Oscar Dertycia


Oscar Alberto Dertycia Álvarez is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a striker, who later worked as a manager.

Club career

Born in Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Dertycia started playing professionally with hometown's Instituto de Córdoba, moving in 1985 to Argentinos Juniors. During his four-year spell, he won the Copa Libertadores and finished runner-up in the Intercontinental Cup in his debut season, and was also crowned the Primera División's top scorer in 1988–89, finishing with 20 goals.
In the following summer, Tiburón joined Italy's ACF Fiorentina, being the predecessor of compatriot Gabriel Batistuta. With the Florentine club, he reached the final of the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, playing alongside Roberto Baggio.
After a relatively unassuming spell, which also included a severe injury, Dertycia moved to Spain, first with Cádiz CF where he garnered a firm fanbase, being nicknamed Mister Proper due to the bald head he now sported. However, his heyday would be lived at CD Tenerife: he signed in 1991 as a replacement for Rommel Fernández, and was a crucial offensive weapon for the Canary Islands side under compatriot Jorge Valdano. Never an undisputed starter, he did amass 16 La Liga goals in his first two seasons combined, being intimately connected to Real Madrid's consecutive championship losses in the last round, to FC Barcelona.
Dertycia had one final season in the country – still in the top flight, where he went on to amass totals of 137 games and 39 goals – with Albacete Balompié, then returned to his native Córdoba to play in the Primera B Nacional. After short spells, including in Chile and Peru, he retired in 2002 at the age of 37.

International career

After appearing with the Argentine under-20 team at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring once to help his country reach the final, Dertycia received his first call-up for the full side in 1984, under Carlos Bilardo, and was a member of the 1987 Copa América squad that finished the tournament in fourth place.

Style of play

An aggressive and physically strong player, Dertycia was a powerful, quick and opportunistic centre-forward with an eye for goal, excellent positional sense and who excelled in the air. He was also a hard-working player who was adept at making attacking runs, and could play off of his team-mates as well as provide them with assists; these capabilities also enabled him to be deployed as a second striker throughout his career.