Antonio Sastre (27 April 1911 – 23 November 1987) was an Argentine

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

of Brazil. He is one of the 24 players inducted into the

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Tor ...

Hall of Fame. Sastre was an all-round

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who could play well almost anywhere on the pitch due to his intelligence and versatility.ANTONIO SASTRE: EL PRIMER POLIFUNCIONAL
by Darío Kullock on Pasión Fulbo, 23 February 2016 Sastre is also known as one of the first true playmakers of the pre-war era as well as one of the best.Antonio Sastre, el hombre orquesta
by Matías Rodríguez, ''El Gráfico'', 19 May 2015 Sastre won 11 titles at club level, and 2 international championships with the Argentina national team.

Club career

Sastre began his football career at Progresista, being traded to Independiente in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. With the coming of forwards Vicente de la Mata and

Arsenio Erico Arsenio Pastor Erico Martínez (30 March 1915 – 23 July 1977) was a Paraguayan football striker. He is the all-time highest goalscorer in the Argentine first division, with 295 goals according to Argentine Football Association. Previously ...

, Independiente built a powerful formation that would win the 1938, 1939 league titles plus domestic cups Ibarguren, A. Escobar and international

Copa Aldao The Copa Ricardo Aldao (English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions of ...

twice. During his 12 seasons with the club he played 340 games, scoring 112 goals. In 1942 Sastre joined Brazilian side

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...

which last title had been won in 1931. Playing for Sao Paulo, Sastre won three

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beac ...

championships in 1943, 1945 and 1946. “Cuando llegué a San Pablo –recordaba Sastre– no me pude adaptar rápido. La prensa decía que el equipo había comprado un bondi, que es como ellos le llaman a los tranvías viejos, a los fierros oxidados. Los primeros dos partidos los perdimos y se fue el técnico. Ahí vino Lloreca, y como yo no estaba acostumbrado a entrenar todos los días ni a concentrar antes de jugar, le fui a hablar y me dejó ir directamente los domingos a la cancha, antes del almuerzo. En el primer partido que jugamos con él, contra Portuguesa, ganamos 9–1 y yo metí seis goles”. Sastre returned to Argentina in 1947 when he helped

Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

win the Segunda División championship and gain promotion to the first division that same year.

International career

Sastre played for the Argentina national team on 34 occasions, scoring 6 goals. He won Copa América with Argentina on two occasions, in 1937 and 1941.

Honours

Club

Independiente * Primera División (2): 1938, 1939 *

Copa Ibarguren The Copa Dr. Carlos Ibarguren, also called Campeonato Argentino
by Osvaldo Gorgazzi on the RSSSF or simply Copa Ibarguren was an offic ...

(2): 1938, 1939 * Copa Adrián Escobar (1): 1939 *

(2): 1938, 1939 Sao Paulo * Campeonato Paulista (3): 1943, 1945, 1946 Gimnasia y Esgrima LP *

Primera B Metropolitana Primera B Metropolitana is one of two professional leagues that form the third level of the Argentine football league system. The division is made up of 17 clubs mainly from the city of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, Greater Buenos Aires. ...

(1): 1947

International

Argentina * Copa América (2): 1937, 1941

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sastre, Antonio 1911 births 1987 deaths People from Lomas de Zamora Association football midfielders Argentine footballers Argentina international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers São Paulo FC players Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers Argentine Primera División players Expatriate footballers in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Copa América-winning players Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province