Former Argentina defender and 1978 World Cup winner Luis Galvan dies aged 77
Luis Galvan (standing, third from left) with the Argentinian national football team at the 1978 World Cup on home ground. He died on May 5, 2025 aged 77. PHOTO: AFP
Former Argentina defender Luis Galvan, a member of the team that won the 1978 World Cup, died on Monday at the age of 77, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said.
Local media reported that Galvan had been in the Reina Fabiola Clinic in Cordoba with pneumonia for several weeks.
"The AFA and its entire leadership extend heartfelt sympathies to his family and friends during this painful time," the association said in a statement on Monday.
Galvan played as centre-back in Argentina's 3-1 win over the Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup final in Buenos Aires.
He also represented Argentina at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, earning a total 34 caps for the national team. He retired from the international game in 1983.
Galvan continued playing for boyhood club Talleres de Cordoba, setting a club record with 503 appearances over 17 seasons in two spells, first from 1970 to 1982 and later from 1986 to 1987. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Dane Anders Antonsen and South Korea's An Se-young win Indonesia Open crowns
Denmark's Anders Antonsen celebrates his victory against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen in the men's singles final at the Indonesia Open badminton tournament at Istora Senayan in Jakarta on June 8, 2025. PHOTO: AFP JAKARTA, Indonesia – Danish third seed Anders Antonsen beat Taiwanese Chou Tien-chen 22-20, 21-14 to clinch his first Indonesia Open men's singles title on Sunday, while South Korea's An Se-young fought back from a game down to claim her second women's singles crown. The emotional win marked a long-awaited triumph for Antonsen, who had finished as runner-up in 2019 against Chou and again in 2024 against Shi Yuqi, but finally clinched the Super 1000 title on his third appearance in the final. Chou raced to a 15-10 lead in the opening game, but Antonsen clawed his way back to edge it 22-20. The second game was far more one-sided, with Antonsen dominating. Moments after sealing the victory, Antonsen collapsed flat on his back, arms outstretched, as the weight of past near-misses and years of perseverance came pouring out. The Olympic gold medallist An beat Chinese world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi 13-21, 21-19, 21-15. An, ranked No. 1 in the world, had won her first Indonesia Open in 2021, while Wang was chasing a first crown at the event. Wang was off to a bright start, powering her way to a 10-17 lead before comfortably closing out the opening game. An was once again backed into a corner as a dominant Wang raced to a 5-0 lead in the second game. But the 23-year-old turned the game on its head to level at 18-18 and eventually forced a decider. An was made to work hard, but the All England Open champion held her nerve to come out on top, winning six of the last 11 points in the final game. In the women's doubles final, China's world No. 1 pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning overcame fourth-ranked Malaysian duo Thinaah Muralitharan and Pearly Tan 23-25, 21-12, 21-19. It was heartbreak for the hosts in the men's doubles as Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Isfahani fought hard but fell short in the second and third games against the fifth-seeded duo Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea. The final result was 18-21, 21-19, 21-12 to the Koreans. French pair Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue took home the mixed doubles title after a 21-16, 21-18 victory over Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran. "I couldn't believe it," Gicquel said. "We never thought we'd get this far after the first round. It's crazy, it was one of our goals to win a big tournament this year. It's a lot of hard work behind this, so we're grateful." It is France's first Super 1000 title. "We are so happy to make badminton a bit more popular (in France) with this win," Delrue said. "I hope we'll get more media and more players coming to play. I wanted to be the first to win a big tournament so that's done." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Andy Murray leaves door open to coaching return
Novak Djokovic worked with Andy Murray for six months but did not win any title. PHOTO: REUTERS LONDON – Former world No. 1 Andy Murray has left the door open to a coaching return after his short stint with Novak Djokovic ended without a trophy, but the Scot said he did not expect to be working with another player anytime soon. Serbian great Djokovic appointed Murray ahead of this season's Australian Open and said at the Qatar Open in February they would continue working together for an indefinite period. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion then endured a woeful run of form and the pair parted ways in May ahead of the French Open. 'I would do it again (coaching) at some stage. But I don't think that will happen immediately,' Murray told the BBC on June 9. 'I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing but it was a pretty unique opportunity. 'It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time. You also learn a lot about how to work with a team. You're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick. 'That was the thing I learnt and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future.' Though they won no titles in their six-month partnership, Murray said he had good memories of his time working with former rival Djokovic. 'It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court,' the three-time Grand Slam champion added. 'Results weren't as we wanted but we gave it a go. We'll see about coaching in the future but I don't think that will happen for a while.' Djokovic, meanwhile, had suggested that he may have played his last French Open after the 38-year-old was defeated in the semi-finals by eventual runner-up Jannik Sinner. Following his 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) loss to the world No. 1 Italian, he stopped briefly on his way off Court Philippe-Chatrier and took a moment to 'show his gratitude' to the Paris crowd. He stills stands on the brink of history after his latest tilt at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title was foiled. One more Major victory would take him beyond Margaret Court and into outright-first on the list of players with the most Grand Slams. 'At the moment I will try to stick with the plan what I had, which is play the Grand Slams,' Djokovic said. 'Those tournaments are the priorities of my schedule, my calendar. Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in plans. That's all I can say right now.' REUTERS, AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Patience and discipline needed for US Open at difficult Oakmont
Justin Thomas of the United States speaks to the media during a practice round prior to the 125th US Open. PHOTO: AFP OAKMONT – Oakmont's fiendish layout provided a rain-softened preview on June 9 of what the world's top golfers will face when the 125th US Open starts on June 12. Thick rough was damp and dense for the first official practice round, while greens and fairways were far more receptive than they are expected to be when the Major billed as the toughest test in golf gets under way. 'It requires patience and discipline,' fifth-ranked Justin Thomas said. 'If you just get lazy, like on any drive, any wedge shot, any chip, any putt, you can kind of look stupid pretty fast, especially at a place like this. 'It's a great week to be in a great place mentally and very patient and picking our spots out there.' Third-ranked Xander Schauffele, last year's British Open and PGA Championship winner, says golf fans enjoy seeing mighty players humbled. 'I don't think people turn the TV on to watch some of the guys just hit like a 200-yard shot on the green,' he said. 'I think they turn on the US Open to see a guy shooting eight over and suffer. That's part of the enjoyment.' Oakmont offers risk-reward challenges seeking to tempt players into mistakes. 'It's challenging myself to try and hit every fairway, every green, to try and be disciplined like through and through,' Schauffele added. 'There's going to be a point where you lay up into a bad spot, and it goes to laying up again from that layup spot. If you have a decent lie, you might try to take some risk, and that's part of the fun.' Schauffele sees it as a perfect set-up for world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has won three times since the start of May, including his third Major crown at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. 'Take Scottie Scheffler,' he said. 'He's in the middle of every fairway. It takes a serious amount of discipline to play away from pins and hit really good shots to safe targets and that's what it takes to play well at US Opens.' World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, might be one who can risk using driver often. 'You drive it like he does, I would pull that driver out as often as I can,' Thomas said. 'He hits it further and straighter than maybe anybody that has played the game.' Thomas, a former world No. 1, says he would like to challenge for the top again, if Scheffler would only stumble. 'Guys are playing unbelievable, like Xander did last year, like Rory is this year, but it's just that Scottie is also doing that. You can't really catch that if he keeps doing what he's doing,' he said. 'He doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down.' Oakmont is not done with forcing difficult choices upon players once they punch out of the rough. 'The way Oakmont plays is you can sort of hack something, if you're courageous enough, and if you get the correct line and a couple of bounces, you could turn what would be a nightmare into a decent situation,' Schauffele said. 'It just puts an emphasis on hitting the fairway and hitting greens. If you're a premier ball striker, you'll be licking your chops. If you're in the rough, it's very lie dependent.' Thomas said practice can only tell a player so much. 'It's very helpful, but if I'm not hitting it where I want and controlling the ball like I want, it doesn't really matter if I've hit shots around the green or not,' the American explained. 'I'm going to struggle if I'm not hitting it well.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.