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The one armed bandit – 29 Nov 1904 – 15 Sep 1960

Emdad Rahman

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Hector may have lost his arm, aged thirteen
A chainsmoking gambler, his womanising was obscene
Nicknamed El Manco, the sweetheart of Nacional
Twenty two in twenty five rattled by the little rascal
Fabled charmer with three championships as player
Topped with five as Parque Central’s managing purveyor
A stubborn on pitch streak, with the fans a bond
Struck gold in the inaugural Coupe Du Monde
His country’s first goal, a splendid distinction
A phenonomenon with much gravitational attraction
Unlike Yashin, the ball with Manc would surely be spilt
Nor would he ever rise to palm the ball past Shilts
Cas was a master poacher in the opposition den
Proved in his pinnacle, amongst 80,000 countrymen
In an electric final game and with a minute to go
In the blistering cauldron heat of Montevideo
It’s the Alamo as the Argientines press onward again
The home side counter, vipers striking sudden
Slender lead not worth a penn’orth
As ‘El Manco’ strikes the killer fourth
The country and Penarol, shrieked for the one armed fella
And Uruguay united under one large umbrella
Enter forever the realm of dark glasses
Forever an assured darling to the sky blue masses

© © Emdad Rahman

Notes

What a guy – he’d be termed “DISABLED” in this day & wouldn’t get on the pitch. Died way too young. Nevertheless, everything he touched turned to gold.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-one-armed-bandit-29-nov-1904-15-sep-1960/