Sabella: Alejandro (Alex)

1980-1982 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Buenos Aires, Argentina: 05-11-1954

Debut v Aston Villa (h): 16-08-1980

5’8” 10st 13lb (1981)

Sabella rose through the junior divisions of River Plate in the early 1970s, where he was understudy to Norberto Alonso. His style duplicated Alonso's, with emphasis on individual technique and short passes. In 1975, River Plate won its first title after an eighteen-year drought, and Alonso became the fans' undisputed hero. Sabella felt his talents were not being used properly, but in 1976 he got his break when Alonso was transferred to Olympique Marseille. Coach Angel Labruna and the fans were not satisfied with Sabella's perceived individualism and slowness, and bought players to rectify it. When Alonso returned to River Plate, Sabella was again relegated to the bench. English club, Sheffield United, had tried to sign the teenage Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors, but the club would not accept the paltry £180,000 United were offering. So United turned to Sabella, and they signed him for £160,000 on 19th July 1978. He made his debut for the Blades against Leyton Orient on 19th August 1978. He played for United until 1980, but unfortunately his superb ball control did not result in the number of goals that were expected, as he only managed eight League goals in seventy-six appearances. He was a crowd favourite, who marvelled at his individual skill which stood out in a poor Sheffield team. After relegation to the Third Division, Manager Harry Haslam agreed a fee of £600,000 with Second Division club Sunderland. However, Sabella had ambitions to play in the First Division and refused to go. His final appearance for United came with a goal in the County Cup Final victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 8th May 1980. During the close season he was finally sold to Leeds United for £400,000. He played for Leeds without much success between 1980 and 1982, as the club struggled for the most part and Manager Jimmy Adamson tried to use Sabella to add flair to his otherwise dour style of play. While he often showed signs of individual brilliance, which again endeared him to the Leeds fans, he struggled to adapt to the English conditions of weather and style of play. Lack of success saw the exit of Adamson and his replacement, former Leeds favourite Allan Clarke, did not have room for Sabella in a system with the emphasis on defence and high work-rate. In December 1981 he started looking for an Argentine club, and was sold to Estudiantes de La Plata in January 1982 for £120,000. Under Coach Carlos Bilardo, the team reached the semi-finals of the 1982 Nacional tournament, but Sabella was injured in the first Semi-Final match against Quilmes. However, together with Marcelo Trobbiani, Jose Daniel Ponce, and Miguel Angel Russo, he made up the solid midfield of the Estudiantes team that went on to win two back-to-back championship titles. When Bilardo was put in charge of the Argentina National Football Team, Sabella had competition for his place from veterans Alonso and Bochini, and younger players like Carlos Tapia and Jorge Burruchaga. But an even larger shadow was cast by the king of 1980s play-makers, Diego Maradona. In total, Sabella played four times for the national team, playing in the Copa America 1983 but was not in the final squad for the 1986 World Cup. Sabella moved to Brazilian Serie A club Gremio FPA in 1985, where he played for one year. He then returned to Estudiantes, but retired after a short spell with Ferro Carril Oeste in 1988. His nicknames were majo (the magician) and pachorra (sloth) because of his perceived slowness during play, though he could become a fast dribbler and passer given the right situation. After retirement, Sabella became a coach, but he worked mostly as field assistant to Daniel Passerella. The duo coached the Argentina national team, Italian side Parma AC, the Uruguay National Football Team, Mexican club Monterrey, and Brazilian side Corinthians. In 2006, they returned to River Plate, and they took the club to third place in the Apertura tournament. On 15th March 2009 he became coach of Estudiantes de La Plata. He guided them to winning the Copa Libertadores in 2009.