In the last few hours, it emerged that the family of the legendary goalkeeper Hugo Orlando Gatti made the difficult decision to remove his mechanical ventilator. El Loco remains in intensive care for more than two months, and his health condition is "irreversible".
El estado de salud del Loco es irreversible
The diagnosis Gatti faces is "pneumonia and heart and kidney failure, in a medically induced coma". Until now, he remained connected to a ventilator; however, this Sunday, the people closest to the 80-year-old former footballer went to the Pirovano hospital and decided to remove it. "In light of his irreversible health condition, with no possibility of recovery, they will proceed with the removal of mechanical ventilation during the day", states the official medical report.
El Loco has been hospitalized for more than 60 days after suffering a hip fracture that led to a hospital-acquired infection and kidney failure.
"Anything that isn't worsening is improvement. It's a slow process, and we know we need patience. That's where we are", commented Lucas, one of his sons, less than a week ago.
The health problems of the former goalkeeper are not recent. In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, he suffered from bilateral pneumonia while in Madrid, where he was part of the well-known Spanish sports program "El Chiringuito de Jugones".
Hace poco, Gatti era uno de los panelistas recurrentes en el programa de Josep Pedrerol
His career as a goalkeeper
Hugo Gatti defended the goals of Boca, River, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Unión de Santa Fe, and Atlanta. His most brilliant period was with Xeneize, where he became the goalkeeper with the most matches played in the club's history, with a total of 417.
During his time at Boca, he won two Copa Libertadores (1977 and 1978), one Intercontinental Cup (1977), and two Metropolitano tournaments (1976 and 1981). With other teams, he played 224 matches with Lobo, 93 with Millonario, 45 with Tatengue, and 38 with Bohemios. Internationally, he defended the goal of the Argentine National Team 18 timesand didn't participate in any World Cup, in '78 due to injury and the rest due to a disagreement with Menotti that led him to resign from Albiceleste.
Gatti es leyenda en Boca y en el fútbol argentino
Among his records, it stands out that, throughout his career, he saved 26 penalties and played professionally until the age of 44, one of the oldest in the country's history, which solidified him as a legend of Argentine football.
Beyond the numbers, Gatti left a mark with an innovative playing style for his time. Daring, skilled with his feet and charismatic, he was a pioneer who broke molds and was ahead of his time. His long hair, his characteristic headband, his media presence, and his way of goalkeeping made him an iconic figure both on and off the field.
