The day terror reached a champion: Leopoldo Luque in the dictatorship

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Radio Gol

·24 March 2026

The day terror reached a champion: Leopoldo Luque in the dictatorship

As part of the National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice, it is essential to remember stories like that of Leopoldo Jacinto Luque, one of the most important figures of the Argentina national team that won the 1978 World Cup, who was a direct victim of state terrorism.

The kidnapping of a champion

In 1979, while he was a River Plate player and just one year after reaching World Cup glory, Luque was kidnapped by a group of military personnel. The incident took place after a match, when he was intercepted, robbed, and threatened with death.

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The critical moment: The former footballer said he was taken to an open field under constant threat of execution. “When I started walking toward the open field, in my head I was only waiting for the sound of the gunshot,” Luque confessed decades later, after keeping the incident secret out of fear for more than 40 years.
The political context: Weeks before his kidnapping, Luque had joined the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in their demand for the return of their relatives, a gesture of enormous courage given the climate of censorship and repression at the time.

Reflection on the era

Luque’s case shows that not even the highest sporting status offered complete protection from the violence of the military dictatorship. His story helps illustrate the vulnerability of thousands of civilians, students, and workers who suffered persecution, torture, and forced disappearances during this period.

Leopoldo Jacinto Luque died on February 15, 2021, but his testimony remains a pillar in the construction of the collective memory of Argentine football.

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