Armando Javier Dely Valdés (5 January 1964 – 17 August 2004) was a Panamanian footballer who played as a forward. He was the elder brother of the twins Julio Dely Valdés and Jorge Dely Valdés.
Club career He started his playing career with Técnica y Deportes in Panama.
In 1983, he was signed by Argentinos Juniors and went on to win a number of major titles with the club. They were back-to-back league champions in the Metropolitano 1984 and the Nacional 1985. They went on to win the Copa Libertadores in 1985 and the 1985 Copa Interamericana, and played in the Copa Intercontinental against Juventus of Italy.Pele Dely, un colonense que reinó en Argentina - Somos Lasele
Nicknamed Pelé, Dely Valdés left Argentinos Juniors for another Argentine team, Instituto de Córdoba. He went on to play for San Martín de Tucumán in Argentina, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Tel Aviv in Israel, Peñarol and Liverpool in Uruguay."Murió el ex delantero panameño Armando Dely Valdés" - El Observador
International career Dely Valdés represented his country in 4 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. His final international was a December 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Guatemala.
Retirement and death After retiring as a player he worked as the assistant manager of the Panama national team between 1996 and 2001 and became the coach of the Panama Under-20 team in 2001. He also managed Plaza Amador and Árabe Unido.
On May 29, 2001, Dely Valdés suffered a heart attack which left him in a coma from which he never recovered. He was left in a permanent vegetative state in which he suffered sepsis and lung infections amongst other complications. He died in the Manuel Amador Guerrero Hospital in Colón in 2004."Murió Armando Dely Valdéz, jugador de Argentinos Jrs., hermano mayor de Julio César y Jorge Dely Valdéz" - Mediotiempo After his death, the Panamanian Football Federation renamed the Árabe Unido football stadium to Estadio Armando Dely Valdés.
Honours Argentinos Juniors Primera División Argentina: 1984, 1985 Copa Libertadores: 1985 Copa Interamericana: 1985
References
External links
Clarín obituary La Prensa obituary