Hugo Orlando Gatti, historic Boca goalkeeper, passed away at 80 years old after being hospitalized for more than 60 days at Pirovano Hospital. His death occurred hours after his family made the difficult decision to remove his mechanical ventilator.
El estado de salud del Loco es irreversible
The diagnosis Gatti faced was "pneumonia and heart and kidney failure, in a medically induced coma." Until now, he remained connected to a ventilator; however, this Sunday, those closest to the former footballer arrived at 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 had been hospitalized for more than 60 days after suffering a hip fracture that led to a hospital-acquired infection and kidney failure. Meanwhile, the family members held some hope for his recovery. "Anything that isn't worsening is improvement. It's a slow process, and we know we need patience. That's where we are," Lucas, one of his sons, commented less than a week ago.
The former goalkeeper's health problems aren't 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). In 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 in 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 he was 44 years old, 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, skillful with his feet, and charismatic, he was a pioneer who broke molds and was ahead of his time. His long hair, characteristic headband, media presence, and goalkeeping style made him an iconic figure both on and off the field.
