Before All Boys, Colón will relive its feat against Pelé's Santos

These are still very sensitive hours and days for the entire Colón world. Because the Sabalero always has its own “May Week”: first, the anniversary, which this time brought a crowd into the city streets, waiting for “Cacho” Deicas (a tremendous decision by the club leaders to invite him), the fireworks, and midnight.

A celebration “required” by history

But beyond the May 4 vigil and the birthday celebration on the 5th, the month is always special because every May 10 the beloved Barrio Centenario club remembers the feat and epic from 1964, when “humble Colón de Santa Fe ended Pelé’s Santos’s unbeaten run,” considered the best team in the world at the time.

This time, as if everything had fallen perfectly into place, May 10 is a Sunday and the match against All Boys is officially scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Elephant Graveyard. Therefore, the celebration will be doubled.

Specifically, “to mark the 62nd anniversary on Sunday of the victory over Pelé’s Santos, the Culture, History and Museum Subcommittee together with Colón’s Secretariat of Public and Human Relations will hold a commemorative ceremony before the match against All Boys.

“It will consist of a tribute, together with family members, to the players who achieved that unforgettable feat, as well as displaying on the field the trophy won in that match, which in 2025 was recovered by the Subcommittee,” the beloved Barrio Centenario club reported.

On August 29, 2025, a piece by El Litoral (Darío Pignata) was headlined: It returned to the club and is now in the Sabalero Museum… “The Cup Colón won from Pelé was in Governor Aldo Tessio’s possession”. It then explained:

“That match became part of world football history when humble Colón defeated mighty Santos of Brazil. Yesterday, Eladio Robbiati and Norma Madera, Aldo Tessio’s last life partner, donated that Cup to the Colón Museum. An iconic moment.”

The report explained that “the iconic trophy the club won on May 10, 1964, from Pelé’s legendary Brazilian Santos side was recovered, and it gave birth to the mythical Elephant Graveyard.

Eladio Robbiati, who donated it, and Norma Madera, Aldo Tessio’s last life partner, were present. Also in attendance were the families of ‘Beto’ Poncio, ‘Ploto’ Gómez, ‘Chengo’ Canteli and Osvaldo Gras, mascot in that match,” as Diego Meloni told El Litoral.

To get to that point, there was a whole explanation: “We had been saying in recent times that last year we recovered a Santos de Pelé ball from the 1964 tour; we had obtained original photos from that match.”

Everything kept being added to the Museum. “After a couple of long weeks of negotiations and talks, we were able to bring back home after 54 years away nothing less than the Cup, the trophy Colón won in the match against Pelé’s Santos on May 10, 1964. It is that famous Cup in which ‘Beto’ Poncio can be seen lifting it after the match,” Diego said.

“The truth is that Aldo Tessio had it in his hands and when he passed away, his wife, Norma Madera, who welcomed us into her home last week to also give us Don Aldo’s lifetime membership card, decided to hand it over to Dr. Eladio Robbiati, a veterinarian close to the family.

“The cup passed into Robbiati’s hands in 2006 and he kept it in his custody for 19 years.

“The idea was always to return it when the right conditions were in place; above all, security guarantees so the trophy could return to the club and nothing would happen like what I was just talking about: one day someone grabs it and takes it home; or the cup gets lost; or it is not given the value and historical rigor it needed,” Diego Meloni added.

“This step involved a couple of weeks, with long talks to reach an understanding and to explain what we are doing from the Culture, History and Museum Subcommittee of Club Atlético Colón. In conclusion: on Tuesday the story ended with the signing of a public record at a notary’s office, so we can understand a little of the seriousness given to this matter.”

“The truth is that Aldo Tessio had it in his hands and when he passed away, his wife, Norma Madera, who welcomed us into her home last week to also give us Don Aldo’s lifetime membership card, decided to hand it over to Dr. Eladio Robbiati, a veterinarian close to the family. The cup passed into Robbiati’s hands in 2006 and he kept it in his custody for 19 years.

“The idea was always to return it when the right conditions were in place; above all, security guarantees so the trophy could return to the club and nothing would happen like what I was just talking about: one day someone grabs it and takes it home; or the cup gets lost; or it is not given the value and historical rigor it needed,” Diego Meloni added.

“This step involved a couple of weeks, with long talks to reach an understanding and to explain what we are doing from the Culture, History and Museum Subcommittee of Club Atlético Colón. In conclusion: on Tuesday the story ended with the signing of a public record at a notary’s office, so we can understand a little of the seriousness given to this matter.”

The story adds that Aldo Tessio had it in his hands and when he passed away, his wife, Norma Madera, decided to hand it over to Dr. Eladio Robbiati, a veterinarian close to the family. The cup passed into Robbiati’s hands in 2006 and he kept it in his custody for 19 years.

“The idea was always to return it when the right conditions were in place; above all, security guarantees so the trophy could return to the club and nothing would happen like what I was just talking about: one day someone grabs it and takes it home; or the cup gets lost; or it is not given the value and historical rigor it needed,” Meloni added.

All this beautiful story of footballing love will be reflected this Sunday, before 6 p.m. when Colón-All Boys kicks off at the Elephant Graveyard, with the fitting tribute to the feat against Pelé’s mythical Santos.

Juan Luis Pérez; Carlos Larpín, Juan Bareiro, Alberto Poncio and Ediberto Pérez (Ceballos); José Luis Broggi (Demetrio Gómez), Cilenio López, Luis Cabaña and Norberto Serenotti (García); Luis López and Fernando López.

All of them, together with coach José “Chengo” Canteli, went down in history, as did Ítalo Pedro Giménez, the president who (among other feats) was immortalized by the epic against Pelé’s Santos.

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