Legendary Belizean football striker Arthur ‘Goatman’ Leslie passes away

Photo Credit: Sports, Sin & Subversion by Evan X Hyde & Joy Mckoy

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Legendary Belizean footballer Arthur Leslie, better known as Turo Leslie or Goatman, passed away on Friday.

Leslie was a forward who starred for Coke Milpros in the late 1970s and 1980s. He also played for Duurlys and the Belize Men’s National Football Team known as the Belize All Stars back then.

Breaking Belize News understands that Leslie was at his home in Sand Hill where he started feeling bad and was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately passed away. He had undergone heart surgery in 2020 in New York.

“Turo ruled the MCC for many years with teams including the famous Coke Milpros,” wrote Jesus ‘Dakta’ Castillo recently in a football post on social media.

“This guy provided a lot of excitement every Sunday out on the barracks and was deadly smoking the ball on the run.”

Castillo, who has been meeting with several footballers from yesteryear and posting about them in social media, said he learnt Leslie had been ill but was doing better.

Unfortunately, the great forward has gone ahead. While on the field you wouldn’t want him on the opposing team. However, out of it, Turo was a humble fellow, but quite friendly and always up for a good discussion about football.

“He scored easily even during his primary school football days in Belize playing for the national football primary school champions, St. Martins, of Belize City, Belize,” wrote sportswriter Bilal Morris in 2020 social media post.

“And then the rest became history during his professional football life striking for some of the best football teams of the 1970s Belize football explosion at the electric Belizean football sporting arena the MCC Garden!” Morris said.

“He’s the only striker that needed very little of space … in the 18 yard area …. to get off a powerful and accurate  shot at the goal keeper … meanwhile most of the other forwards needed to stride and stretch … to achieve the same result,” wrote his Frontiers’ teammate Euan Gillett in a comment on the Morris’ post.

Gillett said that before playing for Coke Milpros, Goatman played for Frontiers sponsored by Carlton Russell and after they had won the BeliE City Junio Championship in 1978, Bill Lindo carried him to the senior level with Belprint.

Premier League of Belize General Manager Wilhelm Miguel who played with him at Milpros said that Turo played for the Belize City Plaza teams going from Belprint, Happy Homebuilders, Milpros to Coke Milpros, and also played for Duurlys.

Breaking Belize News expresses condolences to his family and friends.

May he rest in peace. So long,Turo!

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