Oscar Ortiz

Lore & Background

Ortiz began his career at San Lorenzo and made his debut in 1971 against Newell's Old Boys in a 2–1 victory. As a young player he was part of the squad that won 3 league titles (M1972, N1972 and N1974). In 1976 San Lorenzo sold him to Brazilian club Grêmio. He said he was injured during most of his run there and he returned to Argentina to play for River Plate.

His time at River Plate was his most successful, in terms of trophies. His first trophy at the club was the Metropolitano championship in 1977. Back at River, Ortiz helped River to win three league titles in a row (M1979, N1979 and M1980), the second time in their history that they had achieved this feat. In 1981 River sold Ortiz to Club Atlético Huracán; his time there was unremarkable and he was soon sold on to Independiente.

The last title he won came at Independiente as part of the triumphant 1983 Metropolitano team; he retired from football shortly afterwards.

Reader's Guide

Oscar Alberto Ortiz played as a winger. He said his style was not to score goals but to unbalance defenses, get to the bottom and send the center to the best receiver.

Did You Know?

• He was a member of the Argentina team that defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in the 1978 World Cup final, held at River's home stadium Estadio Monumental.
• He made 23 appearances for Argentina between 1975 and 1979, scoring 3 goals.