Carlos Peucelle

Carlos Desiderio Peucelle (b. Barracas, Buenos Aires, September 13, 1908 - d. April 1, 1990) was the right forward of Club Atlético River Plate from 1931 to 1941. He played 326 games, scoring 118 goals. He was also the one who scored the first goal at the “Monumental” stadium. In the Argentine soccer team he played 27 games and scored 14 goals, where he won the Copa América in 1929 and 1937. In addition, Peucelle played in the first Soccer World Cup organized by FIFA, in Uruguay, in 1930. He scored two goals against the United States in the semifinal and a goal against the Uruguayans in the final.

Peucelle started playing football at Sportivo Barracas and Club Atlético San Telmo. Later, he settled in the first team of Sportivo Buenos Aires, a team from which he made the great leap to the “Millonario”. In 1932, the year after he arrived at River Plate, the club won its first professional title.

He stood out as a player and coach. Skilled but strange in his dribbling, he was called Barullo because of the complications he presented to his opponent. He was one of the first multifunctional players to appear on Argentine fields. He played in all positions, so much so that when a teammate was injured, Peucelle replaced him. Already in his last time as a player he showed his concern as a coach and advised the minor divisions.

Immediately after hanging up his boots, Peucelle assumed his true vocation as a football teacher. Instructor, counselor, discoverer of players, he was a true Bible of football. For many, his ideas were the original embryo that led to The Machine. What's more, journalist Dante Panzeri considered that this formation reached such a high level because Peucelle knew how to place each player in the place where they performed the most. Regarding La Maquina, Peucelle confessed in 1969: That name was an invention of Doña Rosa, Pedernera's mother. Intelligent and observant, he was also one of the first strategists of local soccer. In addition to the empirical wisdom that he spread on the fields, his concepts were documented in reports and books. One of the latter, "Futbol todotiempo e historia de La Maquina" (Editorial Axioma, 1975), rescues his thoughts.

Clubs

As a player

Club	Div	Season	League		Cups (1)		International (2)		Total (3)		Average
			Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles
Sportivo Buenos Aires Argentina
	1. a	1927	33	8	-	-	-	-	33	8	0.24
		1928	31	9	-	-	-	-	31	9	0.29
		1929	11	3	-	-	-	-	11	3	0.27
		1930	32	11	3	0	-	-	35	11	0.31
	Total club		107	31	3	0	0	0	110	31	0.28
River Plate Argentina
	1. a	1931	29	10	-	-	-	-	29	10	0.34
		1932	32	11	5	2	-	-	37	13	0.35
		1933	33	11	7	2	-	-	40	13	32
		1934	33	11	-	-	-	-	33	11	0.33
		1935	32	10	-	-	-	-	32	10	0.31
		CH-1936	13	2	-	-	-	-	13	2	0.15
		CC-1936	14	11	-	-	-	-	14	11	0.78
		CO-1936	1	0	-	-	-	-	1	0	0.00
		1937	33	14	-	-	1	1	34	15	0.44
		1938	32	15	1	0	1	0	34	15	0.44
		1939	27	10	2	0	-	-	29	10	0.34
		1940	13	4	-	-	-	-	13	4	0.30
		1941	15	4	2	0	-	-	17	4	0.23
	Total club		307	113	17	4	2	1	326	118	0.36
Total career			414	144	20	4	2	1	436	149	0.34
(1) Includes Competition Cup data; Beccar Varela Cup; Ibarguren Cup; Escobar Cup. (2) Includes data from the Aldao Cup (1936, 1937). (3) It does not include goals in friendly matches.

Hat-tricks

Matches in which he scored three or more goals
N.o	Date	Stadium	Party	Goles	Outcome	Competition
1	9 December 1934	Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires	River Plate - Workshops (RdE) - Lanús		5 - 0	1934
2	5 December 1937		River Plate - San Lorenzo de Almagro		6 - 1	1937
2	5 December 1937		River Plate - San Lorenzo de Almagro		6 - 1

As a coach

Club	Country	Year
River Plate	Argentina	1942-1946
Deportivo Cali	ColombiaColombia	1950
Olympia	Paraguay Paraguay	?
San Lorenzo	Argentina	1954-1955
Sport Saprissa	Costa RicaCosta Rica	1957-1958
Sporting Crystal	Peru Peru	1960
Deportivo Cali	ColombiaColombia	1961
River Plate	Argentina	1966-1968

National team

Participations in World Cups

World	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles
1930 World Cup	URUUruguay	Subfield	4	3

Participations in Copa América

Cup	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles
American Cup 1929	ARGArgentina	Champion	3	1
Copa America 1937		Champion	5	0

Total matches in the national team

Selection	Year	Friendly		Copa America		World Cup		Total
		PJ	G	PJ	G	PJ	G	PJ	G
Argentina Argentina	1928	1	0	-	-	-	-	1	0
	1929	2	2	3	1	-	-	5	3
	1930	-	-	-	-	4	3	4	3
	1931	2	1	-	-	-	-	2	1
	1934	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	1
	1935	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	1
	1937	2	0	4	0	-	-	6	0
	1939	2	0	-	-	-	-	2	0
	1940	5	5	-	-	-	-	5	5
	Total	16	10	7	1	4	3	27	14

Palmarés

As a player

National Championships

N.o	Title	Equipment	Country	Year
1	First Division	River Plate	Argentina	1932
2	First Division			1936
3	Gold Cup			1936
4	First Division			1937
5	First Division			1941

National Cups

N.o	Title	Equipment	Country	Year
1	Competition Cup	River Plate	Argentina	1932
2	Ibarguren Cup			1937
3	Escobar Cup			1941

International Cups

N.o	Title	Equipment	Country	Year
1	Copa America	Selection of Argentina	Argentina	1929
2	Aldao Cup	River Plate		1936
3	Copa America	Selection of Argentina		1937
4	Aldao Cup	River Plate		1937

As a coach

National Championships

N.o	Title	Equipment	Country	Year
1	First Division	River Plate	Argentina	1945
2	First Division	Saprissa	Costa RicaCosta Rica	1957

International Cups

N.o	Title	Equipment	Country	Year
1	Aldao Cup	River Plate	Argentina	1945