Norberto Alonso

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Norberto Osvaldo Alonso (born January 4, 1953), known as El Beto, is a former Argentine football player, who was with Club Atlético River Plate for most of his career, and is arguably one of River Plate's top players ever.

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

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

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

Alonso was not in the plans of coach César Luis Menotti for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but he got on the roster nonetheless, 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 the years 1979-1981, River won four local titles, and was one of the most expensive teams in the world, with a first unit (Alonso-Luque) playing in league games and an equally prestigious second unit (Carrasco-Ramón Díaz) used mostly in Copa Libertadores matches.

During the 1981 "Nacional" tournament (which River would eventually win), he often clashed with then coach Alfredo Di Stéfano (who seldom selected him for the first team and rather put younger players like Carlos Daniel Tapia and Jose Maria Vieta in his position). After the Nacional, Alonso was put on the transfers 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.

In 1983, national coach Carlos Bilardo gave Alonso some play time in Argentina matches, but later on gravitated towards younger players: Diego Maradona, Jorge Burruchaga, and Carlos Tapia. Tapia was one of many talented midfielders that grew up in River Plate during Alonso's reign (others were Alejandro Sabella, Nestor Gorosito and Pedro Troglio).

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

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—after the 1986 World Cup, Argentina's banner player was Maradona.

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

Reputedly, Alonso is River Plate's greatest idol ever. 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. But all Argentine fans acknowledge Beto as an elegant and effective player.

[edit] Trivia

  • At the 1978 World Cup Argentina used an alphabetical system for numbering the players, so Alonso (a midfielder) wore the number 1 jersey (usually reserved for goalkeepers).

[edit] Clubs

[edit] Titles

Argentina Argentina Squad - 1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina

1 Alonso | 2 Ardiles | 3 Baley | 4 Bertoni | 5 Fillol | 6 Gallego | 7 L. Galván | 8 R. Galván | 9 Houseman | 10 Kempes | 11 Killer | 12 Larrosa | 13 Lavolpe | 14 Luque | 15 Olguín | 16 Ortiz | 17 Oviedo | 18 Pagnanini | 19 Passarella | 20 Tarantini | 21 Valencia | 22 Villa | Coach Menotti
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