Marcelo Trobbiani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marcelo Antonio Trobbiani (b. February 17, 1955 in Casilda, Santa Fe Province) is an Argentine football (soccer) coach and a former player. He is the current assistant coach of Boca Juniors.

An attacking midfielder, Trobbiani was one of the promising young stars to rise in Boca Juniors during the early 1970s. As a juvenile, he debuted in 1973 with the national team when Omar Sivori drafted him for the "phantom squad" that had to play Bolivia for a ticket to the 1974 World Cup. Following the exit of Reinaldo Merlo, he wore the national colors—before Boca's then coach Rogelio Domínguez was aware of his existence.

In 1975, Trobbiani shared Boca's midfield with Benítez, Suñé and Potente, and was criticized for hogging the ball, to the point that fans called him calesita (merry-go-round). After the 1975 season, Trobbiani was sold to Spain in 1976. Boca used the money to buy many players in the local market, starting a major winning streak with coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo.

Trobbiani played for Spanish sides Elche and Real Zaragoza, and acquired European discipline and tactical depth. When he returned to play for Boca in 1981 alongside Diego Maradona, fans saw a more effective player. The team won the 1981 Metropolitano.

In mid-1982, Trobbiani was transferred to Estudiantes de La Plata. Coach Carlos Bilardo made Trobbiani play as a deep-lying centre-forward linking the strong midfield (Russo, Ponce and Sabella) to strikers Trama and Gottardi. The team won two back-to-back championships.

Before the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Trobbiani was playing for Millonarios in Bogotá, Colombia. National coach Bilardo called Trobbiani for the tournament, making it clear that he would mainly be used for tactical practice games. He worked tirelessly during the month-long stay in Mexico, where he was Jorge Valdano's roommate, and was rewarded with exactly two minutes of play—the last two minutes of the final match against West Germany. His only touch of the ball was a back-heel pass.

Before retirement, Trobbiani showed his class at Chilean side Cobreloa, Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC (with whom he reached the Copa Libertadores finals in 1990) and back in Argentina with Talleres de Córdoba

Trobbiani went on to coach several teams in South America, with little success. He was sacked from Universitario de Deportes from Peru at the end of 2004. Starting December 2006, he works as Russo's assistant coach at Boca Juniors, together with former teammate Gottardi.

	Argentina squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup Champions (2nd Title)
1 Almirón | 2 Batista | 3 Bochini | 4 Borghi | 5 Brown | 6 Passarella | 7 Burruchaga | 8 Clausen | 9 Cuciuffo | 10 Maradona | 11 Valdano | 12 Enrique | 13 Garré | 14 Giusti | 15 Islas | 16 Olarticoechea | 17 Pasculli | 18 Pumpido | 19 Ruggeri | 20 Tapia | 21 Trobbiani | 22 Zelada | Coach: Bilardo