He Pope Leo XIV received in the Vatican a emotional sports gift: the retro t-shirt of the Peruvian team from the 1978 World Cupdelivered by Teófilo CubillasPeru’s top scorer in World Cup history.
The meeting was recorded in images released by Cubillas himself, where the former national coach also appears. Ricardo Gareca and the former president of the Peruvian Football Federation, Edwin Oviedo.
Cubillas: “A moment that I will treasure forever”
After the audience, the former soccer player expressed his excitement about the meeting with the Supreme Pontiff.
“Happy with life. I feel truly honored to have met His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. My time in Rome so far is something I will treasure forever,” Cubillas said.
Likewise, he especially thanked Oviedo for having facilitated the visit and closed his message with an expression of national pride: “Up with Peru!”
A t-shirt full of history
The gift given to the Pope corresponds to the Peruvian jersey from the 1978 Argentina World Cupa tournament in which Cubillas shone and consolidated his international legacy. The call Baby accumulated 10 goals in World Cupsa figure that maintains him as the top Peruvian scorer in the history of the World Cup.
In another of the photographs released, Ricardo Gareca is seen sharing the moment with Cubillas and Oviedo, in a postcard that brings together different generations of Peruvian football in a historical setting.
Sport, identity and symbolism
The visit was interpreted as a symbolic gesture that links Peruvian football with a space of global relevancehighlighting the cultural and emotional value of sport as an element of national identity.
