José María Minella (1909–1981) was an Argentine

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager. He played for and managed Argentina's national team.

Club career

A midfielder, Minella started playing at local club Independiente of

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

. On 23 August 1925, he was part of the local league team that achieved a 1–0 win over a team made of

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

HMS ''Repulse''´s crewmembers during the Prince of Wales visit to Argentina. In 1928 he was signed by

Gimnasia 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 ...

who won the amateur Argentine championship in 1929. He played in the team nicknamed ''El Expreso'' ("The

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

") that nearly won the championship in 1933. In 1935 he moved to River Plate where he was part of three championship's winning teams in 1936, 1937 and 1941. Towards the end of his playing career he played in Uruguay with Peñarol and in Chile with Green Cross.

International career

Minella made his international debut in 1933, he played three times in the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

, in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

and

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

. Argentina won the 1937 and 1941 editions. He played a total of 24 games for his country netting one goal.

Managerial career

Minella took over as manager of River Plate in 1945, he led the team through one of the most successful eras in their history. Between 1952 and 1957 they won five championships in six years, including the club's second treble in the professional era (1955, 1956 and 1957). He also won the Copa Aldao in 1947. Minella had a spell as manager of the Argentina national team between 1964 and 1965, he returned as caretaker manager for one game in 1968. As national coach, he won the Taça das Nações played in Brazil in 1964.

Legacy

In preparation for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

a football stadium was built in

and named

Estadio José María Minella The Estadio José María Minella is a stadium in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is owned and administrated by the Municipality of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón. Inaugurated for the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentin ...

after his death in 1981 to honour Mar del Plata's most significant football talent.

Honours

As a player

Club

* Argentine championship: 1929 River Plate * Primera División Argentina: 1936, 1937, 1941 * Copa Aldao: 1937

International

Argentina *

As a manager

Club

River Plate * Primera División Argentina: 1945, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * Copa Aldao: 1947 * Copa Ibarguren: 1952 Argentina * Taça das Nações: 1964

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minella, Jose Maria 1909 births 1981 deaths Sportspeople from Mar del Plata Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Argentina international footballers Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers Peñarol players Club de Deportes Green Cross footballers Chilean Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Argentine football managers Argentina national football team managers Club Atlético River Plate managers América de Cali managers