Adolfo Pedernera
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Adolfo Alfredo Pedernera (November 18, 1918 - May 12, 1995), born in Avellaneda, Argentina, was a football (soccer) player and coach. He was involved with several teams such as Club Atlético Huracán, Club Atlético River Plate (known as "La Máquina" or "The Machine"), Club Atlético Atlanta, and Millonarios (known as "El Ballet Azul" or "The Blue Dance"). He was affectionately known as "El Maestro" ("The Master") for much of his career.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
| Season | Club | Leaugue |
|---|---|---|
| 1932-1933 |  Huracán |
Junior football |
| 1933-1946 | Club Atlético River Plate |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1947 | Atlanta |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1948 | Huracán |
Primera División Argentina |
| 1949-1953 |  Millonarios |
Colombian First Division |
| 1954 | Huracán |
Primera División Argentina |
[edit] Early career
As an adolescent, Pedernera displayed talent for soccer. The first club he joined was Cruceros de la Plata, but he soon joined the professional Club Atlético Huracán. In 1933, he joined the Club Atlético River Plate. In 1935, at the age of 16, he debuted with this club and contributed to their 1937 victory at the Copa América (which was repeated in 1941 and 1945).
The Second World War kept Pedernera away from the game as he could not participate in a World Cup, but afterwards, his career continued to progress. Still with the Club Atlético River Plate, he played with the likes of Ángel Labruna, José Manuel Moreno, Félix Lostau, and Juan Carlos Muñoz. He also collaborated with Hugo Reyes, Antonio El Maestrico Báez, Néstor El Pipo Rossi, and Alfredo Di Stéfano. He would later be teammates with them on Millonarios, but first, in 1947, he was offered a million pesos to play for the Club Atlético Atlanta.
Pedernera's time with the Club Atlético Atlanta was short; in 1948, he returned to the Club Atlético Huracán where he started his career. However, Carlos Cacho Aldabe, the trainer for the Millonarios, visited Pedernera in Buenos Aires and convinced him to come to Bogotá, Colombia. There, Pedernera joined the Millonarios on June 8, 1949. He arrived in Bogotá on June 10 and was greeted at the Aeropuerto de Techo by 5,000 fans transported by 200 cars and 25 buses.
[edit] Joining the Millonarios
Pedernera settled in the north of Bogotá after being received into the club. On June 11, he attended his first game with the Millonarios, in which they defeated the Club Atlético Municipal (now the Atlético Nacional) with a score of 6-0. On June 25, Pedernera played for the first time with the club, helping them defeat the Club Deportes Caldas with a score of 3-0. The press of Bogotá received Pedernera well and commented the next day that "El Maestro" ("The Master") was "a phenomenon, an artist, a master of passing, and a show of intelligence. After the debut of El Maestro, everything is possible."
Along with Alfredo Di Stéfano and Pipo Rossi, Pedernera helped the Millonarios to their Colombian championship title in the Mustang Cup in 1949. According to Di Stéfano, the team played with the "5 and dance" strategy, in which they would try to not humiliate their opponents by scoring when they were leading by five goals. This strategy was employed in nine consecutive victories. In championship play, Pedernera scored the two decisive goals in two consecutive games against Deportivo Cali.
[edit] Coaching career
In 1950, when Cacho Aldabe the technical director of the Millonarios, stepped down, Pedernera assumed his position. He trained such players as Julio Cozzi, Antonio Báez, Julio César Ramírez, Reinaldo Mourín, Ramón Villaverde, and Hugo Reyes. Pedernera became the manager of the team for the 1950 Mustang Cup, though the Once Caldas won that year. However, he managed them to victory in the Mustang Cup for three consecutive years, 1951, 1952, and 1953.
While Pedernera coached the Millonarios, the team defeated such other strong teams at the time as Argentina's Club Atlético Huracán, Bolivia's Club Bolívar, Austria's SK Rapid Wien, and even his old team, Argentina's Club Atlético River Plate, who had won Primera División Argentina's championship tournament in 1952 and 1953.
In March 1952, when Pedernera was 33 years old, he accompanied the Millonarios on a tour of Europe. On this trip, they won against the Real Madrid in Chamartín Stadium (now called Santiago Bernabéu Stadium) with a score of 4-2. The Spanish club sought a rematch, but they lost to the Millonarios two more times.
Pedenera also led his team to victory in the Pequeña Copa del Mundo in 1953, which is now called the Intercontinental Cup. He, along with Don Alfonso Senior and Mauro Mórtola, were placed on a list of noted Millonarios. The team credits him with establishing their mark on Colombia football.
In 1954, the Lima Pact forced all "illegal" players to return to their clubs of origin, so Pedernera returned to the Club Atlético Huracán. He retired soon afterwards.
[edit] Later years
In 1993 he published his autobiography named "El fútbol que viví ... y que yo siento" (the soccer I lived ... and I feel), assisted by journalist Alejandro Yebra.
In 1994, Pedernera was reunited for the last time with his lifelong friends Alfredo Di Stéfano and El Pipo Rossi at the Féria Internacional del Libro in Bogotá. Pedernera died the next year.
