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"El Vasco de Saladillo" (The Basque of Saladillo) will be presented by its author, journalist and soccer commentator Agustin Di Benedetto in the main hall in the city of Saladillo, birthplace of renowned soccer player, Julio Jose 'El Vasco' Olarticoechea.  The event will ta attended by Olarticoechea himself, journalist Daniel Arcucci and local authorities.  Published by Dunken, The Basque of Saladillo will be available for purchase soon in larger bookstores in Argentina. 

Saladillo, Argentina.   Thirty years since the Argentine Selection won the World Championships in Mexico in 1986, local journalist and soccer commentator, Agustin Di Benedetto wrote The Basque of Saladillo, a book about another local, Julio “el Vasco” Olarticoechea, member of that World Cup winning team.

In 76 pages, Di Benedetto talks about several of the athlete’s experiences, all related from his performance as a player.  As the journalist told EuskalKultura.com, “it’s not a biography but rather a complication of 10 of the best moments of his career as a professional soccer player, from his beginning in the Argentino Club in Saladillo, to his retirement. The writing project began in the middle of last year and since then we have been getting together once a week so that he could tell me his stories.  From that selection in 1986 when they emerged the champions, may tributes have been paid to “el Vasco” but nobody has written a book about him.  Now he has a book,” Di Benedetto said.

Invited by the author, other renowned personalities in the sports world participated in writing The Basque of Saladillo, including journalist Daniel Arcucci, soccer player Jorge Valdano, Olarticoechea’s teammate on the selection.  “Moreover, Valdano wrote the book’s prologue and in his words he emphasized that during their stay in Spain he met a lot of Basques in whom he recognized the virtues that identify Olarticoechea, honesty, work and strength,” the author said.

The Basque of Saladillo will be presented this Saturday, June 11 at 5pm at the main hall in the city of Saladillo, in a ceremony that will include the unveiling of a plaque in honor of “El Vasco” and the showing of the documentary “The Story behind the 1986 Cup.”  Attending the event will be its author, along with Julio Olarticoechea, Daniel Arcucci and local authorities including Mayor Jose Luis Salomon.

Published by Dunken Publishers,The Basque of Saladillo by Agustin Di Benedetto will soon be available in all bookstores in Argentina.