Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga is a Peruvian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50. He was renowned for his technique, shooting ability and free kick ability. Nicknamed El Nene , he was part of the Peru national football team that won the 1975 Copa América. He helped Peru reach the quarter finals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and again at the 1978 World Cup and was elected the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972. In 2004, Pelé selected Cubillas as one of the FIFA 100, a list of 125 footballing greats. In February 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Brazilian World Cup victory, he was selected in the All-Star First Team of South America of the past 50 years. Cubillas is one of only three players to score five or more goals in two different World Cups, the other two being Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller.
Club career
Nicknamed "Nene" for his boyish looks, Cubillas began his career with Alianza Lima at the age of 16 in 1966. Whilst at Alianza he was top scorer in the Peruvian Primera División in 1966 and 1970. In 1972, he had his most successful season in several years. He was Libertadores Cup top scorer and South American Footballer of the Year. In 1973, he transferred to Swissfootball clubFC Basel for a fee of £97,000. He scored two goals for Basel in the 1973–74 European Cup, the second of which was scored on 20 September 1973. He only remained at the club for six months, which was not long enough for him to show the extent of his talent. Later on, for the second half of the 1973–74 season he joined Portuguese club FC Porto for a fee of £200,000. In 1977, he returned to Alianza Lima. In 1979, Cubillas joined the NASL, signing for Fort Lauderdale Strikers, where he spent five seasons, scoring 59 league goals, including three goals in seven minutes against the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981. Following the December 1987 Alianza Lima air crash Cubillas returned from his Miami home to play for free for Alianza, who lost most of their players in the crash. He also managed the club for a period in 1988. In May 1988 Cubillas signed with the newly resurrected Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the American Soccer League. The Strikers went to the ASL title game where they fell to the Washington Diplomats. Following the loss to the Diplomats, the Strikers released Cubillas. In March 1989, he signed with the Miami Sharks but was released on 3 July after scoring only one goal in eight games. As of June 1991 he was playing and coaching at Miramar Illusiones of the Gold Coast Soccer League in Florida.
International career
Cubillas played in three World Cups between 1970 and 1982.
1970 World Cup
Cubillas helped Peru advance to the quarter-finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He scored in all of Peru's four matches: once against Bulgaria, twice against Morocco, and once against West Germany, all in the first round. Cubillas then scored another goal in the quarter-final loss against eventual champions Brazil, and he thus finished as the third highest goal scorer in the tournament. He won the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award, and was third in the Golden Shoe award.
Peru did not qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, but a year later, Cubillas helped the Peruvian team win its second South American title, the Copa América 1975. Cubillas scored against Brazil in the semi-final, and then played in the play-off match in the final.
In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, he scored five goals for Peru, finishing co-second highest goal scorer after Mario Kempes. Peru advanced to the second phase of the tournament thanks to goals from Cubillas: he scored two goals in the opening match against Scotland, and he then scored a hat-trick in the game against Iran, including two penalties. However, Peru subsequently lost to Brazil, Poland, and Argentina, although Cubillas played in all six Peruvian matches in the tournament.
