 Despite suffering crippling bouts of acute asthma that were to afflict him throughout his life , he excelled as an athlete , enjoying swimming , football , golf , and shooting ; while also becoming an " untiring " cyclist . He was an avid rugby union player , and played at fly @-@ half for Club Universitario de Buenos Aires . His rugby playing earned him the nickname " Fuser " — a contraction of El Furibundo ( raging ) and his mother 's surname , de la Serna — for his aggressive style of play . 
