Norberto Alonso

Norberto Alonso

Alonso playing for River Plate in 1972.
Personal information
Date of birth	January 4, 1953 (1953-01-04) (age 58)
Place of birth	Vicente López, Argentina
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	striker/attacking midfielder
Youth career
	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1970–1976	River Plate	168	(68)
1976	Olympique Marseille	17	(6)
1977–1981	River Plate	142	(63)
1981–1983	Vélez Sársfield	73	(14)
1983–1987	River Plate	64	(18)
National team
1978–1983	Argentina	15	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 2007. † Appearances (Goals).

Norberto Osvaldo Alonso (born 4 January 1953), known colloquially as "Beto" Alonso, is a former Argentine football midfielder, who played the majority of his career for the Argentine club River Plate.^[1] He remains one of their most iconic players. He stands in fifth place in River Plate's all time goalscoring records with 149 goals ^[2] and in 7th place in their all time appearances record with 374 matches played.^[2]

Club career

Alonso was born in Vicente López, Buenos Aires province, but grew up in the poor suburb of Los Polvorines. An attacking midfielder, he rose through the ranks of River's youth divisions as the team was undergoing its infamous dry spell (18 years, 1957 to 1975, without a championship title). When Angel Labruna took the reins in 1975, Alonso was the team's anchor and holder of the No. 10 jersey.

With reinforcements Roberto Perfumo and Ubaldo Fillol, and the maturing of players like Daniel Passarella, Carlos Morete, J. J. López and Reinaldo Merlo, Alonso led the squad that won both the Metropolitano and the Nacional tournaments of 1975, ushering in a series of seven local titles in the period 1975-1981.

In 1976, Alonso was transferred to Olympique Marseille, but he was unsuccessful and appeared unhappy away from his adoring fans. River Plate arranged for his return in 1977.

Between the years 1979-1981, River won four local titles, and became one of the most expensive teams in the world, with a first team (Alonso-Luque) playing in league games and an equally prestigious second team (Carrasco-Ramón Díaz) used mostly in Copa Libertadores matches.

During the 1981 "Nacional" tournament (which River would eventually win), Alonso often clashed with then coach Alfredo Di Stéfano (who seldom selected him for the first team and instead put younger players such as Carlos Daniel Tapia and Jose Maria Vieta in his position). After the Nacional, Alonso was put on the transfer list and was sold to Vélez Sársfield on 1982. After playing alongside veteran Carlos Bianchi, he returned to River Plate once again for the 1984 season.

Many talented midfielders emerged from River Plate's youth system during Alonso's reign, including Tapia, Alejandro Sabella, Néstor Gorosito and Pedro Troglio.

Alonso was a key player of the successful team of 1985-1986 that won River Plate's first Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. In 1985, his main partner was Enzo Francescoli. By the time he retired, he had scored 166 goals in 464 matches.

National team

Alonso was not in the plans of coach César Luis Menotti for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but he got in the squad anyway, allegedly as a result of pressure by Admiral Lacoste, an influential member of the military government. Menotti gave Alonso only a few minutes of play during the tournament. (Other talented midfielders such as Ricardo Bochini were even more unlucky, as they did not have a top-ranking military connection.) Menotti used Daniel Valencia and later Mario Kempes in his position; Argentina won the world title with Kempes as top scorer.

In 1983, national coach Carlos Bilardo gave Alonso some playing time, but eventually used younger players Diego Maradona, Jorge Burruchaga, and Carlos Tapia in his position.

Post-retirement

After retiring from the pitch, Alonso opened an insurance agency. He was also a partner in several commercial ventures, even though he was not an advertising figurehead: his appeal for non-River fans was limited, and Maradona was Argentina's poster boy after his exploits in the 1986 World Cup.

Together with Merlo, Alonso coached River Plate in 1989, but the duo was dismissed mid-season when new club president Alfredo Davicce made good on an election promise to bring in Daniel Passarella as coach. River eventually went on to win the championship.

While Alonso has serious competition for the title of River Plate's greatest ever player, he is maybe the fan's all-time favorite. The chant Alooo... Aloooo... was the war cry of the Monumental stadium for years; rivals would reply with chants of their own, some of them berating Alonso, although fans of all persuasions acknowledge Beto as an elegant and effective player.

World Cup numbering

For the 1978 World Cup, Argentina numbered players alphabetically, and as a result Alonso (a midfielder) wore the number 1 jersey (usually reserved for goalkeepers).

Titles

Season	Club	Title
1975 Nacional	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1975 Metropolitano	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1978	Argentina	World Cup
1979 Nacional	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1979 Metropolitano	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1980 Metropolitano	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1981 Nacional	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1985–1986	River Plate	Primera Division Argentina
1986	River Plate	Copa Libertadores
1986	River Plate	Copa Intercontinental

References

1. ^ BDFA player profile
2. ^ ^{a b} River Plate Website

External links

• (Spanish) Futbol Factory profile (Archived)
• Alonso's statistics at River Detroit

Persondata
Name	Alonso, Norberto
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 January 1953
Place of birth	Vicente López, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death