Hugo Gatti

Early career

In 1960, at the age of 16, Gatti attended a C.A. River Plate match and saw Amadeo Carrizo play, who would become one of his role models as a goalkeeper. He then started playing for Atlanta in the Argentine sixth division. His Primera División debut came in 1962 against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. Gatti played 38 matches for Atlanta, and after that, he was acquired by River Plate. He played 77 matches for River between 1964 and 1968, alternating as the first-choice goalkeeper with Amadeo Carrizo, until he was transferred to Gimnasia y Esgrima, for which he appeared in 244 league matches between 1969 and 1974. In 1975, he joined Unión de Santa Fe, which put on an impressive season, finishing 4th in the 1975 Metropolitano championship. Unión was coached by Juan Carlos Lorenzo.

Boca Juniors

Although Gatti was already famous prior to his arrival at Boca Juniors, it was in that club where he became legendary, and it is Boca Juniors, the club he is historically most associated with. Gatti played a total of 381 league matches and 47 Copa Libertadores matches for the Xeneizes from 1976 until his retirement in 1988. He is the goalkeeper with the most appearances in Boca Juniors history and the second overall player behind Roberto Mouzo, who played in 396 league matches. His debut with Boca occurred on 15 February 1976. In 1976, he won the double of the Metropolitano and the Copa Libertadores. In the Copa Libertadores final, he saved a crucial penalty…

With the Argentina national team, Gatti won 18 caps. between 1967 and 1977. His international debut was on 13 August 1967 against Paraguay. He was part of the 1966 World Cup squad, but did not play as the first choice keeper was Antonio Roma. Argentina did not qualify for the 1970, and for the 1974 tournament, he was not selected to the squad. He was a starter during many friendlies prior to the 1978 World Cup under coach Cesar Menotti, but Gatti was left out of the Cup squad in favour of Ubaldo Fillol, Héctor Baley and Ricardo La Volpe. His last international match was on 5 June 1977.

Gatti continued to be involved in football since his retirement as a player, writing columns and opinions that have been controversial at times. As of 2010, he lived in Spain and collaborated with several media outlets, notably "Punto Pelota", now "El Chiringuito de Jugones". Additionally, as of 2012, he collaborated with several football shows in Argentina. His son Lucas Gatti, born in 1978, was also a professional footballer and played as a midfielder for Argentinos Juniors, Dundee F.C. and CD Badajoz.

Born in Carlos Tejedor, Province of Buenos Aires, Gatti was the youngest of siblings. During his youth, he was adept at playing as a forward, which, according to him, was the best way of knowing how forwards tend to think and behave.