Angel Labruna

Ángel Amadeo Labruna (Buenos Aires, September 28, 1918 – September 19, 1983) was an Argentine soccer player and manager. He is considered one of the best Argentine soccer players in history. He played as a striker on the left. He is the top scorer in the history of River Plate with a total of 317 official goals in the first division, national cups and international cups and he is the top scorer in the Superclásico of Argentine Soccer with 16 goals. In addition, with 16 official titles, he is the second most winning player in the history of River Plate, and the third most winning DT in the history of the Club where he played for 20 years. He was also one of the members of the forward of the famous River Plate team known as La Máquina of the forties which was, for many, the best team in the history of Argentine soccer formed by José Manuel Moreno, nicknamed "El Charro", for having played in Mexico, Juan Carlos Muñoz, Adolfo Pedernera and Félix Loustau. The nickname, popularized by Borocotó, was born from the mathematical synchronization with which his mythical forward moved. After La Máquina won three Argentine titles in five years, Pedernera went to Colombia, however, River won the league in 1947. A players' strike was the cause that disbanded them. Ángel Labruna was also part of La Maquinita, made up of the great Amadeo Carrizo in goal and the striker made up of Santiago Vernazza, Eliseo Prado, Walter Gómez and Félix Loustau.

He also scored 17 goals in 37 games he played for his country's National Team, 3 goals in 16 games he played for Club Rampla Juniors in Uruguay and one goal for Rangers de Talca.

There is a controversy about who is the Top Scorer in the Argentine First Division. Various sources, historians and statistics experts confirm with data that he is, together with Arsenio Erico, the Maximum Gunner. Additionally, with his 317 Goals scored in River, he is the top scorer in the history of Argentine Soccer distributed in National, International and First Division Cups.

He retired at Club Atlético Platense, a club in which he made his debut as technical director and obtained third place in the First Division of Argentine Soccer after losing in the semifinals against Estudiantes de La Plata and obtaining third and fourth place, with substitutes, against River Plate 2-1, after losing the game. Simultaneously he was coach of Defensores de Belgrano, where he was champion of the Second Division of Argentine Soccer. He won his first First Division championship as a coach directing Rosario Central, in 1971, and after that, he won another six titles directing River Plate, being one of the most winning coaches in the history of the Núñez club. He was the coach of the millionaire team when the club ended a streak of 18 consecutive years without official achievements, until obtaining the title in 1975.

Labruna ranks 26th in the classification list of the Best South American player of the 20th century published by IFFHS in 2006. The institution and fans of River Plate celebrate every September 28, the day of Labruna's birth, the "International River Plate Fan Day", in honor of him.

Biography

Staff

Ángel Amadeo Labruna was born on September 28, 1918 in the Palermo neighborhood and it was there that he united the two great passions of his life: the river and racing horses. As a fan of the red band, he would walk several times a day from his father's watch shop (in Las Heras between Bustamante and Pereyra Lucena) to the River field in Alvear and Tagle to practice basketball at the club de la amores de he. He until he finally decided on soccer and became part of the millionaire lower divisions.

As a player

The Machine: Juan C. Muñoz, José M. Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera, Angel Labruna and Felix Loustau.

Angel Labruna in 1940.

Labruna in a cover of "The Graph" of the 1950s.

In 1939, still a youth, he was summoned to play in the First Division as a result of a strike by the club's professionals due to a sanction applied to the institution's star, José Manuel Moreno. And he just had to wear the number 10 jacket, the one that the “Charro” used. His goals and his excellent performance determined that, once the conflict was over, Moreno had to play as right winger because it was impossible for Labruna to get him out.

This is how a fantastic career began, which lasted for two decades in River's first and which ended at the age of 41, on Christmas 1959, because it was not part of the new "soccer-show" project that he decided the millionaire leadership with the incorporation of several foreign soccer players. In those 20 years, the great Angelito had the pleasure of integrating, together with Juan Carlos Muñoz, Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera and Félix Loustau, the lead of the so-called "La Máquina" and, sharing the bill with Amadeo Carrizo for many best goalkeeper of the century, Santiago Vernazza, Eliseo Prado, Walter Gómez and again Loustau, "La Maquinita" of the triplet championships of 1955, 56 and 57. Those were the peaks of a football career that stood out for his great goalscoring ability, entrenched in refined technique and in boundless beauty. It was famous that when Angelito "ducked his hump" (a very particular way in which he arched his body) upon entering the area, the rival goalkeeper had no choice but to go look for it at the back of the net. His 293 annotations in 515 games are a categorical demonstration of this sense of smell and sense of goal. In that long period of 20 years, he was a regular member of the National Team, at times when our representative only competed at the South American level, where he obtained the South American titles in Guayaquil 1946 and Lima 1955, although in this case as a substitute for Enrique Omar. sívori. When Argentina returned to the world arena in Sweden in 1958, Angelito was also there, at the age of 39, to endure a failure that made history.

When he retired after playing 27 years in River (counting his years in the lower ranks), Ángel left behind a series of cabals that became famous over the years, such as avoiding stepping on the lime line when entering the field and then continue with a canchero trot to the area and send the ball into the back of the net with a superb shot from the drag... Renato Cesarini had advised him to do this in times of scoring "drought", and it meant the pre-announcement of the goals they were coming to the party. Logically, he aroused the euphoria of his fans and the fury of rival supporters. And that was exactly what the remarkable player was looking for and comforting, who took as a hallmark of distinction having been the top scorer in the “superclassics”, with 16 goals.

His career as a player in Argentina ended at Platense, where he made a fleeting step alternating with the role of coach. However, he tried to resume it at Rampla Juniors in Uruguay, and then at Rangers de Talca in Chile, where he arrived with his compatriot Vicente Cantatore. The arrival of both, although mainly Ángel, caused a great commotion in the Chilean sports world and in Talca, the city where Rangers play. However, the club's administration received some criticism from the sports press at the time due to the age at which Labruna arrived (41 years). Ángel made his football debut in the 1960 Preparation Cup (or Chile Cup), specifically on the 3rd date against Ñublense; then he made his first and only goal against Audax Italiano, on May 28 for the 3rd date of the national championship, and finally made his farewell in a match in Santiago, against the University of Chile, on August 3.

As technical director

Beginnings

Labruna in 1955.

How could it be otherwise, the club that first required his services was River, but not to direct their squads but to be the "spy" for coach Néstor Rossi: he had to see the immediate rival of the millionaires and detail on their strengths and weaknesses. Angelito did not take the issue very seriously and he prepared the reports on Monday by reading the comments in the newspapers, because on Sundays he preferred to go to the racetrack.

He tried several commercial activities and one of them was as a concessionaire for the confectionery of the Defensores de Belgrano club. In 1966, when he was dedicated to that, the leaders of that institution offered him the technical direction of the team, which was playing for promotion and was doing quite badly. Angelito took the last team and finished the tournament in fifth place, and the following year he was champion of B, but with a particularity: at the same time he technically led Platense, who was playing in the First Division and reached the semifinals with Estudiantes de Osvaldo Zubeldía, who would later be American and intercontinental champion. There he launched a successful career as a technician. River called him back in 1968 and he had excellent campaigns but the title was not awarded, so he had to emigrate.

In 1969 he suffered one of the worst tragedies that a human being can suffer: the death of his son Ángel Daniel, who at that point appeared as a serious continuation of his career in the Primera de River.

His first title as coach: the 1971 Nacional with Rosario Central

Labruna speaking about the people of Rosario Central: "No one can give an idea of what his audience is".

He ended up in Rosario Central in June 1971, where he took the team with the Metropolitan Tournament of that year already started. He made his debut as a visitor against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata on the 25th date of that Metropolitano, with a 5-4 victory for Central.

Labruna conducting a training in Rosario Central, in the summer of 1972.

Although the team was moderately armed and maintained a solid structure, for the following championship Labruna made a hand: he planted a more balanced team, overtaking Aldo Poy as a striker, and made Carlos Aimar debut in the First Division, a Fighting central midfielder, strong and showing very good condition. The tactical modifications paid off, and thus Labruna won his first title as technical director in the First Division with the Arroyito club, obtaining the 1971 National Championship.

That team finished first in their zone, so they had to come across in the semifinals with the 2nd place in zone "A", nothing more and nothing less than Newell's Old Boys, the classic of a lifetime. The match generated a lot of expectation not only in Rosario but throughout the country, which is why a large number of people from Rosario went to the Estadio Monumental de Núñez to witness the match. For that game, Labruna was very happy when he got the visiting locker room at the Núñez stadium because -according to Angelito- "the other (the local) has been "cursed" for 14 years", alluding to the fact that River had not won an official title since 1957. His Central defeated their classic rival (Newell's Old Boys) 1:0, in the semifinal with the remembered goal of "popcorn"; by Aldo Pedro Poy, to later beat San Lorenzo 2:1 in the championship final, played on December 22 at Newell's stadium. That 1971 Nacional was Labruna's first First Division title as coach.

Labruna and Landucci celebrate in the locker room after crowning champions. It was the first title Angelito as a coach.

Although he spent a year at the Rosario club, the bond between Central and Angelito was one of mutual affection that was maintained over time. A few days after winning the championship, he declared in El Gráfico: & # 34; No one can have an idea of what the public of Rosario Central is. I did 9 Olympic laps with River, but I never felt what I did on a few Sundays, when my boys qualified for the National finals. I got goosebumps... I live in the present, but I would like to stay in Rosario forever. Not only because I earn twice what I earned at River, but because football is breathed there the way I like it, with soul and life!".

With the Arroyito club, he later played in the 1972 Copa Libertadores, finishing second in the group they shared with Independiente de Avellaneda (which qualified for the semifinal round) and the Colombians Independiente Santa Fe and Atlético Nacional.

After his successful stint at Central, he was coach of Lanús, Racing Club de Avellaneda, and Chacarita Juniors, without many results.

Golden years at River: Angelito cuts the 18-year drought without titles

In January 1975, he was called back from home. In that January of 1975, Labruna was the DT of Talleres de Córdoba, with whom he had won the 1974 Cordovan Football League title, and had had a great campaign in the Nacional that year, reaching the octagonal final. After some negotiations, the club and Labruna reached an agreement, but not before asking for reinforcements from the hierarchy to become champion. The first thing he said when they came looking for him was: & # 34; If I grab River it's to be champion. I don't have the magic wand and to be champion I need important reinforcements. If the club doesn't move to get them, let's not even dream of River champion. And I'm not going back to River if it's not to be champion". And this time, the Núñez club put together a very competitive squad and with Angelito on the bench, great taste: he ended the negative streak of 18 years without titles, and consecrated River champion of the Metropolitan and National Tournaments of that year. Already launched to success, he achieved four other titles with los millonarios: Metro 1977, Metro 1979, Nacional 1979 and Metro 1980. In 1981 he decided to leave, rejecting the proposal to be the institution's soccer manager, which that year he hired Alfredo Di Stéfano as DT.

He went to Talleres de Córdoba and put together a team that was always the protagonist. But he always declared that despite being far from River, he never stopped thinking about the club of which he was a fan and symbol: "When I left River, I thought the world was ending, I even wanted to hit myself one shot. I walked like crazy all night without being able to sleep. I went out to go around anywhere with the car. I didn't want to go home. A few days later the call from Talleres came, but I kept thinking about River".

In 1983, he took over the technical direction of Argentinos Juniors, contributing a new playing philosophy -which, among other things, included moving the venue to the Ferro stadium-, arguing that his style of play deserved a bigger playing field larger than the 96 by 65 meters that the court measured. And also by incorporating experienced players like Chivo Pavoni, Pepe Castro, or Pato Fillol later. That team has a good performance, and manages to eliminate Boca and River in successive rounds but fails to win because it falls in the final against Ricardo Bochini's powerful Independiente. In September 1983, death surprised Labruna, who did not see his work of an Argentine champion finished, but is recognized as the architect of a football project with which Roberto Saporiti would later obtain four titles between 1984 and 1985, including the Copa Libertadores..

News of the death of Angel Labruna, player and Argentine DT. Diario Clarín, 20 September 1983.

Death

He was completing a great campaign as coach of Argentinos Juniors. He died on September 19, 1983, while he was in a hospital room, where he had undergone surgery for a gallbladder problem, from which he was recovering satisfactorily. However, when he was preparing to walk with Ubaldo Matildo Fillol, who had come to visit him, he died of cardiac arrest and fell into the goalkeeper's arms at the age of 64. His remains were buried at 4:00 p.m. on September 20 at the Chacarita Cemetery.

National team

Participations in World Cups

World	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles
World Cup 1958	Sweden Sweden	First phase	2	0

Participations in the Copa América

Cup	Headquarters	Outcome
Copa America 1946	Argentina	Champion
American Cup 1955	ChileChile	Champion

Statistics

As a player

Clubs

Club	Div.	Season	League		Cups National(1)		Tournaments International(2)		Total		Media Shotgun(3)
			Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles
River Plate Argentina
	1. a
		1939	10	7	-	-	-	-	10	7	0.70
		1940	26	14	-	-	-	-	26	14	0.53
		1941	29	11	3	3	2	4	34	18	0.50
		1942	28	15	1	1	1	0	30	16	0.53
		1943	23	23	1	0	-	-	24	23	0.95
		1944	30	25	2	1	-	-	32	26	0.81
		1945	29	25	2	3	2	5	33	32	0.96
		1946	27	15	3	3	-	-	30	18	0.60
		1947	18	16	-	-	2	3	20	19	0.92
		1948	22	16	1	0	5	1	28	17	0.60
		1949	32	19	1	0	-	-	33	19	0.57
		1950	33	20	-	-	-	-	33	20	0.60
		1951	29	12	-	-	-	-	29	12	0.43
		1952	22	10	1	0	-	-	23	10	0.43
		1953	28	16	-	-	-	-	28	16	0.57
		1954	22	8	-	-	-	-	22	8	0.34
		1955	25	10	-	-	-	-	25	10	0.38
		1956	22	9	-	-	-	-	22	9	0.40
		1957	29	13	-	-	1	0	30	13	0.44
		1958	19	9	2	0	-	-	21	9	0.40
		1959	12	1	-	-	-	-	12	1	0.08
	Total		515	294	17	11	13	13	545	317	0,58
Rampla Juniors Uruguay Uruguay
	1. a	1960	16	3	-	-	-	-	16	3	0.19
	Total		16	3	-	-	-	-	16	3	0.19
Talca Rangers ChileChile
	1. a	1960	5	1	-	-	-	-	5	1	0.2
	Total		5	1	-	-	-	-	5	1	0.2
Sit down. Argentina
	2. a	1961	2	0	-	-	-	-	2	0	0.00
	Total		2	0	-	-	-	-	2	0	0.00
Total in your career			538	298	17	11	13	13	568	321	0.56
(1) The national cups refer to the Ibarguren Cup (1941, 1942, 1952), the Escobar Cup (1941, 1943, 1944, 1949), the British Competition Cup (1944, 1945, 1946, 1948) and the Sweden Cup (1958). (2) The international cups refer to the Aldao Cup and the South American Champions Championship.

Selection

Statistics in the national selection of majors

PJ Date City Oponente Outcome Competition Goles 1. 25-08-1942 Montevideo UruguayUruguay 1-1 Lipton Cup 0 2. 07-07-1945 Assumption ParaguayParaguay 1-5 Chevallier Boutell 0 3. 08-07-1945 3-1 0 4. 18-07-1945 Montevideo UruguayUruguay 2-2 Lipton Cup 0 5. 16-12-1945 São Paulo BrazilBrazil 4-3 Copa Roca 1 6. 20-12-1945 Rio de Janeiro 2-6 0 7. 23-12-1945 1-3 0 8. 19-01-1946 Buenos Aires BoliviaBolivia 7-1 South American Championship 2 9. 26-01-1946 ChileChile 3-1 2 10. 02-02-1946 UruguayUruguay 3-1 1 11. 10-02-1946 BrazilBrazil 2–0 0 12. 25-03-1950 ParaguayParaguay 2-2 Chevallier Boutell 0 13. 29-03-1950 4–0 2 14. 09-05-1951 London EnglandEngland 1–2 Friendly 0 15. 13-05-1951 Dublin IrelandIreland 1–0 1 16. 07-12-1952 Madrid SpainSpain 1–0 0 17. 14-12-1952 Lisbon PortugalPortugal 3-1 2 18. 02-03-1955 Santiago de Chile ParaguayParaguay 5-3 South American Championship 0 19. 09-03-1955 EcuadorEcuador 4–0 0 20. 16-03-1955 PeruPeru 2-2 0 21. 27-03-1955 UruguayUruguay 6-1 3 22. 30-03-1955 ChileChile 1–0 0 23. 22-01-1956 Montevideo PeruPeru 2-1 South American Championship 0 24. 29-01-1956 ChileChile 2–0 2 25. 01-02-1956 ParaguayParaguay 1–0 0 26. 05-02-1956 BrazilBrazil 0-1 0 27. 15-02-1956 UruguayUruguay 0-1 0 28. 24-06-1956 Buenos Aires ItalyItaly 1–0 Friendly 0 29. 23-05-1957 Montevideo UruguayUruguay 0-0 Newton Cup 0 30. 05-06-1957 Buenos Aires 1-1 Lipton Cup 0 31. 07-07-1957 Rio de Janeiro BrazilBrazil 2-1 Copa Roca 1 32. 10-07-1957 0-2 0 33. 13-10-1957 Santiago de Chile ChileChile 2–0 Rating for the 1958 World Cup Football 0 34. 20-10-1957 Buenos Aires 4–0 0 35. 27-10-1957 Avellaneda BoliviaBolivia 4–0 0 36. 11-06-1958 Halmstad Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland 3-1 World Cup Soccer 0 37. 15-06-1958 Helsingborg CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia 1-6 0 - Total Presences 37 Goles 17

Statistical summary

Equipment	Seasons	Parties	Goles	Average
River Plate (*)	1939-1960	533	318	0.59
Rampla Juniors	1960	16	3	0.19
Talca Rangers	1960	5	1	0.2
Sit down.	1961	2	0	0.00
Argentina Selection (*)	1935-1942	37	17	0.46
Total in your career		593	340	0,58

• (*) Source: RSSSF
• (**) 293 by Argentine league and the remaining 24 are divided between Rio de Janeiro cups and local cups.

Honours of Prizes

As a player

National Championships

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
First Division	River Plate	Argentina	1941
First Division			1942
First Division			1945
First Division			1947
First Division			1952
First Division			1953
First Division			1955
First Division			1956
First Division			1957

National Cups

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
Ibarguren Cup	River Plate	Argentina	1941
Escobar Cup			1941
Ibarguren Cup			1942
Ibarguren Cup			1952

International Cups

Title	Equipment	Headquarters	Year
Aldao Cup	River Plate	AFA/AUF	1941
Aldao Cup			1945
Copa America	Argentina	Argentina	1946
Aldao Cup	River Plate	AFA/AUF	1947
Copa America	Argentina	Chile	1955

As technical director

Regional Championships

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
Cordobese League	Workshops	Argentina	1974

National Championships

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
First Division B	Advocates of Belgrano	Argentina	1967
National Tournament	Central Rosary		1971
Metropolitan Tournament	River Plate		1975
National Tournament			1975
Metropolitan Tournament			1977
Metropolitan Tournament			1979
National Tournament			1979
Metropolitan Tournament			1980

Individual awards

Tributes

Statue in front of the Monumental

In November 2015, the largest statue in the world was erected in his honor in honor of a soccer player. It weighs 6 tons and measures 6.7 meters.

Poem

In 1984, the composer, poet and philosopher Rodolfo Garavagno, published in the Millonarios Magazine, a poem dedicated to Labruna, entitled "Un Picado en el Cielo".

Filmography

Labruna acted in the film Five Big Ones and a Girl directed in 1950 by Augusto César Vatteone.

Records

• High goal of the classics River-Boca (16 goals).
• River champion, along with Marcelo Gallardo, with 22 titles (16 as a player and 6 as a technician)
• Second highest champion as a River player along with Ricardo Vaghi and Bruno Rodolfi all 3 with 16 titles in the club.
• He intervened in more than a thousand games (between officers and friendly).
• As a technician he was the creator of River's double title in '75 after 18 years of frustration.
• In 1967, in an unusual fact, he was champion of the B with Belgrano Advocates, while he headed to Platense who came to the semifinals of the Metropolitano.
• For the first time he was champion of the League to Rosario Central and made great campaigns with Talleres de Córdoba in 1974 and with Argentinos Juniors, where he built the base of the winning team of local and international titles.