Alejandro Scopelli

Alejandro Scopelli Casanova (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈxandɾo eskoˈpeli], Italian: [skoˈpɛlli]; 12 May 1908 – 23 October 1987) was an Italian Argentine football player and coach. A striker, he played for Argentina between 1929 and 1941, and competed at the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup. He also represented the Italy national football team on one occasion.^[1][2]

Alejandro Scopelli

Scopelli in 1931
Personal information
Full name	Alejandro Scopelli Casanova
Date of birth	(1908-05-12)12 May 1908
Place of birth	La Plata, Argentina
Date of death	23 October 1987(1987-10-23) (aged 79)
Place of death	Mexico City, Mexico
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1928–1933	Estudiantes	68	(45)
1933–1935	Roma	63	(24)
1936–1937	Racing Club	60	(44)
1937	Red Star	?	(24)
1938–1939	RCF Paris
1939–1941	Belenenses
1941	Unión SF	6	(1)
1941–1943	Universidad de Chile	27	(11)
International career
1929–1937	Argentina	8	(4)
1935	Italy	1	(0)
Managerial career
1939–1941	Belenenses
1941–1945	Universidad de Chile
1947–1948	Belenenses
1948–1949	Porto
1949–1950	Deportivo La Coruña
1950–1952	Universidad de Chile
1952–1954	Español
1955–1956	Sporting CP
1956–1957	Celta
1957–1959	Granada
1962–1963	Valencia
1963–1964	Espanyol
1964–1965	América
1966–1967	Chile
1970	América
1972–1974	Belenenses
1978–1979	América
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Argentina Copa América Winner 1937 Argentina Team FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1930 Uruguay Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Scopelli and the second or maternal family name is Casanova.

Playing career

Born in La Plata, Scopelli started his career in Argentina with Estudiantes de La Plata where he became part of the legendary side nicknamed "Los Profesores". In 1931 he scored 31 goals for the team but was beaten to the golden boot by teammate Alberto Zozaya's 33.

In 1933 Scopelli moved to Italy where he played for Roma. During this time he took the Italian citizenship (as oriundo) and played for the Italy national team. In 1936 Scopelli returned to Argentina to play for Racing Club de Avellaneda. In his later career he played for Red Star Paris in France,^[3] around the start of the Second World War he moved to neutral territory to play for Belenenses and then Benfica in Portugal. In 1942 Scopelli returned to South America to play for Universidad de Chile.

Managerial career

After retirement he became a manager, coaching many club teams including Club América in Mexico, and Valencia CF Español and Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain, Belenenses^[4] Sporting CP and FC Porto in Portugal and Universidad de Chile.

Scopelli was the Sporting CP manager in the inaugural game of European Cup on 4 September 1955 against FK Partizan Belgrade.

Scopelli also coached at international level, with Chile, Portugal and Mexico.

Death

Scopelli died in Mexico City on 22 October 1987, aged 79.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scopelli goal.

List of international goals scored by Alejandro Scopelli

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 November 1929	Estadio Gasómetro, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	2–0	2–0	Friendly
2.	26 July 1930	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	United States	2–1	6–1	1930 FIFA World Cup
3.	9 January 1937	Estadio Gasómetro, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Paraguay	1–0	6–1	1937 South American Championship
4.				4–0

Honours

Player

Argentina

• Copa América: 1937
• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1930

Manager

Valencia

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1961-62, 1962-63

América

• Copa MX: 1963-64, 1964-65

Universidad de Chile

• Chilean Primera División: 1967

See also

• Oriundo