Emilio “Yiyo” Arangio, the renowned soccer reporter from La Plata, passed away yesterday in our city at the age of 78. This was reported by relatives and relatives in the midst of the deep pain caused by his departure.
“Although Yiyo was born in Mar del Plata, he settled in La Plata as a young man. He came because his mother and sisters lived in La Plata. One of them was studying medicine,” his relatives said today.
He married Marta Cardulli, with whom he lived in the Center of La Plata. They had five children and six grandchildren. “Although he dedicated himself to the field of sports and became famous, later he moved away and focused more on union and political journalism. He came to work with Nelson Castro.”, He recalled.
One of Yiyo’s most outstanding professional experiences was as a reporter for the 1978 Soccer World Cup during the last Military Dictatorship. For that role he earned the nickname “the voice of the World Cup” at the time.
However, during the de facto period, the renowned rapporteur suffered threats from the military government and had to flee. The destination to take shelter was the seaside resort of Santa Teresita, in the Partido de la Costa. There he remained hidden in a tent for 30 days.
Defiant despite being in the sights of the military, he stated through the Splendid radio microphone: “Gentlemen, you have observed that during the last months whoever speaks to you has not broadcast matches during the week. It has not been by choice, nor by lack of of support from sponsors. It was due to the shameless attitude of three soldiers who are a shame for the Armed Forces”.
After the complaint, Yiyo had no choice but to go into hiding. Over the years he referred to that situation. Ironically, in an interview recently published by Clarín, he said that “I had great admirers: General Galtieri, General Viola and Admiral Massera. I didn’t know, eh. They told me later.”
“I am a guy who never used non-professional tools to be in the media. Otherwise, I could have endured and been the king of everything. I paid the price. Is that clear, right?” he said.
Yiyo retired as a rapporteur at a young age, at the age of 40. In this regard, he clarified that his decision was not related to what happened during the dictatorship. During his career, he shared booths with sports journalism priests such as Carlos Juvenal and Gañete Blasco. And he was not only “the voice of the 78 World Cup” but also that of the 1979 Youth World Cup.
His last story was a match between Pincha and Ferro, where the winner was crowned champion. However, they tied and Argentinos Juniors ended up being established, he recalled.
“The day I decided to stop being a company, in 1984, someone said “he got tired of telling stories”. No! I was 40 years old, I was in bloom! Do you want to know what happened? Do you have time to listen? mine is a long adventure…”. According to her, in the following years she had a publishing house and dedicated herself to union journalism, directing a newspaper that came to print some 50,000 copies.
