Norberto Alonso

Alonso was born in Vicente López, Buenos Aires province, but grew up in the poor suburb of Los Polvorines. An attacking midfielder, he rose through the ranks of River's youth divisions as the team was undergoing its infamous dry spell (18 years, 1957 to 1975, without a championship title). When Angel Labruna took the reins in 1975, Alonso was the team's anchor and holder of the No. 10 jersey. With reinforcements Roberto Perfumo and Ubaldo Fillol, and the maturing of players like Daniel Passarella, Carlos Morete, J. J. López and Reinaldo Merlo, Alonso led the squad that won both the Metropolitano and the Nacional tournaments of 1975, ushering in a series of seven local titles in the period 1975–1981. In 1976, Alonso was transferred to Olympique Marseille, but he was unsuccessful. River Plate arranged for his return in 1977. Between the years 1979–1981, River won four local titles, and became one of the most expensive teams in the world, with a first team (Alonso-Luque) playing in league games and an equally prestigious second team (Carrasco-Ramón Díaz) used mostly in Copa Libertadores matches. During the 1981 "Nacional" tournament (which River would eventually win), Alonso often clashed with then coach Alfredo Di Stéfano (who seldom selected him for the first team and instead put younger players such as Carlos Daniel Tapia and José María Vieta in his position). After the Nacional, Alonso was put on the transfer list and was sold to Vélez Sársfield on 1982. After playing…

Club

River Plate Primera División: 1975 Nacional, 1975 Metropolitano, 1979 Nacional, 1979 Metropolitano, 1980 Metropolitano, 1981 Nacional, 1985–86 Copa Libertadores: 1986; runner-up: 1976 Intercontinental Cup: 1986 Argentina FIFA World Cup: 1978

Individuals

El Gráfico awards: Argentine Primera División Best Player: 1972 National, 1975 Metropolitan, 1981 Metropolitan Argentine Primera División Best 11: 1972, 1975, 1981

El Mundo (Venezuela) awards: South American Footballer of the Year second place 1975, seventh place 1972 and 1976.

Konex Award One of the Best Argentinian Players of Decade: 1990 Clarín Awards Included in the greatest "numbers 10" of Argentina: 2010 Copa Libertadores All Times Dream team By Bolavip River Plate All Times Dream Team by Marca: 2020 IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team C): 2021