Teofilo Cubillas

Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga (Puente Piedra, Lima, March 8, 1949), popularly known as El Nene, is a former Peruvian soccer player who played as a midfielder. He is considered the highest reference in Peruvian soccer and one of the best South American players in history. He recognized as a legend of FC Porto. He was one of the best players in the world in the 70's. He has been an absolute international with the Peruvian team, of which he is the third highest scorer in history. He is considered by the IFFHS as the best Peruvian soccer player of the 20th century. Among his main achievements are the FIFA awards for the best young player and the Bronze Boot in the World Cup in Mexico 1970, as well as the Silver Boot and member of the ideal team of the 1978 World Cup Argentina, he was also champion and best player in the 1975 Copa América. He is one of the best attacking midfielders in the history of football.

He was characterized as an attacking midfielder endowed with exquisite technique, power, change of pace, dribbling skills and great goalscoring ability. His mid-range and long-range free kicks were famous for the precision with which he executed them. On the playing field, he also stood out for his sportsmanship: he was never sent off.

He is the top scoring midfielder (10 goals) and with the best goal average (0.77) in the history of the Soccer World Cup, one of the top 4 free-kick scorers in the history of the Soccer World Cup Football along with Pelé, David Beckham and Rivelino, he was a five-time candidate for "best South American footballer of the year" in (1971, 1972 (Winner), 1975, 1977 and 1978) and together with Gabriel Batistuta he is the fourth Latin American top scorer in the history of the World Cups, after Ronaldo, Pelé and Lionel Messi.

At the club level, he is the second all-time top scorer for Club Alianza Lima (165 goals). He is also the top scorer for the blue and white club in the history of the Copa Libertadores, the seventh foreign top scorer in the history of FC Porto (66 goals), the top all-time scorer for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (65 goals) and the tenth all-time top scorer in the Peruvian League (152 goals). He was one of the goalscorers of the 1972 Copa Libertadores scoring 6 goals and is the Peruvian soccer player with the best goal average in European soccer, scoring 72 goals in 122 games, achieving an average of 0.59 goals per game, and the one with the most goals he scored in a European season, scoring 36 goals in 38 games in the 1975-76 season with the FC Porto shirt. He is also the sixth highest scoring midfielder in the history of FC Porto.

Nationally, Cubillas scored 268 goals in 467 official matches in first division tournaments, placing him as the seventh highest scoring midfielder in the history of soccer, in addition to being the third South American midfielder with the most goals in history, only behind Mario Kempes and Zico. During his long career there are 611 games, 340 goals and 249 Assists.

With the Peruvian soccer team, he is the third highest scorer in history with 26 goals in 81 games. Until June 4, 2016, he was the top scorer in the history of his team. That record was surpassed by Paolo Guerrero in the 2016 Copa América after scoring against Haiti, after 38 years. He was champion of the 1975 Copa América, where he was distinguished as the best player of the tournament. He reached the quarterfinals. final in the 1970 World Cup, where he was awarded as the best young player of the tournament, obtained the Bronze Boot as the third top scorer and was included in the "3 top figures" of the contest along with Pelé and Gerd Müller. In the 1978 World Cup, where Peru reached the quarterfinals again, he won the Silver Boot as second top scorer and was chosen by FIFA as the best attacking midfielder in the World Cup and consequently included in the ideal team. He is the tenth all-time goalscorer in the Soccer World Cup and is the highest scoring midfielder in the history of the World Cups. He was chosen by FIFA as the 2nd best young player in the history of the World Cups, as well as one of the 100 best players in the history of the World Cups by the same institution in 2018. At the continental level, he was included in the ideal historical eleven of the Copa América according to the official website of the continental competition in 2015.

On the other hand, he is one of only three players to score five or more goals in two different World Cups, the other two being Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller. Noted for his free kicks, he is considered one of the best free kick specialists of all time.

Cubillas was awarded South American Soccer Player of the Year in 1972—outvoting Pelé and is a member of the Maracanã Stadium Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was named in the list of the 50 Best Players of the 20th Century and one of the best South American soccer players of the 20th century by the IFFHS —that same year he was named in the FIFA 100 list prepared by Pelé. In 2008, Sports Illustrated magazine included him in the ideal eleven of the last 50 years of South American football. In 2019 he was included by the prestigious British magazine FourFourTwo among the 100 best footballers in the history of football, ranking 66th. He is also one of the 50 most voted players as Best Footballer of the Century in all the historical rankings that were made at the end of the XX century. He is considered by FIFA as a soccer World Cup legend.

Trajectory

Alianza Lima Club

Theophile in its beginnings with the National Selection.

He was born on March 8, 1949, in Puente Piedra, a district north of Lima, where he would play for Huracán Boys. After a match between his team against Alianza Lima, he is invited to this club where he would train and exploit his talent. At the same time he was studying at the Ricardo Bentín School in Rímac. Already in Alianza, he achieved the youth tournaments of 1965 and 1966. He made his debut at the age of 17 in the First Division with Alianza Lima. Already in his first season he was the tournament's top scorer with 19 goals. In the summer of 1967, 18-year-old Cubillas made his international debut in a friendly match and scored a brace in a 6-1 win over Independiente de Argentina. It is at that time that the lead of Alianza that is remembered as the last "black roller": "Pitín" Zegarra, Julio Baylón, "Perico" León and "Babalú" Martinez.

He studied Accounting at the Federico Villarreal National University, but dropped out to play in the 1970 World Cup Qualifiers.

In 1970, he was once again the tournament's top scorer with 22 goals.

An event that exposed the excellent soccer moment that Peru was experiencing in the 1970s occurred when directors of Deportivo Municipal and Alianza Lima formed a team in 1971 to play a series of friendly matches in order to bring together Teófilo Cubillas with Hugo Sotil, another great star of his time, in the remembered "Dupla de Oro", which left indelible memories for the Peruvian fans, such as the victory over Benfica by Eusébio or the 4th win 1 to FC Bayern Munich by Beckenbauer, Müller and Maier, remembered not only for the tremendous superiority shown over the European champion, but also for the large number of exquisite plays (walls, spouts, dribbles and goals) that Cubillas and Sotil produced. That night Cubillas scored a brace.

In 1972, he was chosen as the best player in South America, being chosen over Pelé. That same year he was also the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores with 6 goals together with another Peruvian, Oswaldo Ramírez.

FC Basel and FC Porto

On October 31, 1973, he was summoned to defend the silks of the American Selection, against the European selection, which had Johan Cruyff, Eusébio and Franz Beckenbauer in its ranks, the match was played at the Camp Nou from Barcelona, tied 4-4 and the American Selection won in a penalty shootout (7-6). In the American team, Héctor Chumpitaz (Captain), Víctor Espárrago, Miguel Brindisi, Paulo César, Hugo Sotil, Rivelino and mainly Cubillas stood out.

In 1973, Cubillas would end up being a Barça player, although thousands of kilometers from Barcelona. Basel would be the footballer's first in Europe. And it is that the Swiss millionaire Ruedi Reisdorf was delighted with the performances of the Peruvian and bought his token. It was not an easy negotiation, since at first he offered an amount close to 100,000 dollars, but he did not count on the absolute refusal of Cubillas, who did not want to leave his country at that moment, and even less to go play in Switzerland.

The soccer player's response was immediate, and he quickly replied to the tycoon with a counter offer: “$300,000 or the pass is impossible.” With such a scandalous figure, Cubillas thought that Reisdorf would not accept, but he did. The confidence he had in the Peruvian and the desire that he could end up playing for Basel was so great that he agreed to pay that dizzying figure. After Reisdorf's irresistible offer, Alianza Lima invited Cubillas to leave, so the player had to join the Swiss club's squad, where he spent just six months due to his inability to adapt to the cold Swiss climate, although he won the domestic championship.

After a statement by Cubillas about the possible departure from the Club after problems of maladjustment to the cold climate in Switzerland, he left the door open to a possible transfer to FC Barcelona. And it is that just when the player was having a hard time in Basel, Hugo Sotil, his teammate in the national team, landed at the Camp Nou. His hidden dream was to play again next to his "compadre" Sotil (an expression usually used to refer to his compatriot)

Cubillas and Eusébio in the classic Portuguese in 1974.

And then Porto, Sporting de Portugal, FC Barcelona, AC Milan and even Real Madrid arrived. But Reisdorf was not willing to let the footballer escape so soon. A few days before his wedding, in December 1973, the Portuguese in Porto announced that they could raise enough money for the transfer, a business strategy that was the last chance for the baby. Finally Basel and Reisdorf accepted and Cubillas was able to flee Switzerland in exchange for $400,000. A new path began for him.

Looking for a more benign climate, Cubillas ended up at FC Porto, where he would stay for three seasons with the 10 shirt and enjoying his best years as a player. Despite not being able to win the league, his genius was evident and he won the captain's armband, being the true idol, top scorer and captain of the "Dragones" fans. He scored 66 goals in 110 games, managed to win the 1976-1977 Portuguese Cup, two league runner-ups, one cup.

Cubillas was the scorer of great goals that, even today, are remembered by the fans who had the privilege of seeing him play; fans who consider him the best foreign player to have played for FC Porto. The same "Baby" He remembers that he "He was the highest paid player in the country, even ahead of Eusébio, a legend of Benfica and world football."

The two-time championship with Alianza Lima and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers

After his outstanding stint in Portugal in 1977, he decided to return to Peru to play again for Alianza Lima along with other figures such as César Cueto, José Velásquez, Hugo Sotil and Guillermo La Rosa, making up one of the best teams in the history of the blue and white club and that achieved the two-time championship in 1977 and 1978. The Sotil-Cubillas duo was essential for many of the blue and white victories and that afternoon was no exception: 'Cholo' scored a goal and 'Nene' another two. In that same group, Alianza Lima had also achieved another overwhelming away win against Melgar by 0-3; the points won in that match would be of vital importance since they made the difference in the score with who would ultimately be their closest pursuer to the title.

The last day of the 1977 tournament had Alianza Lima and Melgar de Arequipa as protagonists, both teams were the only ones with chances to lift the champion trophy. For the Arequipeños, the objective was to defeat Sporting Cristal in the National Stadium and wait for the intimate team not to score any points against Universitario in Matute. At that time, "Domino" had formed a competitive team and a victory against the celestials was within their possibilities. However, an executioner named Oswaldo 'Cachito' Ramírez appeared on the celestial side so that, with two goals, he would give victory to those from Rímac; the visiting team would later discount with a goal, shortly after the end, by José Leyva, but it would be of no use. This result made Alianza Lima unattainable and therefore the title passed into the hands of close friends in the absence of playing their last game against Universitario.

With the title in their hands, Alianza Lima had to face Universitario in their stadium on the last round of the league and it was suspected that the intimate coach rested several of his best players. It was not like that, since the intimates went out to the Matute lawn with all their figures and determined to polish their recently obtained title. At the beginning of the game, again the star partnership Sotil-Cubillas appeared to give play and goals to the Alliance team, achieving a favorable final result of 4-3. José Velásquez, Hugo Sotil and Teófilo Cubillas with a double were the scorers for the blue and white club. For their part, at Universitario Roberto Zevallos and Hugo Palomino -double- scored in favor of the meringues. The excitement at the Alejandro Villanueva began to overflow and the champion's party would mark a milestone in history.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Later in March 1979, he left for the NASL, to play for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a team that was signing a host of international stars to South Florida, including World Cup heroes Gordon Banks (England ' 66), Gerd Muller (West Germany '70 and '74), Bernd Hölzenbein, George Best, former Manchester United superstar and of course, Teófilo Cubillas (Peru) best South American player in 1972 and best player young man from the Mexico 70 World Cup.

The Strikers were excellent on the field, posting winning campaigns every year from 1977 to 1982. The club advanced to the Soccer Bowl final in 1980, losing 3-0 to the New York Cosmos before 52,385 fans at RFK Stadium of Washington DC and a national television. audience on ABC Sports. The Strikers also advanced to the playoff semifinals in 1978, 1981, and 1982. Cubillas played 5 seasons and became the all-time top scorer. His scoring record was against the team & # 34; Aztecas & # 34; Los Angeles, scoring a Hat Trick in just 7 minutes.

Last years and retirement (1985-1989)

In 1985, he played for the South Florida Sun, winning the second division championship, called the "USL". His official retirement was in 1986, at the age of 36, after 20 years playing soccer, in a memorable match where various stars from around the world participated. In 1987, as a result of the air tragedy in which all the Alianza Lima players died, Cubillas returned to play for his club, in the remaining 13 dates, achieving the runner-up. The last goal of 'Nene' with the blue and white shirt was on March 20, 1988, at the National Stadium of Peru. He converted it to Jesús Purizaga, in Alianza's 2-0 victory over Sporting Cristal.

In 1988, he participated in the American Soccer League, scoring 7 goals and achieving runner-up with the FL Strikers jersey. He retired permanently at age 40 in 1989, with the Miami Sharks.

Cubillas was one of the best soccer players in the world in the 1970s and has been one of the most complete players ever seen, he is commonly taken into account for the rankings of the best scorers competing with the best in the world, but At the same time, he is also considered in the rankings as the best player with great ball geniuses. He is also one of the 50 most voted players as Best Soccer Player of the Century in all the historical rankings that were made at the end of the century XX.

He currently works as a FIFA Inspector.

Peruvian National Team

Peru in a preparation party for Mexico 70.

After notably standing out in local soccer, he was called up to the Peruvian National Team by Waldir Pereira "Didi" in 1968 for the qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Peru had to face Argentina for the qualifying rounds for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. They managed to win 1-0 in Lima, having to play the qualifying match at the feared Bombonera, the Boca Juniors stadium in Buenos Aires. In a match that is hard to forget for both Peruvians and Argentines, led by Cubillas, Peru pulled off a feat 2-2 draw that led them to the World Cup and eliminated the Argentine team. In that World Cup, Cubillas rose to international fame scoring 5 goals and scoring against all the teams he faced (1 goal against Bulgaria, 2 against Morocco, 1 against Germany and 1 against Brazil), leading his team to the quarterfinals, becoming the third scorer, the best South American player and the Best Young Player of the Tournament.

Cubillas' performance in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico was such that after the celebrations for Brazil's conquest of the World Cup, all the media asked Pelé if he would play in the next World Cup, to which Rey replied which it would not, adding:

"Don't worry, I already have a successor and it's Teofilo Cubillas."

Pelé, 1970.

Since then, it would become an important benchmark in South American and world soccer at the time. The disappointment with the Peruvian National Team would come four years later, Cubillas did not play the decisive match with Chile in Montevideo and Peru did not qualify for the 1974 Soccer World Cup.

A year later, on the other hand, he was part of the Peruvian soccer team that became champion of the 1975 Copa América, eliminating Chile and Bolivia in the first phase, Brazil in the semifinals, and Colombia in the final. Cubillas was the Best Player of that tournament and among his goals the beautiful goal of & # 34; dry leaf & # 34; to Brazil in the historic victory of Peru over Brazil by 3 to 1, played in Belo Horizonte.

Later, he played in the 1978 World Cup, with a good start, showing his ability, scoring 5 goals and occupying first place in his group with his team. In the match with Scotland, the magnificent free-kick goal that Cubillas executes with the outer edge of the boot is today in the FIFA archives as a model of free-kick execution and is considered one of the best in history. In that tournament, the Peruvian midfield made up of José Velásquez, César Cueto and Cubillas was considered by international critics as the best in the first phase of the World Cup. Already in the quarterfinals, the Peruvian team lowered its level and ended up thrashed by Argentina 6-0, a result that generated controversy, because for all connoisseurs there was no football difference to give that result and this allowed Argentina qualify for the final. Cubillas played as a forward in that match and everyone knew that his best matches were played as a hook. Despite this situation, Cubillas obtained the Silver Boot as the second goalscorer of the tournament and was considered in the ideal team of the championship.

He played in the 1982 World Cup at the age of 33 and did not score. After the elimination in the first phase, Cubillas would give up continuing to participate in the team and thus closed his cycle with the red and white shirt.

He is the third top scorer for the Peruvian National Team with 26 goals in 81 official matches, including friendlies against clubs (Steaua de Bucharest, Racing Club, etc.) He scored 45 goals in 117 games.

In a survey carried out by FIFA on the Internet, carried out on the occasion of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in its Best Young Player section, to choose the best of all the winners of this distinction in the World Cups, Cubillas ranked second, after Pelé. Third place went to Michael Owen and fourth to Beckenbauer.

In February 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brazil's first conquest of the Soccer World Cup, and as a tribute, SI Latino magazine put together the Ideal Selection, with Among the best South American players who have participated in the World Cups in this half century, Teófilo Cubillas was named in the Ideal team along with Pelé, Maradona, Garrincha and other great figures of continental soccer.

Participations in World Cups

Tournament	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles	Assist.	Prom.
1970 World Cup Soccer/Football	Mexico	Final rooms	4	5	1	1.25
1978 Football World Cup	Argentina	Final rooms	6	5	1	0.83
1982 World Cup Soccer	SpainSpain	First phase	3	0	0	0.00
Total			13	10	2	0.77

Participations in America's Cups

Tournament	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles	Assist.	Prom.
Copa America 1975	No fixed headquarters	Champion	6	2	2	0.33
Total			6	2	2	0.33

Participations in World Cup Qualifiers

Elimination	Headquarters	Selection	Outcome	Parties	Goles	Assist.	Prom.
South American elimination 1970	South America	Peru	(Classified)	4	1	2	0.25
South American elimination 1974			(He didn't qualify.)	2	0	2	0.00
South American Eliminators 1978			(Classified)	4	2	3	0.50
South American Eliminators 1982			(Classified)	1	0	0	0.00
Total				11	3	7	0.27

International goals

#	Date	City	Oponente	Score	Outcome	Competition
1.	08-05-1969	Bogotá	COLColombia	2-1	Victoria	Friendly
2.	09-07-1969	Lima	PARParaguay	2-0	Victoria	Friendly
3.
4.	17-08-1969		BOLBolivia	3-0	Victoria	World Cup 1970
5.	07-02-1970		CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia	2-1	Victoria	Friendly
6.	09-02-1970		Romania	1-1	Push	Friendly
7.	24-02-1970		BULBulgaria	5-3	Victoria	Friendly
8.	02-06-1970	León	BULBulgaria	3-2	Victoria	1970 World Cup Soccer/Football
9.	06-06-1970		MARMorocco	3-0	Victoria
10.
11.	10-06-1970		GERGermany	1-3	Defeat
12.	14-06-1970	Guadalajara	BRABrazil	2-4	Defeat
13.	05-04-1972	Mexico	MEXMexico	1-2	Defeat	Friendly
14.	23-04-1972	Bucharest	Romania	2-2	Push	Friendly
15.	04-03-1973	Lima	WATERGuatemala	5-1	Victoria	Friendly
16.	04-03-1973
17.	23-04-1973		PANELPanama	4-0	Victoria	Friendly
18.	20-08-1975		CHIChile	3-1	Victoria	Copa America 1975
19.	30-09-1975	Belo Horizonte	BRABrazil	3-1	Victoria
20.	17-07-1977	Cali	BOLBolivia	5-0	Victoria	Global elimination 1978
21.
22.	03-06-1978	Córdoba	SCOScotland	3-1	Victoria	1978 Football World Cup
23.
24.	11-06-1978		IRNIran	4-1	Victoria
25.
26.

Goals in World Cups

#	Day	Place	Oponente	Marker	Outcome	Competition
1	2 June 1970	Estadio León, León, Mexico	BulgariaBulgaria	3-2	3-2	World
2	6 June 1970	Estadio León, León, Mexico	MoroccoMorocco	1-0	3-0
3				3-0	3-0
4	10 June 1970	Estadio León, León, Mexico	GermanyGermany	3-1	3-1
5	14 June 1970	Stadium Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	BrazilBrazil	2-1	4-2
6	3 June 1978	Stadium Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdova, Argentina	ScotlandScotland	2-1	3-1	World Cup 1978
7				3-1	3-1
8	11 June 1978	Stadium Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdova, Argentina	IranIran	2-1	4-1
9				3-1	4-1
10				4-1	4-1

Statistics

Clubs

Club	Div.	Season	League			Cups			International			Total			Average
			Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.
Alliance Lima Peru Peru
	1. a	1966	23	19	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	19	7	0.83
		1967	25	9	8	-	-	-	-		-	25	9	8	0.36
		1968	25	19	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	19	10	0.76
		1969	11	5	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	5	5	0.45
		1970	27	22	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	22	10	0.81
		1971	29	22	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	22	10	0.76
		1972	29	14	10	-	-	-	6	6	2	35	20	12	0.57
		1977	32	23	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	32	23	9	0.72
		1978	15	12	5	-	-	-	10	7	5	25	19	10	0.76
		1984	6	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	4	3	0.66
		1987	13	3	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	3	4	0.23
	Total club		235	152	81	-	-	-	16	13	7	251	165	88	0.66
FC Basel SwitzerlandSwitzerland
	1.a	1972-73	10	3	3	2	3	3	4	2	2	16	8	8	0.5
	Total club		10	3	3	2	3	3	4	2	2	16	8	8	0.5
FC Porto Portugal
	1. a	1973-74	12	4	5	3	1	2	-	-	-	15	5	7	0.33
		1974-75	28	9	10	6	4	5	4	2	1	38	15	16	0.44
		1975-76	29	28	12	4	4	2	5	4	2	38	36	16	0.95
		1976-77	14	7	9	3	2	3	2	1	4	19	10	16	0.52
	Total club		83	48	36	16	11	12	11	7	7	110	66	55	0.6
Fort Lauderdale Strikers USA
	1. a	1979	30	11	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	11	18	0.36
		1980	27	16	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	16	14	0.6
		1981	36	16	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	36	16	14	0.44
		1982	19	16	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	16	5	0.84
		1983	27	15	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	15	14	0.55
	2. a	1988	5	7	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	7	3	1.4
	Total club		144	72	68	-	-	-	-	-	-	144	72	68	0.5
South Florida Sun USA	2. a	1985	3	1	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	1	3	0.12
		1986	4	0	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	0	4	0
	Total club		7	1	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	1	7	0.14
Miami Sharks USA	2. a	1989	2	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	1	1
	Total club		2	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	1	1
Total career			481	278	196	18	14	15	31	22	16	530	314	227	0.59
(1) Includes Swiss Cup data, Portugal Cup. (2) It includes data from the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup. (3) It does not include goals in friendly matches. (4) It includes data from the First Division and Second Division.

Statistical Summary

Goals

Assists

Goals and Assists

Honours of Prizes

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
Nationalliga	Basel	SwitzerlandSwitzerland	1973
Portugal Cup	F. C. Porto	Portugal	1977
First Division of Peru	Alliance Lima	Peru Peru	1977
First Division of Peru			1978

International Cups

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
Copa America	Selection of Peru	Peru Peru	1975

Individual awards

Retired

Records

• Maximum Peruvian scorer in first division tournaments according to IFFHS statistics (268 goals).
• It ranks 7th in the world rankings of the top division tournament champions of the IFFHS in 2007.
• He's the third-largest South American midfielder in the first division tournaments.
• It is the 9th highest scorer in the history of the Football World Cup.
• Along with Batistuta is the third highest Latin American scorer in world history, behind Ronaldo and Pelé.
• Midfielder more scorer (ten goals) and with the best average goal (0.77) in the history of the World Cup Soccer.
• One of the 19 football players chosen twice (1970 and 1978) in the eleven ideal of the World Cup of Football.
• Next to Dutchman Rob Rensenbrink, they were the only ones who scored a triplet at the 1978 World Cup.
• One of the top four free shot scorers in the history of the Football World Cup next to Pelé, Beckham and Rivelino.
• Peruvian footballer with greater participation in the World Cup of Football: thirteen matches.
• One of the 19 most voted South American soccer players Best footballer of the century in all world rankings that were made at the end of the centuryXX..
• 5 times candidate for Best South American Player in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1978.
• 3.° maximum scorer in the history of the Peruvian selection (26 goals).
• It is the 2nd historical scorer of the Club Alianza Lima by score 165 goals with the whiteiazul t-shirt.
• It is the maximum scorer of the Club Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores, with 13 goals.
• It is the second highest foreign scorer in the history of the FC Club Porto score 66 goals.
• It is the top scorer of the Fort Lauderdale club with 72 official goals (66 on NASL and 6 on playoffs).
• Picked one of the top twenty players in the history of the North American Soccer League (NASL).
• At NASL, you have the record of scored three in just 7 minutes to Los Angeles Aztecs.
• He is the youngest Peruvian player to be the top scorer of the Peruvian football league, with seventeen years of age and seven months, which occurred in December 1966.
• It is the Peruvian soccer player that most goals has scored in a European season, by marking 36 goals in 38 matches in the 1975-76 season with the FC Porto T-shirt (28 goals in League, 4 in Portugal Cup and 4 in UEFA Cup).
• Peruvian footballer with the best average goal in European competitions, score 74 official goals in 126 matches and achieve an average of 0.58 goal/game.
• Including among the top ten players in the world in the 1970s in the IFFHS ranking.
• Middle-fielder more scorer in the history of the FC Porto.
• Peruvian footballer with more goals in the World Cup Soccer: 10 goals.
• Only Peruvian player to be awarded with FIFA 100

Unofficial matches

Including the goals converted in official, unofficial (there were many in his country) and friendlies tournaments, he holds the following record:

Equipment	Parties	Goles	Average
Alliance Lima	438	295	0.67
FC Basel	16	8	0.50
FC Porto	118	77	0.65
FL Strikers	167.	79	0.47
South Florida Sun	10	5	0.5
Miami Sharks	14	5	0.36
Peruvian team	117	45	0.38
Bénefics, master and others	24	18	0.75
Total	904	532	0.59

Comments

«Theophile Cubillas is my successor».

Pelé, 1970.

"Cubillas was a specialist in the passes and shootings, like the "three fingers" that made it perfectly."

Zico, 2006.

"Cubillas was one of those old "10", spectacular, they always sent on the court."

Mario Kempes, 2006.

"When I saw that goal (from Cubillas to Scotland), I decided that I also wanted to kick free shots."

José Luis Chilavert, 2006.