Former Barcelona striker Hugo Sotil has died at the age of 75, the club announced on Sunday.
Sotil had been admitted to intensive care in his native Peru on December 20, with reports that he was suffering from a 'health problem'.
Born in the city of Ica, Sotil emerged as a promising sporting talent, helping Deportivo Municipal to promotion to the top flight in his first senior season with the club.
Nicknamed 'El Cholo', he would become one of the most recognizable names in Latin American football in the early 1970s, before taking his fame to new heights when he joined Barcelona in 1973.
In his first season at the Catalan club, Sotil would form a formidable partnership with Johan Cruyff as Sotil scored 17 goals in all competitions.
Barcelona would be crowned champions of Spain for the first time in fourteen years in their first campaign, and Sotil's shouting “Mom, we are champions” during a phone call to his mother after the title was secured has gone into club folklore ended up.
Despite an impressive debut season at the club, Sotil would subsequently be frozen out as the arrival of Dutch midfielder Johan Neeskens took up one of the club's allocations for foreign players.
He later returned to action for the Blaugrana, ending his four-year spell in the Catalan capital after making 111 appearances for the club.
Sotil's love for Barcelona never wavered and in 2014 he said: 'The love of the people of Barça is unforgettable. The day I die, I hope they bury me in a Barca shirt.'
Sotil also won 62 caps for his country and was part of the team that reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1970, which remains the country's best performance in the competition.
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