Francisco Varallo

Early years Varallo was born in Los Hornos, a district of La Plata Partido in Buenos Aires Province, on 5 February 1910. He made his debut aged 14, and early in his career gained the nickname cañoncito (in English: "little cannon") for his shooting ability. In 1930, the forward was loaned for free by Gimnasia to Vélez Sársfield to play for the team during their Pan-American tour. He totaled 17 goals during the tour. Boca Juniors , c. 1935 Varallo moved to Boca Juniors for the start of the 1931 season (the first professional season in Argentina) He continued to play for the club for the next nine years during which time he won the Primera División title three times, in 1931, 1934 and 1935, as well as coming runner up in 1933, when he was the top goalscorer in the league and of South America scoring 34 goals. with 194 goals in 222 games (scoring average 0.87 per game), a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Martín Palermo. During the 1930s Varallo formed strong partnerships with teammates Roberto Cherro and Delfín Benítez Cáceres, who both also scored over 100 goals for the club. In 1938, he was only able to play one game because of a bad knee injury and, although he played more frequently the next year, was forced to retire in 1940, aged 30. ==International career==

Varallo represented Argentina at the inaugural World Cup in 1930, held in Uruguay, where he was the youngest player at age 20. He played in all three of the team's group games; scoring one goal in the match against Mexico, but missed the semi-final against the United States due to injury. However, he was fit to play in the World Cup final against Uruguay and started at inside right forward. Argentina were leading 2–1 at half time, but eventually lost to the hosts 4–2. Varallo was also a member of the Argentine team that won the South American Championship in 1937. He scored three goals during the tournament, including a brace in the 2–1 win over Chile. International goals Argentina's goal tally first ==After retirement==

Varallo retired from football in 1940, due to injury problems. In his late 90s Varallo had joked that he would have to come out of retirement should Martín Palermo overtake his record of 181 professional goals for Boca. ==Death==

Varallo died on 30 August 2010, in his hometown of La Plata aged 100. The president of the South American Football Confederation Nicolás Léoz also released a statement expressing sadness at Varallo's death. Following his death, both of his former clubs, Gimnasia and Boca announced a day of mourning, while the South American Football Confederation announced that a minute's silence was to be held during all Copa Sudamericana fixtures the following week. ==Honours==

Club ;Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) • Primera División (1): 1929 ;Boca Juniors • Primera División (3): 1931, 1934, 1935 International ;Argentina • Copa América (1): 1937 • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1930 Individual • Primera División top scorer (1): 1933 • Golden Foot (1): 2010, as a football legend Records • Boca Juniors 3rd. highest all-time goalscorer: 194 goals • FIFA Order of Merit 1994 • CONMEBOL Order of Merit 2006 • The last surviving player from the 1930 World Cup ==See also==