Mario Soto (footballer)
Mario Soto Benavides (* July 10, 1950 in Santiago de Chile ) is a Chilean former footballer and current coach. As a player, he reached twice with CD Cobreloa and once with Unión Española the final of the Copa Libertadores, but lost each time. He also participated with the national team of his native country at the World Cup in Spain in 1982.
Later Soto became a coach and worked in this capacity, among other things for Unión San Felipe, Santiago Wanderers and his old club CD Cobreloa.
Playing career
Club career
Mario Soto, born in 1950 in Chile's capital Santiago, started playing football at the club CD Magallanes. Today's second division was at that time a part of the highest Chilean league in football. Soto signed his first contract in 1969 in the men's team of Magallanes and remained loyal to the club until the year 1973. During this time it brought the defender on a total of 85 league games in the jersey of four-time Chilean football champion, a scoring but remained denied.
For the 1974 season, Mario Soto joined the club and joined to Unión Española. With Unión Española Soto twice won the championship of the thin country on the South American Pacific coast. In the Primera División in 1975 they finished after the end of all game days the first place in the table with two points ahead of Deportes Concepción. Two years later, in 1977, it was again at the top of the table in La Liga, this time with a lead of two points over Everton de Viña del Mar. CD Furthermore succeeded in the Copa Libertadores 1975, the catchment to the final. In the first group phase had been referenced in the group two CD Huachipato and the two Bolivian representatives The Strongest La Paz and Club Jorge Wilstermann on the courts, in the second group stage managed the same with Universitario de Deportes of Peru and Liga de Quito from Ecuador. This Unión Española was first qualified in the club's history for the final of the most important football competition for club teams in South America and met in this series on the Argentine Independiente Avellaneda winner. This Unión Española won the first leg in Santiago de Chile with a goal from Sergio Ahumada three minutes left in the game 1-0, but lost in the second leg in Avellaneda 1:3 beaten, so that a play had to decide on the winner. This Independiente won 2-0 and won for the fourth time in a row the Copa Libertadores.
Mario Soto left Unión Española in 1977 and moved to Brazil Palmeiras São Paulo. He remained there but only for a year and returned in 1978 back to Chile.
There, Mario Soto joined the club was only founded a year earlier CD Cobreloa, where he spent the rest of his career. With Cobreloa Soto caught up in the years 1980, 1982 and 1985 three times the Chilean championship. Also on the international stage, the team of coach Vicente Cantatore was very successful. In the Copa Libertadores in 1981, the first participation of Cobreloa in this competition at all, you defeated in the first group stage in Group 5 Universidad de Chile and the two representatives Peruvian Sporting Cristal and Atlético Torino. The second group phase could be successfully designed, as the underdog from Calama before the two Uruguayan team Nacional Montevideo and CA Peñarol failed to qualify for the final. There, they met Flamengo Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and had the team to Zico and Júnior beaten with 1:2 in the first leg at the Maracana give. After a 1-0 win in the return leg of Santiago de Chile, a playoff was needed to determine the winner, in which Flamengo finally able to prevail by two Zico gates 2-0. A year later Cobreloa stood for a second time in the final of the Copa Libertadores, this time the enemy CA Peñarol of Uruguay said. After a goalless draw in the first leg in Montevideo Cobreloa subject but then in the return match with a goal in the penultimate minute game 0-1 and lost one after the other and the second Copa Libertadores final. To date, there is the association of the Chilean province have failed to qualify again for a final in this competition.
Mario Soto remained until 1985 when CD Cobreloa. In total he completed for the club 235 league games in which he scored eleven Torerfolge.
National
Between 1975 and 1985 it brought Mario Soto on a total of 47 missions in the Chilean national soccer team. Here he managed a hit. From coach Luis Santibáñez he was appointed to the South American squad for the FIFA World Cup 1982 in Spain. Escobar arrived at the tournament in two of the three games of his team to use, whereas the application came about only through Substitutes. For the Chilean team this World Cup was disastrous. Without a single point gain would retire in the group stage in a group with Germany, Austria and Algeria.
Coaching career
After the end of his active career as a football player Mario Soto was coach, but could not yet build on the successes of the old days as a player. His first coaching position from 2004 to 2005 with Unión San Felipe and was followed by 2007 an engagement with the Santiago Wanderers. 2010 Soto was training for a short time his old club CD Cobreloa, but was dismissed after a few weeks. His date last job as a football coach was the former defender 2012 for a short time at the club unterklassigen CD Arturo Fernández Vial in Concepción.
Achievements
- Chilean Cup: 5x
- Finals of the Copa Libertadores: 3x
- Chilean Footballer of the Year: 1x