Name: Omar Arnaldo Palma

Nickname: "El Negro", "Tordo"



Country: Argentina
Club: Rosario Central
Shirt Number: 10, 8
Position: ★AMF, CMF, SMF, SS
Side: RF/RS
Age: 28-29 years (12/03/1958 ✝ 08/10/2024)

Height: 165 cm
Weight: 64 kg

Attack: 81
Defence: 43
Balance: 72
Stamina: 77
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 85
Response: 73
Agility: 93
Dribble Accuracy: 88
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Accuracy: 84
Short Pass Speed: 78
Long Pass Accuracy: 85
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 86
Shot Technique: 81
Free Kick Accuracy: 91
Swerve: 93
Heading: 65
Jump: 66
Technique: 88
Aggression: 80
Mentality: 72
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team work: 80

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Early/Lasting

CARDS:
P01 - Classic N°10
P11 - Long Ranger
P18 - Talisman
S02 - Passer
S04 - PK Taker
S05 - 1-Touch Play
S06 - Outside Curve

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Tactical Dribble - Passing - Middle Shooting - Penalties - 1-Touch Pass - Outside

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack-Minded

INFO:
Omar Arnaldo Palma was an Argentine footballer who played as an offensive midfielder. Born in Campo Largo, Chaco (03/12/1958), at the age of ten, Palma moved to Rosario to join the youth academy of Rosario Central, the club where he is the greatest historical idol. He began his professional career on October 21, 1979, in a 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors on the eighth matchday of the Campeonato Nacional. Palma won his first First Division title with the blue-and-gold club in the 1980 Torneo Nacional, scoring a goal in the final of that tournament against Racing de Córdoba. In the 1981 Torneo Nacional, Palma achieved his personal best goal-scoring mark in a single match for his entire career, scoring 4 goals in the 6-4 victory over Huracán. In 1983, the AFA had implemented the relegation average system in Argentina, which meant that relegation to the Second Division would be determined by the accumulation of points from the last two seasons, divided by the number of matches played in those seasons. That same year, the club finished in 16th place, while in 1984, due to a fibula fracture he suffered in a match against Chacarita Juniors that sidelined him for several months, due to him being the best and most important player on the team, the Arroyito team could not escape relegation, finishing second-to-last in the table that season. Following the relegation in 1984, and now recovered from his fracture, Palma was a key piece in the team that achieved promotion to the First Division in 1985. From January to June 1986, Palma played on loan at Club Atlético Colón, due to the restructuring of the Argentine football calendars which meant that Rosario Central (promoted to the First Division in December 1985) had to wait six months to return to play in the new top-flight championship, forcing them to loan out some of their players so they could maintain competitive rhythm. In July 1986, he returned to Central, as agreed, and was a key starter in the team led once again by Ángel Tulio Zof, which won the 1986/87 season First Division championship. In that tournament, Palma proved to be the best player and the top scorer of the competition, with 20 goals scored in 38 matches: 7 from open play, 7 penalties, and 6 free kicks. He was the one tasked with taking the penalty in the final match against Temperley, which resulted in the final 1-1 draw that gave his team the title.

In mid-1987, after being a champion and top scorer, Rosario Central transferred him to River Plate. With the millionaire's team, he played two seasons and won the 1987 Copa Interamericana. He is particularly remembered for a goal he scored against Boca Juniors in the Superclásico, which allowed the team from Núñez to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the match 3-2 with a last-minute header by Palma. Around mid-1989, he ended up in Mexican football, being signed by the Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz. He is remembered very fondly at the Veracruz club due to his spectacular performances, the most memorable being those he had against Real Madrid in an international quadrangular tournament, in which he scored a goal by dribbling the ball for over 40 meters, evading several opponents before beating the merengue goalkeeper Francisco Buyo; and another match in which he managed to score an Olympic goal (directly from a corner kick) against Tigres UANL, with Ángel David Comizzo as the goalkeeper. Around July 1992, Omar Palma decided to return to the club where he debuted and spent the majority of his football career. On December 19, 1995, already almost 38 years old, he celebrated a new title, as that year the "Canallas" won the Copa Conmebol (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Cup), scoring important goals during the tournament, such as the one he scored against Cobreloa in Chile during the quarter-finals, or the penalty he scored against Atlético Mineiro of Brazil in the final for the title. That same year, he had the pleasure of scoring a goal in the Rosario Derby against Newell's, something that had eluded him throughout his career; scoring in the 68th minute with a free kick that beat the resistance of the red-and-black goalkeeper, Luis Islas. In 1998, he suffered an injury that prevented him from playing many of the matches in the Torneo Clausura, so in June of that year, at the age of 40, he decided to play his last professional match in a 3-2 defeat against Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy. Including international matches, Omar Arnaldo Palma played 390 games and scored 63 goals for Rosario Central. He is the player with the most official titles won in the history of the Rosario institution since it has competed in the professional era of AFA (1939-present), winning three national AFA championships and one international CONMEBOL title. Omar Palma is considered one of the best #10s in the history of Argentine football and is, undoubtedly, the greatest player in the history of Club Atlético Rosario Central.