Antonio Alegre (August 13, 1924 – February 24, 2010) was a notable Argentine football official. He was president of
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
from 1985 to 1995, and was widely credited with the football club's financial turnaround.
[El hombre que salvó a Boca Juniors de la quiebra]
on ''La Nación'', 24 Feb 2010[''El Gráfico'': El adiós a Antonio Alegre]
[
Alegre took Boca Juniors' presidency in 1985 after winning the election to former chairman Alberto J. Armando, and succeeding interventor Federico Pollack, who had been in charge due to the deep financial crisis of the club][Historia del hombre que ama a Racing y salvó a La Bombonera]
by Leandro Cócolo on TyC, 25 May 2020 that included the closure of La Bombonera
The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands rou ...
and a players strike. Carlos Heller
Carlos Heller (born October 17, 1940) is an Argentine executive, cooperative banking leader and politician, currently serving as member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, representing the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, since 2019. He is the ...
was his vicepresident during his tenure as chairman of Boca Juniors.[
]
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to Lebanese Argentine
Lebanese Argentine refers to Argentine citizens of Lebanese descent or Lebanon-born people who reside in Argentina. Many of the Lebanese Argentines are descendants of immigrants cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating from ...
immigrants, he was affiliated to Boca Juniors since his youth. He worked as a construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
laborer, and eventually became a prosperous businessman as the proprietor of the Alegre Pavement Company. Fond of ping pong
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
, his affable manner helped earn him the friendship of numerous important figures in Argentine politics,[Ale, Ana. ''La Dinastía''. Editorial Planeta, 2001.] including UCR leader (and future President) Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...
, Peronist
Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
lawmaker Antonio Cafiero
Antonio Francisco Cafiero (12 September 1922 – 13 October 2014) was an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. Cafiero held a number of important posts throughout his career, including, most notably, the governorship of Buenos Aires Province f ...
, and numerous members of the CGT trade union. Appointed director of the Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
bureau of the National Nutrional Plan by the newly elected President Alfonsín,[ Alegre was encouraged to run for the post of President of Boca Juniors by influential friends, and in 1984 became a candidate to succeed Federico Pollack, whom Alfonsín had appointed federal receiver.][
Elected, and inaugurated on January 6, 1985, he took office in a moment of crisis. Accompanied by his friend and running mate, Credico-op Bank director ]Carlos Heller
Carlos Heller (born October 17, 1940) is an Argentine executive, cooperative banking leader and politician, currently serving as member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, representing the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, since 2019. He is the ...
, Alegre inherited a financially insolvent football club and a stadium unable to meet municipal safety requirements. The iconic La Bombonera
The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands rou ...
stadium had been repeatedly closed for structural failures, and lawsuits against Boca Juniors were filed almost weekly.[Olé: Antonio Alegre]
Consequently, Boca, the winners of the Copa Intercontinental
The European/South American Cup, more commonly known as the Intercontinental Cup and from 1980 to 2004 as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, was an international football competition end ...
and the Copa Libertadores de América
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level ...
in 1977-78, had by 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
been relegated to 16th place over the 19 Primera División teams at the time.Argentina 1984
by Pablo Ciullini on the RSSSF Alegre settled 153 lawsuits early in his tenure by mortgaging his business assets for US$250,000, and by lending Boca Juniors US$800,000. These and other measures enabled him to recover the club's finances, and to refurbish the dilapidated La Bombonera stadium.[ He also announced the sale of land acquired earlier by the team in the waterfront ]Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land ...
district, a move opposed by Boca's former president, Alberto Armando. The land was promptly sold for US$21 million, however, and Armando's challenge to Alegre for the presidency of the team in 1986 was turned back.[
The club's improved finances led to its revival, and Boca emerged victorious in a number of coveted tournaments in subsequent years, including the 1989 ]Supercopa Sudamericana
The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by t ...
, the 1990 Recopa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...
, the Campeonato de Apertura and Copa Master de Supercopa (1992), and the Copa de Oro Nicolás Leoz in 1993.[Murió el ex presidente de Boca Antonio Alegre]
on Radio Sucesos, 24 Feb 2010 The team invested increasingly large sums to acquire players who could strengthen the team, of whom few would remain, however; among his best investments was that of Carlos Fernando Navarro Montoya
Carlos Fernando Navarro Montoya (born 26 February 1966) is a retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Colombia, Navarro Montoya represented the Colombia national team three times, and gained Argentine citizenship later in his care ...
, who would play for Boca in 396 games, and was instrumental in number of the team's titles in that era. Alegre also stepped up efforts to acquire players from lower divisions, and among these a number became important contributors. These included Diego Latorre, Walter Pico, and Rodolfo Arruabarrena
Rodolfo Martín Arruabarrena (born 20 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football manager and former footballer, who is the current head coach of the United Arab Emirates national football team.
As a footballer, he played as a left back ...
.[
Alegre and Heller were defeated by ]Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previou ...
on December 3, 1995, and the Alegre-Heller administration stepped down. The treasurer during their last term, Pedro Pompilio, was elected president of the team following Macri's election as Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2007, and both the late Pedro Pompilio and his successor, Jorge Amor Ameal
Jorge Amor Ameal (born Berazategui, Buenos Aires, 1948), is an Argentina, Argentine gastronomic entrepreneur, and current President of Boca Juniors after winning the elections in 2019.
He became the club's first Vice-President, following the form ...
, who was also part of the Alegre's management board, continued Alegre's policy of acquiring players from less prominent teams.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegre, Antonio
1924 births
2010 deaths
Argentine people of Lebanese descent
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
People from Buenos Aires
Argentine businesspeople
Chairmen of Boca Juniors