Rosielo in 1957
Esteban Rosielo (1937-1957) was an Argentine footballer who played with Grijzestad Strijders. He was involved in the 1957 Ambassador Air Disaster which took his life.
Biography[]
Rosielo was born in Mendoza, Argentina. He joined C.A. Boca Juniors in 1953 at the age of 16, but in early 1955 was sold to Grijzestad Strijders for approximately £15,000. Rosielo was an extremely talented midfielder and was hailed by many as the future of Argentine football. By 1955 there was already some consideration for him to participate in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
At Grijzestad he became part of the fabled "Latin Trio" in midfield, alongside Brunanter Elio Besanc and Frenchman Antoine Lemaire. They inspired the team to successive 1. Liga wins in 1956 and 1957, as well as a Cup and Supercup wins in 1956. In the summer of 1955 and 1956, Rosielo went to Argentina to play in friendlies, train with the national team and even play in a few qualifiers. Rosielo traveled by boat as he was not comfortable with flying. By 1957 there was much interest from top European clubs,and the club president had reached an unofficial agreement with A.C. Milan for a transfer in the winter or summer of 1960.
In May 1957, he was scheduled to go with the squad to France to play the French Division 1 champions in a highly-rated exhibition match. Despite his fear of flying, the whole team took off in a terrible thunderstorm, only to crash a few minutes later. 26 people died that day; the whole team and Rosielo, aged just 20, also died. With his death Grijzestad and Argentina lost a rising star and both would be greatly affected.