Nicknamed "el Verdugo" ("the Executioner"), he was a highly skillful midfielder and a prolific goalscorer, regarded by Pelé as "one of the 5 best players in the world".

[2][3] He is the only player to appear in four consecutive World Cups for the Uruguay national football team: 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974.

[4] At club level he played most of his career for Peñarol and São Paulo in Brazil.

Later in his career he played for Coritiba where he won Campeonato Paranaense championship, Palmeiras and Bangu in Brazil.

He suffered from mesencephalic atrophy, a serious degenerative illness that affected his speech and his movements, paralyzing part of his body and confining him to a wheelchair.