Nery Pumpido honoured by the provincial senate | OneFootball

In a warm ceremony, the Chamber of Senators of the province recognized Nery Pumpido, former world champion goalkeeper and current CONMEBOL official.

The Chamber of Senators welcomed the former world champion goalkeeper with the National Football Team in Mexico 1986, Nery Alberto Pumpido, and gave him a well-deserved and affectionate recognition. The event took place this Thursday in the Sessions Hall and was led by the provisional president of the Senate, Felipe Michlig.

Before a packed audience, senators, authorities from both legislative Chambers, and representatives of the Executive Power and the Municipality of Santa Fe also participated. The former footballer, coach, and current official of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) was accompanied by club authorities, along with family, friends, and other personalities from the sports field.

A Warm Tribute to Nery Alberto Pumpido

The event began with the first of several thunderous applauses for the honoree and with the screening of a video alluding to the career of someone who, besides excelling as a footballer and coach, currently serves as Deputy Secretary General of Football and Director of Development at CONMEBOL.

In his speech, Felipe Michlig thanked the large attendance at the ceremony and highlighted the presence of a personality as important as Pumpido in the Chamber of Senators.

“Besides his extensive career, I want to recognize the human being who constantly teaches that we must improve, advance, and strive to be better,” stated the provisional president of the Senate. “With this humble tribute, the most federal Chamber of the province wants to thank you for all that you have contributed and continue to contribute to the sport of Santa Fe, the country, and the entire continent,” added the senator for the San Cristóbal department.

“When we think about how to help a person grow and improve, the most important thing is the family, then the school, and finally the clubs. That’s why each of the senators here bets on strengthening these institutions,” he added. “We must always keep alive in our memory people like you, Nery, who have achieved great things with few resources,” Michlig concluded.

After thanking for the recognition, Nery Pumpido stated, “You know that I have always carried Santa Fe and Monje with me wherever I went,” and emphasized that “I always said that tributes should be made in life, so in my name, I want to remember all the players of Unión and Colón who have been figures and are often not recognized as they should be.”

He also stressed that “we must always try to be better, we must have the desire to fight, to win, and not to be complacent, we must want to advance and strive for more; my whole life has been like this.” “Thinking big doesn’t mean you’re going to become a champion, but it leads you to want to progress every day. It doesn’t help to be stagnant, we must change our mindset and think that every day we must want something more,” he concluded.

A Well-Deserved Recognition for the Santafesino

During the recognition, various senators spoke to highlight Pumpido’s figure. In this regard, Ciro Seisas (Rosario) considered it “a well-deserved tribute to a person who places the words sacrifice and effort above results and triumph. In these times, it is necessary to have a perspective like yours, which is specifically based on growth and that to win, you first have to accumulate a number of defeats but never stop.”

For his part, the territorial representative of La Capital, Julio Garibaldi, recalled that the sports complex of the Santafesina Football League bears the name of Nery Pumpido and stated that the honoree “is an ambassador of Santa Fe, that is, a person who pushes and works for things to happen that make this province grow.”

Meanwhile, Leonardo Diana, senator of the department from which Pumpido hails, considered that “tributes should be made at the right moment” and highlighted “his message” because “he has not only triumphed in the sports field but also as a person, advocating that we must always improve and strive to be better.”

Subsequently, on behalf of the Justicialist bloc, Rubén Pirola (Las Colonias) stated, “he is a person we admire, for his career, but fundamentally for his message towards life through everything he has built: that when there is a will, there is a way, and when you are not satisfied with something, every day you can learn a little more to improve it.”

Authorities Present in the Chamber

In the final part of the event, Pumpido signed the Honor Book to leave a record of his visit to the Chamber of Senators. He also received various institutional gifts - among them the Santafesino Poncho - and the diploma alluding to the tribute made.

Additionally, the Nautical Club El Quillá presented him with a framed jersey in the hands of leaders Marcelo Doyharzabal, Florencia Maresca, and Marcelo Piccinino. “It is an honor to have such a surname in our club and for a person like him to be so interested in the Santafesina League,” valued Maresca. The same happened with the Vecinal Deportiva Dr. Manuel Gálvez of Sauce Viejo, which gave him a jersey of the institution.

It is also worth mentioning that the national deputy and former vice-governor, Gisela Scaglia, and the president of CONMEBOL, Alejandro Domínguez, participated remotely in the ceremony. The former did so through a greeting letter, and the Paraguayan leader through a video projected in the chamber, in which he described Pumpido as “a super champion.”

It should be noted that journalist Eduardo González Riaño spoke on behalf of a large number of his colleagues who were present. “The most fitting word I have heard, and that summarizes you, is ambassador,” he said, addressing Pumpido.

“I want to highlight how Nery represents us, leaving aside the sports aspect, with his life example. He talks about a winning mentality, that if you can’t win, you still have to think about winning. It is an honor to participate in this recognition made with his presence, as it should be,” he assured.

Among other authorities present at the tribute were the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Clara García; the mayor of the city of Santa Fe, Juan Pablo Poletti; the national deputy Pablo Farías; the provincial deputies Omar Perotti and José Corral, and the Minister of Government and Public Innovation of the Province of Santa Fe, Fabián Bastía.

The Extensive History of Nery Pumpido

Nery Alberto Pumpido is a Santafesino born in the town of Monje, San Gerónimo department, on July 30, 1957. He has stood out as an international goalkeeper, with a distinguished career in various clubs and numerous titles, in addition to a successful performance as a coach and sports manager.

As a player, he began his career at Unión de Santa Fe (1976-1981 and 1992), followed by Vélez Sarsfield (1982-1983), River Plate (1985-1988), and Real Betis of Spain (1988-1991). At River Plate, he won the Apertura 1985/86 tournament, the 1986 Copa Libertadores, the 1986 Copa Interamericana, and the Interclub World Champion in 1986.

In the Argentine National Team, he was called up starting in 1978 and played in three World Championships (Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, and Italy 1990), winning the world champion title in 1986 and runner-up in the world in 1990.

He was also the coach of Los Andes (1983-1984), assistant coach to Carlos Bilardo at Boca Juniors (1995-1996), manager of Unión de Santa Fe (1999-2001 and 2011), coach of Unión de Santa Fe (2002), Olimpia of Paraguay (2003-2004, 2012, and 2014-2016), Tigres de Monterrey of Mexico (2005-2007), Newell’s Old Boys (2009), Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia (2010-2011), Godoy Cruz of Mendoza (2012).

As a coach, he was champion of the Copa Libertadores and runner-up of the Intercontinental Cup with Olimpia of Paraguay in 2002. He was also awarded by the Association of Argentine Football Coaches.

From 2017 to 2021, he was a CONMEBOL Ambassador, and from 2021 to the present, he is the Deputy Secretary General of Football of CONMEBOL and Director of Development of the entity.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.