.twitter.com/lKqoN6mhgt
— Argentina Football (@ARG_soccernews) August 13, 2019
Brown played 36 times for Argentina’s football team and spent most of his career at Estudiantes, making close to 300 league appearances for the club, based in La Plata near Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He won 36 caps for his country, scoring his only international career goal in the 1986 final. Later in that game, with Argentina leading by a single goal, the defender popularly known by his nickname Tata, dislocated his shoulder but refused to be substituted. He played through the pain with Argentina winning the World Cup title for the second time.
Luis Brown has also played for Boca Juniors, Deportivo Español y Racing Club in Argentina, Atlético Nacional in Colombia, Real Murcia in Spain and Brest in France.
Former Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta also tweeted his condolences.
Gracias José Luis Brown por tu lucha dentro y fuera de la cancha. Acompaño a sus familiares y afectos . Q.E.P.D. Tata . pic.twitter.com/78bZA9cPce
— Gabriel Batistuta (@GBatistutaOK) August 13, 2019
RIP.
