Mexico mourns ‘La Tota’
Goalkeeper icon Antonio Carbajal is dead
05/10/2023 12:44 am
Mexico’s football mourns the death of a legend: Former goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal has died at the age of 93. The longtime international, nicknamed “Tota”, became the first player to take part in five World Cups.
Five-time World Cup participant Antonio Carbajal is dead. The former Mexico international goalkeeper was the first footballer to take part in five World Cups. He died at the age of 93, according to the Mexican Football Association.
“He got sick last week, he was in the hospital and spent the weekend at home,” Antonio Moreno, director of Mexico’s International Football Hall of Fame, told AFP.
Moreno described Carbajal as an “icon of Mexican and world football”, he was the last living participant of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil until his death. He also represented his home country in 1954 in Switzerland, 1958 in Sweden, 1962 in Chile and 1966 in England. Overall, he completed 48 international matches for “El Tri”.
Carbajal held the world championship record for 32 years until Germany’s Lothar Matthäus also had his fifth participation in France in 1998. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi from Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, among others, have made five appearances at the World Cup. In his home country, Carbajal, known by the nickname “La Tota”, won two championships with his longtime club León. He later became the club’s manager as well.