Alfredo Oscar Graciani (6 January 1965 – 21 April 2021) 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 le ...

. He played for a number of clubs in Argentina and also played in Switzerland and Venezuela at the end of his playing career. He had a successful career at

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 ...

, having played 250 matches for the club, and winning two titles.Murió Alfredo Graciani
on TyC Sports, 21 Apr 2021

Nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d ''Alfil'' ("

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

" in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, due to his diagonal movements on the pitch) and ''Bat'', Graciani is ranked 14th. among the all-time leading scorers for Boca Juniors.

Career

Graciani started his playing career in the youth divisions of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where his brother Néstor also played. He made his debut with the senior squad in 1981 v

Gimnasia y Esgrima 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 ...

in Primera B Metropolitana, Primera B, the second division of Argentine football by then. Atlanta coach Luis Artime sent him to the field on 80' substituting Carlos Landaburo. In 1983, Graciani was part of the team that won the Primera B championship promoting to Argentine Primera División, Primera División. During his career at Atlanta, Graciani played a total of 89 matches, scoring 18 goals.Dolor en Boca: murió Alfredo Graciani
on Olé, 21 Apr 2021 Graciani was also called-up for the Argentina national under-20 football team, Argentina u20 team that played in the 1983 South American U-20 Championship, 1983 South American championship, qualifying for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, 1983 World Championship where he was part of the roster. In 1984 Graciani was signed by

, where he went on to become their leading goalscorer of the 1980s, winning two international titles with the club, the 1989 Supercopa Libertadores and 1990 Recopa Sudamericana. In 1992 Graciani joined Racing Club de Avellaneda, Racing Club but returned to Boca Juniors in 1993. By the end of his Boca Juniors career he had played 250 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 83 goals.Alfredo Graciani statistics
on Bocampeon web (archived, 24 Mar 2008) In 1994 Graciani played for Deportivo Español before dropping down a division to play for Club Atlético Tucumán, Atlético Tucumán and then Argentinos Juniors in the Primera B Nacional. Three years later, he was signed by Swiss club AC Lugano, Lugano, finishing his career playing for Venezuelan club Caracas FC, Caracas in 1998.Alfredo Graciani: "Feliz de haber hecho la trayectoria que hice en el fútbol argentino."
interview on LT3 Rosario, 27 Sep 2020 After retirement as a player, Graciani went on to work as a football coach, being part of the coaching staff at Boca under Jorge José Benítez during the 2004–05 Argentine Primera División, 2004–05 season. Graciani died from a cardiac arrest in Buenos Aires on 21 April 2021.

Titles

;Atlanta * Primera B Metropolitana, Primera B: 1983 ;Boca Juniors * Supercopa Libertadores: 1989 Supercopa Libertadores, 1989 * Recopa Sudamericana: 1990 Recopa Sudamericana, 1990 ;Argentinos Juniors * Primera B Nacional: 1996–97 Primera B Nacional, 1996–97

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graciani, Alfredo 1965 births 2021 deaths Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine footballers Argentina youth international footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Association football forwards Club Atlético Atlanta footballers Boca Juniors footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Deportivo Español footballers Atlético Tucumán footballers Argentinos Juniors footballers Caracas FC players FC Lugano players Argentine Primera División players Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela Expatriate footballers in Venezuela