Norberto Alonso facts for kids
Alonso in 1972
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Norberto Osvaldo Alonso | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 January 1953 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vicente López, Argentina | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | 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) | ||||||||||
| Total | 464 | (169) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 1978–1983 | Argentina | 15 | (4) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 2007 | |||||||||||||
Norberto Osvaldo "Beto" Alonso (born on January 4, 1953) is a famous former Argentine football player. He was a talented midfielder who spent most of his career playing for River Plate. Alonso helped River Plate win nine important titles. He is still known as one of their most important players. Many people in the 1970s thought Alonso was one of the best South American players.
He is the fifth highest goal scorer for River Plate with 149 goals. He also played 374 matches, making him seventh in their all-time appearances. Alonso won the Copa Libertadores, the Intercontinental Cup, and the FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
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Norberto Alonso was born in Vicente López, Argentina. He grew up in a less wealthy area called Los Polvorines. He was an attacking midfielder. Alonso moved up through River Plate's youth teams. At that time, River Plate had not won a championship in 18 years (from 1957 to 1975).
In 1975, Angel Labruna became the coach. Alonso was a key player and wore the number 10 jersey. With new players like Roberto Perfumo and Ubaldo Fillol, and other growing talents, Alonso led the team. They won both the Metropolitano and Nacional tournaments in 1975. This started a period where River Plate won seven local titles between 1975 and 1981.
In 1976, Alonso moved to Olympique de Marseille in France. However, he did not have much success there. River Plate then arranged for him to come back in 1977.
From 1979 to 1981, River Plate won four more local titles. They became one of the most valuable teams in the world. They even had two strong teams. One team played in league games, and another played mostly in Copa Libertadores matches.
During the 1981 "Nacional" tournament, Alonso sometimes had disagreements with the coach, Alfredo Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano often chose younger players instead of Alonso. After this tournament, Alonso was sold to Vélez Sársfield in 1982. He played there for a while. Then, he returned to River Plate again for the 1984 season.
Many skilled midfielders came from River Plate's youth system during Alonso's time. These included players like Alejandro Sabella and Néstor Gorosito.
Alonso was a very important player for the successful team of 1985–86. This team won River Plate's first Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. His main teammate in 1985 was Enzo Francescoli. By the time he stopped playing, Alonso had scored 166 goals in 464 matches.
Playing for Argentina
Alonso was part of the Argentine team for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. However, the coach, César Luis Menotti, did not plan to use him much. Alonso only played for a few minutes during the tournament. Argentina went on to win the World Cup in their home country.
For the 1978 World Cup, Argentina gave players jersey numbers in alphabetical order. Because of this, Alonso, who was a midfielder, wore the number 1 jersey. This number is usually for goalkeepers.
In 1983, the national coach Carlos Bilardo gave Alonso some playing time. But eventually, Bilardo chose younger players like Diego Maradona and Jorge Burruchaga for Alonso's position.
After Retirement
After he stopped playing football, Alonso started an insurance agency. He also worked with several businesses. He was not a big advertising star, though. Most people who were not River Plate fans did not know him as well. Diego Maradona became Argentina's most famous football player after his amazing performances in the 1986 World Cup.
In 1989, Alonso coached River Plate along with Reinaldo Merlo. But they were dismissed during the season. The new club president had promised to bring in Daniel Passarella as coach. River Plate still went on to win the championship that year.
Honours and Awards
Norberto Alonso won many titles and received several awards during his career.
Team Honours
- River Plate
- Primera División:
- 1975 Nacional
- 1975 Metropolitano
- 1979 Nacional
- 1979 Metropolitano
- 1980 Metropolitano
- 1981 Nacional
- 1985–86
- Copa Libertadores: 1986 (and was runner-up in 1976)
- Intercontinental Cup: 1986
- Primera División:
- Argentina
- FIFA World Cup: 1978
Individual Awards
- El Gráfico awards:
- Argentine Primera División Best Player: 1972 National, 1975 Metropolitan, 1981 Metropolitan
- Argentine Primera División Best 11: 1972, 1975, 1981
- El Mundo (Venezuela) awards:
- South American Footballer of the Year second place: 1975
- South American Footballer of the Year seventh place: 1972 and 1976
- Konex Award One of the Best Argentinian Players of Decade: 1990
- Clarín Awards Included in the greatest "numbers 10" of Argentina: 2010
- Copa Libertadores All Times Dream Team by Bolavip
- River Plate All Times Dream Team by Marca: 2020
- IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team C): 2021
Images for kids
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Alonso in 1972
See also
In Spanish: Beto Alonso para niños
