Alejandro Sabella
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alejandro (Alex) Sabella (b. Buenos Aires, 05 November 1954) is a former Argentine football player.
| Season | Club | League |
|---|---|---|
| 1974-1978 |  River Plate |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1978-1980 |  Sheffield United |
Football League Second Division |
| 1980-1981 | Leeds United |
Football League First Division |
| 1982-1985 | Estudiantes |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1986-1987 |  Grêmio |
Brazilian Série A |
| 1987 | Estudiantes |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1987-1988 | Ferro Carril Oeste |
Primera División Argentina |
Sabella rose through the junior divisions of River Plate in the early 1970s, when his position, and the number 10 jersey, were owned by Norberto Alonso. His style reflected Alonso's, with emphasis on individual technique and short passes. In 1975, River Plate achieved its first title after a 18-year drought, and Alonso became the fans' undisputed hero. Sabella felt his talents were not exploited properly, but in 1976 he got his break when Alonso was transferred to Olympique Marseille.
Coach Angel Labruna and fans were not satisfied with Sabella's perceived individualism and slowness, and bought a few players in the transfers market. When Alonso returned to River Plate, Sabella was again relegated to the bench.
English club Sheffield United had tried to sign the teenage Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors, which did not accept the paltry £180,000 United were offering. So United turned to Sabella, and they signed him for £160,000 on July 19, 1978. He made his debut for the Blades against Leyton Orient on 19 August 1978.
He played for United until 1980, but unfortunately his superb ball control resulted in fewer goals than were expected, just 8 League goals from 76 appearances. After relegation to the Third Division, manager Harry Haslam agreed a fee of £600,000 with Second Division club Sunderland, however, Sabella had ambitions to play in the First Division and refused to go. His final appearance for United came with a goal in the County Cup (a regional competition between South Yorkshire teams) Final victory over Sheffield Wednesday on May 8, 1980.
During the close season he was finally sold to Leeds United for £400,000. He played for Leeds without much success between 1978-80. In December 1981 he started looking for an Argentine club, and was sold to Estudiantes de La Plata. Under coach Carlos Bilardo, the team reached the semi-finals of the 1982 Nacional tournament (Sabella was injured in the first semi-final match against Quilmes) and then, together with Marcelo Trobbiani, José Daniel Ponce, and Miguel Angel Russo, made up the solid midfield of the Estudiantes team that went on to win two back-to-back championship titles.
When Bilardo was put in charge of the Argentina National Football Team, Sabella competed for his place with veterans Alonso and Bochini, and younger players like Carlos Tapia and Jorge Burruchaga; an even larger shadow was cast by the king of 1980s play-makers, Diego Maradona. All in all, Sabella opened four times for the national team and did not make the cut for the 1986 World Cup.
Sabella moved to Brazilian Grêmio FPA, where he played from 1985 to 1986. He then returned to Estudiantes, but retired after the 1987 season.
His nicknames were el mago (the magician) and pachorra (sloth) because of his perceived slowness during play (though he could become a fast dribbler and passer given the right situation).
After retirement, Sabella became a coach, but has worked mostly as field assistant for Daniel Passarella. The duo coached the Argentina national team, Italian side Parma AC, the Uruguay national football team, Mexican Monterrey, and Brazilian Corinthians. In 2006, they were hired back by River Plate, which finished in third place in the Apertura tournament.
