The World's Most Famous Footballer - Franklin Lobos Chilean Miner
Forget Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, or Pele and Maradona, because today the world's most famous footballer is former Chilean national player Franklin Lobos, a forgotten midfielder who emerged from a mine as a national hero!
| SoccerBible was amazed to find out that one of the 33 miners freed from 69 days underground, was a former Chilean football player - and for Franklin Lobos it was his greatest victory to date! The 53-year-old was the only rescued man whose name was widely known in Chile before the disaster. Lobos had a playing career that spanned from 1980-1995, in which the highlight was playing for the Chilean team that qualified for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Lobos emerged from the mineshaft clutching an adidas ball, and as our images show of his playing days, Lobos was clearly a fan of the three stripes. |
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In domestic football Lobos played for such teams as Regional Atacama, Antofagasta Deportes, La Serena, Santiago Wanderers, Deportes Iquique, Union La Calera and even shared a dressing room with former Chilean national team striker Ivan Zamorano. Lobos was known for his powerful free kicks, which earned him the nickname El Mortero MÁgico (The Magic Mortar).
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It was during the latter stages of Lobos' career that he helped progress the career of the emerging Ivan Zamorano. And quite famously, Zamorano went on to play for Real Madrid and Inter Milan becoming a national hero. Franklin Lobos, who was already a Chilean football legend, is now a legend of another kind. He arrived at the surface to football chants from the rescue workers, and was given a football which he duly obliged by doing a bit of keepy-uppy. Today, SoccerBible salutes a football |
hero, for the time being Franklin Lobos is the most famous footballer in the world and we welcome him back to the community!
