Víctor Benítez

Víctor Benítez Morales (12 September 1935 – 11 July 2022) was a Peruvian professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Nicknamed "El Conejo", he notably played for Italian clubs AC Milan, Roma and Inter Milan as well as Argentine club Boca Juniors. He won the European Cup title with AC Milan in 1963.

Víctor Benítez
Benítez at Boca Juniors
Personal information
Full name Víctor Benítez Morales[1]
Date of birth (1935-10-30)30 October 1935
Place of birth Lima, Peru[1]
Date of death 11 July 2022(2022-07-11) (aged 86)
Place of death Milan, Italy
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1954–1959 Alianza Lima
1960–1962 Boca Juniors 70 (5)
1962–1963 AC Milan 12 (1)
1963–1964 Messina 12 (2)
1964–1965 AC Milan 26 (1)
1965–1966 Roma
1966–1967 Venezia 23 (3)
1967–1968 Inter Milan 8 (1)
1968–1970 Roma
1971 Sporting Cristal
International career
1957–1959 Peru 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Along with José Velásquez, he is recognised as one of Peru's most important defensive midfielders of all time.

Club career

Born in Lima, Peru, Benítez began his career with Alianza Lima in 1950s. He won two Peruvian league titles in 1954 and 1955. In 1960 he joined Argentine club Boca Juniors where he was part of the team that won the 1962 league championship.

Benítez moved to Italy in 1962, where he played for AC Milan, Messina, Roma, Venezia, and Inter Milan. In 1963, he was part of the AC Milan team that won the UEFA Champions League. He won a Coppa Italia title with Roma in 1969.

He returned to Peru in 1971 where he played out the remainder of his career with Sporting Cristal.

International career

Between 1957 and 1959 he played 11 games for the Peru national team.[2] He appeared for Peru in the Copa América in 1957 and 1959, playing in a total of seven games. Additionally, he played in FIFA World Cup qualification for his native country in 1957. On 17 May 1959, Benitez was part of the Peru national team which beat England 4–1 in Lima.[3]

Death

Benítez died in Italy on 11 July 2022 at the age of 86.[4]

Honours

Alianza Lima

Boca Juniors

AC Milan

Roma

References
  1. Víctor Benítez at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. rsssf:Peru record international footballers
  3. Peru 4 England 1
  4. Fútbol peruano de luto: falleció Víctor Benítez, exfutbolista nacional y campeón del AC Milan (in Spanish)
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