Patesko

Rodolpho Barteczko (12 November 1910 – 13 March 1988) was a Brazilian professional football player. He played for Brazil national team. Widely considered one of the most complete left-wingers in Brazilian football at his time, offensive, good dribbler and finisher.

Patesko

Patesko in 1937
Personal information
Full name	Rodolpho Barteczko
Date of birth	(1910-11-12)12 November 1910
Place of birth	Curitiba, Brazil
Date of death	13 March 1988(1988-03-13) (aged 77)
Position(s)	Striker, Left-winger (retired)
Youth career
1925–1929	Palestra Itália
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1929–1932	Palestra Itália	128	(16)
1932–1933	Força e Luz	2	(1)
1933–1934	Nacional	9	(9)
1934–1940	Botafogo	230	(100)
1940–1941	Atlético Mineiro	1	(0)
1941–1943	Botafogo	7	(2)
Total		377	(128)
National team
1934–1942	Brazil	34	(11)
Honours Men's Football Representing Brazil Copa América Runner-up 1937 Argentina Runner-up 1942 Uruguay FIFA World Cup 1938 France
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Patesko, a fast left winger, comes from a Polish immigrant family. He originally played in his native city of Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, with Palestra Itália FC, which was later merged into what is now Paraná Clube after two mergers.

Club career

After playing for Gremio Esportivo Força e Luz in the riograndenser capital of Porto Alegre in 1932, he moved to Montevideo in 1932 to play there under coach Ondino Viera for the local Nacional. In the 1933 Uruguayan championship , Nacional tied on points with CA Peñarol at the end of the yearin first place. Patesko was absent from the three title playoffs where Nacional won the title, all of which took place in 1934, the last of which was in November. Presumably, Nacional and Patesko parted ways in February 1934. In March and April, the press reported that transfers to SC Corinthians Paulista in São Paulo and CR Vasco da Gama in Rio had already taken place, but neither of these came about. It was rumored that Patesko had had temporary contracts with two clubs. He played other games for the Cebedenses.

At the end of 1934, he was hired by Botafogo FC in Rio, where he made his debut on December 9th in a 1-1 friendly against Vasco da Gama. With Botafogo he immediately won the championship of Rio de Janeiro from 1935. He stayed with Botafogo until the end of his career in 1943, although he also played for Atlético Mineiro in a friendly match in September 1941.

International career

He was eventually signed by the Brazilian federation CBF, with whose selection he competed in the 1934 World Cup participated in Italy. There he played for the Seleção in the 3-1 first-round loss against Spain. He continued to be a regular for the national team, with which he finished second at the 1937 South American Championship. At the 1938 World Cup in France, he was third with Brazil. It was followed by a third place at the South American Championship in 1942. He earned 34 matches with 11 goals. 

Later life and death

After his playing career, Patesko worked in Rio de Janeiro at the Hipódromo da Gávea, the city's racecourse. At the time he had lost all contact with his family, he was the father of a son.

On the morning of March 13, 1988, Patesko died of tuberculosis in a hospital in Curicica, a western Rio neighborhood. His former club was informed of this by a call from a fan. The club's board of directors organized a proper funeral for the club's idol. His former team-mate João Saldanha, a major sports journalist in his later career and also national coach before the 1970 World Cup, said that he was a fan of Patesko