The Copa Colón won against Pelé was kept by Governor Aldo Tessio | OneFootball

The increasingly decisive Culture, History, and Museum Subcommittee of the Club Atlético Colón, led by the tireless Diego Meloni (with the support of a group of historians and revisionists from Sabalero), achieved another important step for Sabalero's memory: the iconic trophy that the club won on May 10, 1964, against the legendary Brazilian team Santos of Pelé, which gave birth to the mythical Elephant Cemetery, was recovered.

"Eladio Robbiati, who donated it, and Norma Madera, the last life partner of Aldo Tessio. The families of "Beto" Poncio, "Ploto" Gómez, "Chengo" Canteli, and Osvaldo Gras, the mascot in that match, were present," explains an excited Diego Meloni to Radio Gol.

In a conversation with the ADN Gol program (FM 96.7), he expands on this tremendous discovery of that Cup that Colón won against Santos of Pelé. "We have been telling in recent times that last year we recovered a ball from Santos of Pelé from the '64 tour; we had obtained original photos of that match. Everything is adding up to the Museum and yesterday we were lucky and fortunate, after a couple of long weeks of negotiations and talks, to bring back home after 54 years of absence, nothing more and nothing less than the Cup, the trophy that Colón won in the match against Santos of Pelé on May 10, 1964. It is that famous Cup in which "Beto" Poncio is seen lifting it after the match".

Immediately, Diego adds: "We did it with great joy, with great satisfaction and with the emotion it generates, because in addition yesterday was the family of "Ploto" Gómez (N. of R.: scored one of the two goals that afternoon), was the family of Beto Poncio and was Osvaldo Grass, who had come out as a mascot in that match against Santos of Pelé. It was a very important day for us to be able to make this announcement and this discovery... just two weeks after having laid the foundation stone of the museum in Colón. It fills us with pride and really makes our chests swell with joy".

What story was hidden behind that Cup that Colón won against Santos of Pelé in 1964?. "In 1971 when Colón sells the San Jerónimo headquarters, it loses part of its heritage: what some directors of that time did, thinking about the possibility that the trophies could be lost, sold or stolen, things that have been very characteristic over time in a huge number of institutions, was to entrust the trophy to Mr. Aldo Tessio, Governor of the province at the time of that match. The directors understood that Tessio was the right person to be able to guard it until Colón could rebuild part of its headquarters".

"The truth is that Aldo Tessio had it in his hands and when he dies, his wife, Norma Madera, who last week received us at her home to also give us Aldo's lifetime membership card, decides to give it to Dr. Eladio Robbiati, a veterinarian close to the family. The cup went into Robbiati's hands in 2006 and for 19 years he had it in his custody. The idea was always to return it when the conditions were right; mainly the security guarantees so that the trophy could return to the club and that something like what I just mentioned wouldn't happen: one day someone grabs it and takes it home; or that the cup would be lost or that it would not be given the value and historical rigor it needed", adds Diego Meloni. "This step involved a couple of weeks, with long talks of understanding and explaining what we are doing from the Culture, History, and Museum Subcommittee of Club Atlético Colón. Conclusion: the story ended on Tuesday with the signing of a public act in a Notary's office, so that we understand a little the seriousness that was given to this matter".

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