Argentine football player ( 1954–2020 )

Alejandro Javier Sabella ( locally [ saˈβela ] ; 5 November 1954 – 8 December 2020 ) was an Argentine football musician and director. Born in Buenos Aires, he began his playing career with River Plate in his home country before moving to England in 1978 to play for Sheffield United. Known as “ Alex ” while in England ( an anglicised translation of his actual name ), Sabella then had a while with another english side, Leeds United, before returning to South America and representing Estudiantes, Grêmio, Ferro Carril Oeste and Irapuato. After retiring from playing, Sabella became a coach and began a farseeing association with chap countryman and close supporter Daniel Passarella, serving as his assistant coach during Passarella ‘s spells managing Argentina, italian club Parma, Uruguay, Mexican golf club Monterrey and Corinthians in Brazil. The duet ultimately returned to River Plate for whom they had both played before Sabella struck out on his own to become director of Estudiantes in his own right, winning the Argentine Primera División Apertura championship and the 2009 Copa Libertadores. Sabella resigned from Estudiantes in February 2011 and was subsequently appointed as the coach of the Argentine national side, coaching them to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final against Germany, where they lost 1–0 in excess time. Sabella had scheduled his resignation to take effect after the conclusion of the World Cup.

Sabella died on 8 December 2020 due to an intra-hospital virus which caused him a heart disease. He was 66 years honest-to-god .

Playing career [edit ]

early on life and career [edit ]

Sabella playing for River Plate in the mid 1970s Alejandro Sabella was born to a middle-class family in Buenos Aires ‘ comfortable Palermo region. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] He was an excellent student at school, and was admitted to the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires, but his career as a football player finally forced him to abandon his studies. [ 4 ] As a young man Sabella was politically active agent in the leftist Peronist Youth and worked to aid the urban poor people in the slums. He stated, “ I felt a growing indigence to be constantly on the side of solidarity and of the distribution of wealth for a honest, more egalitarian society, in which we can all have peer opportunities. ” [ 4 ] As a football player, Sabella rose through the junior divisions of River Plate in the early 1970s, when his position of attacking midfielder was covered by Norberto Alonso. His dash reflected Alonso ‘s, with emphasis on individual proficiency and short passes. His dull tempo gained him the nickname of Pachorra ( lunfardo, Spanish for “ plodder ” ). [ 5 ] In 1975, River Plate won their first title after an 18-year drought, and Alonso became the fans ‘ undisputed champion. Sabella got his break in 1976, when Alonso was transferred to Marseille. He played a key function when River won the 1977 Metropolitano backing. Nevertheless, when Alonso returned to River Plate, Sabella was again relegated to the bench .

Sheffield United [edit ]

Sabella with Sheffield United in 1978. second Division side Sheffield United had tried to sign Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors, however, the club decided that Maradona was besides expensive. [ 6 ] Therefore, United turned to Sabella, who they signed for £160,000 on 19 July 1978. [ 7 ] Known as Alex while in England, [ 6 ] Sabella made his debut for the Blades in a 2–1 kill against Leyton Orient on 19 August 1978. [ 7 ] Sabella played for United until 1980, scoring eight league goals in 76 appearances. After relegation to the Third Division, coach Harry Haslam agreed a fee of £600,000 with Second Division club Sunderland. [ 7 ] however, Sabella had ambitions to play in the First Division and refused to go. [ 7 ] His survive appearance for United came with a goal in the final examination of the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Cup, ( a regional competition between South Yorkshire teams ) giving victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 8 May 1980. [ 7 ]

Leeds United and restitution to Argentina [edit ]

During the conclusion season, Sabella was sold to Leeds United for £400,000. He played for Leeds without much achiever between 1980 and 1981, making 23 appearances and scoring two goals. [ 7 ] John Lukic used to give him a lift to train and matches from Sabella ‘s digs in Sheffield. In December 1981, Sabella started looking for an Argentine club and was finally sold to Estudiantes de La Plata. Under coach Carlos Bilardo, the team reached the semi-finals of the 1982 Nacional tournament ( Sabella was injured in the first semi-final match against Quilmes ). subsequently, Sabella, together with Marcelo Trobbiani, José Daniel Ponce and Miguel Ángel Russo, made up the solid midfield of the Estudiantes team that went on to win two back-to-back backing titles. When Bilardo was put in blame of the Argentine national team, Sabella competed for his put with veterans Norberto Alonso and Ricardo Bochini, american samoa well as younger players like Carlos Daniel Tapia, Jorge Burruchaga and Diego Maradona. Sabella played eight times for the national team, playing in all four games in the 1983 Copa América and in four friendlies ; against Chile in May 1983 ( as substitute ), Paraguay in July 1983, Brazil in June 1984 and Uruguay in July 1984. [ 8 ]

by and by career [edit ]

The Argentine midfielder then moved to brazilian Grêmio, where he played from 1985 to 1986. He subsequently returned to Estudiantes, but retired after a light go in the Mexican league with Irapuato in 1989 .

Managerial career [edit ]

early career [edit ]

After retirement, Sabella became a coach, but worked largely as field assistant for Daniel Passarella. The couple coached the Argentina national team, italian side Parma, the Uruguay national football team, Mexican Monterrey, and brazilian Corinthians. In 2006, they were hired back by River Plate, that finished in third stead in the Apertura tournament. On 15 March 2009, Sabella became coach of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won the 2009 Copa Libertadores. On 2 February 2011, he announced his resignation. Due to protestations from the team ‘s players and management, he agreed to reconsider his decisiveness, [ 9 ] but made it final the following day. [ 10 ] He formally resigned on 3 February 2011 .

Argentina [edit ]

After Argentina ‘s early exit at the 2011 Copa America, Sabella was appointed as the coach of the Argentine national team. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] Sabella was in the first place set to be the new coach of UAE League team Al-Jazira Club but backed out of the agreement after the Argentine Football Association ( AFA ) has shown interest in him. [ 13 ] After his appointment in August 2011, Sabella named Lionel Messi as Argentina ‘s new captain. [ 14 ] He made his debut in charge of the Argentina in a 1–0 victory against Venezuela at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, India .

2014 World Cup [edit ]

In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Sabella coached Argentina to the final. The final time Argentina had advanced beyond the quarter-finals was when they made the final in 1990 where they lost 1–0 to West Germany. Argentina never trailed during the wholly tournament until the final examination. They won all three of their group games, where Lionel Messi scored all four of his goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina ( 2–1 ), Iran ( 1–0 ) and Nigeria ( 3–2 ). They defeated Switzerland 1–0 in extra time during the Round of 16, and then dispatched Belgium 1–0 in the quarter-finals. Reaching their first semi-final since 1990, Argentina eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty gunfight after a scoreless drawing card. Argentina finished the tournament as runner-up after losing the final to Germany 1–0 through an extra time goal scored by Mario Gotze. Sabella ‘s substitutions in the concluding, notably Sergio Agüero for Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio for Gonzalo Higuaín, were said to have blunted the team ‘s attacking terror against the Germans Germany vs. Argentina : Sabella ‘s Substitutes Surrender the Match to Low Argentina ‘s coach screwed up the World Cup final examination, although many managers, such as Atlético Madrid ‘s Diego Simeone, praised Sabella ‘s tactical performance throughout the World Cup. [ 15 ] Sabella officially resigned on 30 July 2014. [ 16 ]

managerial statistics [edit ]

As of 14 November 2014
Team From To Record
Estudiantes 15 March 2009[17] 3 February 2011[17] 97 58 21 18 151 69 +82 0 59.79 [18][19][20]
Argentina 2 August 2011[12] 30 July 2014[16] 40 25

10 5 74 32 +42 0 62.50 [21][22][23][24]
Total 137 83 31 23 225 101 +124 0 60.58

political views and public effigy [edit ]

Sabella was interested in politics and history and had impregnable political views. He was a leftist Peronist, and believed that “ the express needs to be present to regulate politics and mark the path. We ca n’t wait for the trickle-down consequence to overflow, because that is a lie. ” [ 4 ] In an interview he gave to La Garganta Poderosa, an Argentine alternate media release, he posed before a blackboard with a “ Dream team ” made up not of football players, but leftist activists who have been killed or have gone missing since the recurrence of majority rule in 1983, many of them young victims of patrol ferocity. [ 4 ]

Nicknames [edit ]

During his playing career, Sabella ‘s nicknames were el Mago ( “ the Magician ” ) and Pachorra ( “ Sloth ” ), because of his perceived awkwardness during play. As Estudiantes director, he would be called Magno ( from Alejandro Magno ) because of the great Club World Cup concluding they took separate in : the favourites, star-studded Barcelona, would merely manage to beat his team in extra clock time, by 2–1 .

death [edit ]

Sabella died on 8 December 2020 due to an intra-hospital virus which aggravated a heart disease. He was 66 years old. [ 25 ] web|url= hypertext transfer protocol : //www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55235880 % 7Ctitle=Former Argentina coach Sabella dies|via=www.bbc.com } }

Honours [edit ]

Sabella pitchside dramatically celebrating Estudiantes victory in the Argentine Primera División in 2010 Sabella celebrates after winning the Apertura title with Estudiantes in 2010 .

player [edit ]

River Plate
Estudiantes (LP)

coach [edit ]

clubhouse [edit ]

Estudiantes (LP)
Argentina

Notes [edit ]

  • Profile and tactical analysis in ( in Portuguese )