A friendly match between Universidad de Chile legends and other international players, to pay tribute to former player Walter Montillo at the Estadio Nacional in Santiado de Chile, featured a very emotional moment when Santino Montillo, his 15-year-old son, scored a goal and received an ovation from the whole stadium.
Santino, who has Down syndrome, survived life-threatening conditions when he was born, including megacolon and peritonitis, and underwent open heart surgery. Walter Montilla, who was playing for Universidad de Chile at the time, received lots of support from the fans at the time when he played football knowing that his newborn child's life was in the hospital in serious danger.
15 years later, Santino grew healthy and father and son enjoyed an unforgettable moment that made thousands of fans watching live weep in emotion. In the friendly match, Santino joined the field and scored a goal which unleashed joy in the stadium, and the teenager went to celebrate with his father and other former teammates of his dad.
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The Argentinian former midfielder Walter Montillo played between 2002 and 2021. He only played in Universidsad de Chile for three years (between 2008 and 2010, when he won a league title in 2009, and in his final year between 2020 and 2021, when he retired), and also played for other clubs like Botafogo, Cruzeiro, Santos and even the Chinese team Shandong Luneng.
Despite playing for a multitude of clubs, Montillo chose Universidad as his final professional club due to the emotional connection he developed with his fans that embraced him during his most difficult moments. Nearly five years after his retirement, he received the ultimate tribute in Chile, where fans even brought the same banners they took fifteen years ago, that read "Stay strong, Montillo. Stay strong, Santino".