Claudio Tamburrini: The goalkeeper who escaped from prison
The story of a footballer arrested by the Argentine secret police and tortured in a concentration camp before escaping to Sweden.
In November 1977, Claudio Tamburrini was playing for a minor league club in Buenos Aires called Almagro when he was arrested by the Argentine authorities for his alleged left-wing student views.
The secret service accused him of opposing the civil-military dictatorship and took him to a detention centre in the suburbs called Mansión Seré where he remained for 120 days.
He managed to escape a few weeks before the FIFA World Cup and went into hiding for several months. He then fled to Sweden where he was able to celebrate Argentina’s 1978 World Cup victory and where he still lives today.
Published On 23 Mar 2021