Alberto Armando
Alberto Armando | |
|---|---|
Argentine | |
| Known for | President of Boca Juniors (1954–55, 1960–80) |
Alberto José Armando (February 4, 1910 – December 28, 1988) was an Argentine businessman and football manager. He was the president of club Boca Juniors from 1954 to 1955, and from 1960 to 1980.[1] With Armando as president, Boca Juniors gained international recognition after winning its first Copa Libertadores (1977 and 1978) and the first Intercontinental Cup in 1977.
The Boca Juniors stadium was renamed in his honour in December 2000 by then President Mauricio Macri.
Life and career
Armando was born in
Armando's brief first turn as president during 1954–55 was marked by the team's first title in a decade, the
Later in 1960, Armando won the election and returned as president of Boca Juniors. He undertook an ambitious program of acquiring new players. Some of them would become notable footballers in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Antonio Roma, Silvio Marzolini, Ernesto Grillo, Dante Lugo, and Antonio Garabal (the latter three were Argentine expatriates brought back from European teams).[3] The squad victory over arch-rival River Plate in 1962 was the first major title since 1954, and was followed by the 1964 and 1965, and the Nacional championships in 1969, 1970, and 1976, totalizing 7 league titles.[1]
Armando was also the father of the
Armando's administration in Boca Juniors also invested heavily in improving facilities. La Bombonera was modernized, and bucket seats were added. A 5-hectare (12-acre) property in suburban San Justo, Buenos Aires, was purchased in 1963 for use as La Candela, the team's training grounds.[5] An aging football field was leased in Mar del Plata in 1969 for additional use during the summer months, when weather in the Buenos Aires area is least propitious for training.[3]
Armando's ambitious works program also included plans for a new stadium, for which the
These setbacks were accompanied by a dearth in new titles for the team lasting from 1971 to 1975. The hiring of
The Ciudad Deportiva project continued to burden the team's finances, and in 1979, Mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore declared Boca Juniors to be in non-compliance with the 1965 deed. Following negotiations, the mayor relieved the team from nearly all further construction obligations, and in 1980 Armando retired.[6]
His successor, Martín Noel, stopped all new construction on the project, and the rapid deterioration in the team's finances after 1981 ultimately led Antonio Alegre, the team president elected in 1985, to sell the land as a means of rescuing Boca Juniors from bankruptcy. Armando, who objected to the sale, challenged Alegre in a December 1986 team election, losing narrowly; he died on December 28, 1988.[3]
Mauricio Macri, who was elected president of the club in 1995, and whose father was Armando's erstwhile business partner (Francisco Macri), renamed La Bombonera (officially known as the "Camilo Cichero" Stadium until then) in honor of former club president Alberto J. Armando.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Informe Xeneize: Historia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Boca Juniors: Historia Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c d e Torneo de verano: Alberto J. Armando vio el negocio en 1968 by José Luis Ponsico on Red de Noticias
- ^ Ale, Ana. La Dinastía. Editorial Planeta, 2001.
- ^ La Nación: Adiós a La Candela (in Spanish)
- ^ a b Historia de la Ciudad Deportiva Archived 2010-04-19 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ La Bombonera on Boca Juniors website