Former soccer player walks after six years
Former Argentina international Fernando Caceres walked by himself for the first time since he was shot in the head during an attack in 2009.
Caceres’ progress can be seen through a video uploaded to Twitter by Spanish doctor Xavi Aguado. In the video, the former player, who played in the 1994 U.S. World Cup, can be seen walking with the help of an aluminum stick.
On November 1, 2009, the former defender was attacked by a group of gangsters in the city of Ciudadela in Greater Buenos Aires as the gang tried to steal Caceres’ truck.
As Caceres, known to his fans by his nickname “Negro”, tried to escape from the truck, the thieves shot him various times. One of the bullets went through his right eye which he ended up losing. Caceres also suffered a fracture at the base of his skull.
Although doctors had said there was little chance that Caceres would survive the attack, and that he was “in the hands of God,” he recovered slowly and two months after the attack he was discharged from hospital.
Caceres began his football career in Argentinos Juniors in 1986. During his career, the 46-year-old played for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Independiente, all in Argentina. He also played abroad in the Spanish teams of Zaragoza, Valencia, Celta de Vigo and Cordoba.
The central defender earned a total of 24 caps at full international level for Argentina between 1992 and 1997, scoring one goal.
He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. In that World Cup the team was knocked out in the round of 16 by Romania after Diego Armando Maradona was expelled from the tournament for failing a drug test.