Antonio Rattín

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Antonio Rattín
Personal information
Full name	Antonio Ubaldo Rattín
Date of birth	May 16, 1937
Place of birth	Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nickname	El Rata ("The Rat")
Playing position	midfielder
Club information
Current club	-retired-
Youth clubs
?	Boca Juniors
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1956-70	Boca Juniors	352 (26)
National team2
1962-1966	Argentina	32 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2005. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 2005. * Appearances (Goals)

Antonio Ubaldo Rattín (born May 16, 1937 in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province) is a former Argentine football player, best known as a Boca Juniors midfielder, and because of an incident in a match at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He later became a politician.

A Boca fan since childhood, Rattín joined their youth team, and debuted professionally on September 9, 1956 against Boca's major rival River Plate. Replacing injured Eliseo Mouriño, he had a good game which Boca won 2-1. Slowly he became the team's steady number 5, and won the hearts of the fans with his sober and solid playing abilities.

In his fourteen-year professional career, Rattín played only for Boca Juniors, winning the Argentine championship in 1962, 1964 and 1965, and the Nacional in 1969.

With the Argentina national football team Antonio Rattín played thirty-two times, including the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and as the captain in the 1966 FIFA World Cup that took place in England.

It was in the quarter-final match against the host team that Rattín was sent off by the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein for "violence of the tongue", despite the referee speaking no Spanish. Rattín was so incensed with the decision, believing the referee to be biased in favour of England, that he initially refused to leave. He eventually had to be escorted from the field by two police officers. This incident, and others surrounding the same game, arguably started the long-lasting rivalry between both national teams.

After a total of 357 matches and 28 goals with Boca juniors, Rattín retired from professional football in 1970. He worked as coach of the youth teams of Boca Juniors, and coached the first division teams of Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata in 1977 and 1979, and Boca Juniors in 1980.

Argentine writer Alfredo Luis Di Salvo published in 2000 the book Antonio Ubaldo Rattin - El Caudillo (ISBN 987-43-1624-1). He remains as one of the greatest idols of Boca Juniors.

In 2001, Rattín was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies for the conservative Federalist Unity Party, led by alleged torturer Luis Patti. He was the first footballer to enter Congress and chaired the Sports Committee. He stepped down in 2005.

	Argentina squad - 1966 FIFA World Cup
1 Roma | 2 Irusta | 3 Gatti | 4 Perfumo | 5 Varacka | 6 Calics | 7 Marzolini | 8 Ferreiro | 9 Simeone | 10 Rattín | 11 Pastoriza | 12 Albrecht | 13 López | 14 Chaldú | 15 Solari | 16 González | 17 Sarnari | 18 Rojas | 19 Artime | 20 Onega | 21 Más | 22 Tarabini | Coach: Lorenzo

	Argentina squad - 1962 FIFA World Cup
1 Roma | 2 Ramos Delgado | 3 Marzolini | 4 Sainz | 5 Sacchi | 6 Páez | 7 Facundo | 8 Pando | 9 Pagani | 10 Sanfilippo | 11 Belén | 12 Domínguez | 13 Rossi | 14 Mariotti | 15 Navarro | 16 Rattín | 17 Albrecht | 18 Cap | 19 Sosa | 20 Oleniak | 21 Abeledo | 22 González | Coach: Lorenzo