Manuel Fleitas Solich (30 December 1900 – 24 March 1984) was a

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

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 ...

player and coach. He was known as "El Brujo" (the Wizard).

Career as a player

Fleitas Solich played for

Club Nacional Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional football club based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, and holds its home games at Estadio Arsenio Erico. Inte ...

of Paraguay where he won two Paraguayan League titles, in 1924 and 1926. He also played for

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 th ...

where as the captain of the team he led them to the 1930 Argentine title. During his time at Boca he played 99 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 15 goals. He suffered an injury in 1930 and never recovered to his full ability. In

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

he also played for clubs such as

Racing Club Racing Club may refer to: Football * Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast * K.R.C. Genk, Belgium * Racing Club Bafoussam, Cameroon * Racing Club Beirut, Lebanon * Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentina * Racing Club Haïtien, Haiti * Racing Club Po ...

, Platense and Talleres (RE). While playing for the

Paraguay national football team The Paraguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Paraguay) represents Paraguay in men's international Association football, football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya ...

, Solich had 32 caps and 6 goals.

Career as a coach

Solich's career as a coach proved to be impressive as he led the Paraguay national team to a final in the 1947

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 ...

and won the 1953 tournament (which was the first Copa América ever won by Paraguay). He also coached the Paraguay national team at the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

. At the club level coached several Brazilian clubs such as

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

Atlético Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

and

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

, being this last club where he won several titles. In Europe, Solich coached

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

for seven months of the 1959–1960 season, where he led the Spanish team to 21 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses. He also coached the

Peru national football team The Peru national football team represents Peru in men's international football. The national team has been organised, since 1927, by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF). The FPF constitutes one of the ten members of FIFA's South America ...

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the eponymous county. With a population of 230,810, it is located south of the ...

Club Libertad Club Libertad is a professional football club based in Asunción, Paraguay that currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División. The club plays its home games at Estadio Tigo La Huerta; which holds 10,100 people. Founded in 1905, Liber ...

and his beloved Club Nacional.

References

External links

Short Info at Club Nacional's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleitas Solich, Manuel 1900 births 1984 deaths Sportspeople from Asunción Paraguayan footballers Paraguay international footballers Paraguayan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina Paraguayan football managers 1950 FIFA World Cup managers Expatriate football managers in Argentina Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Spain Club Nacional footballers Boca Juniors footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda managers Club Atlético Platense managers Talleres de Remedios de Escalada footballers Paraguay national football team managers Club Atlético Lanús managers Newell's Old Boys managers Quilmes Atlético Club managers Talleres de Remedios de Escalada managers Club Olimpia managers Club Libertad managers CR Flamengo managers Real Madrid CF managers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista managers Fluminense FC managers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Esporte Clube Bahia managers Club Nacional managers Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football midfielders