Luis Felipe Monti (15 May 1901 – 9 September 1983) was an

Italian Argentine Italian Argentines (; , or ''tanos'' in Rioplatense Spanish) are Argentine-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Argentina during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and an Olympian. Monti has the distinction of having played in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

final matches with two different national teams. He played the first of these finals with his native

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in 1930, which was lost to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

; and the second with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

as one of their '' Oriundi'' in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, thanks to his

Romagnol Romagnol ( or ; ) is a Romance language spoken in the historical region of Romagna, consisting mainly of the southeastern part of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The name is derived from the Lombard name for the region, ''Romagna''. Romagnol is classifi ...

descent. This second time Monti was on the winning side in a 2–1 victory over

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Monti was a rugged, physical, and ruthless player, but he had the technical skills to go with his stamina and strong tackling. He played as an attacking

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

or '' metodista'' in the old-fashioned '' Metodo'' system: a position roughly equivalent to the

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

central midfield position of today. As such he would mark the opposing

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

when his team were defending, but would be the main midfield playmaker when his team were on the attack, due to his passing and creativity, which enabled him to start attacking plays after winning back the ball. He was nicknamed ''doble ancho'' (double wide) due to his coverage of the pitch. Monti is considered one of the best center-halves of his generation.

Career

Argentina

Monti started his career in 1921 with Huracán, where he won the first of his many championships. The following year he signed with

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

but left without playing a game. He joined San Lorenzo where he won a further three Argentine championships. All of Monti's honours in Argentina were recorded during the Amateur Era. Monti was first called up to represent the Argentina national team in 1924. He won the

1927 South American Championship The eleventh edition of the South American Championship was held in Lima, Peru from 30 October to 27 November 1927. The participating countries were Argentina national football team, Argentina, Bolivia national football team, Bolivia, Peru natio ...

and the silver medal at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. With Monti as a key player, Argentina cruised to the World Cup final in 1930, defeating

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Monti scored two goals along the way, and injured opponents with his tackling. Some sources speculate that Monti was carrying an injury, but whatever the truth, and despite a death threat, he had a quiet game as

triumphed 4–2.

Italy

In 1930 Monti was signed by the Italian club

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, as he had Italian citizenship. As he was overweight and out of condition, he had a month's solitary training. Monti was back to top form helping Juventus to four consecutive

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

titles (1932 to 1935), also serving as the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Monti went on to play 225 matches and scored 19 goals in Italy. During the 1930s, he formed a formidable and successful defensive trio at the club, along with full-backs Virginio Rosetta and

Umberto Caligaris Umberto Caligaris (; 26 July 1901 – 19 October 1940) was an Italian international association football, footballer who played, normally at left-back, for A.S. Casale and Juventus FC, Juventus, before ending his career with Brescia Calcio, Bres ...

, who played behind him. He was also called up, within a year, to play for the Italy national team as an '' oriundo''. Hosts Italy won their way to the 1934 World Cup final and defeated

2–1. And he also was a part of the successful squad that won the 1933–35 Central European International Cup.

The Battle of Highbury

The Battle of Highbury is a match that took place between Italy and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 14 November 1934 at Highbury, the home ground of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Monti was playing centre half for Italy, but as early as the second minute he broke a bone in his foot after a clash with England centre forward Ted Drake. Down to 10 men, in the days before substitutes, Italy succumbed 2–3. Monti was only to play twice more for Italy. In total Monti won 16 caps (5 goals) for Argentina between 1924 and 1931, and 18 caps (1 goal) for Italy between 1932 and 1936.

After football

Monti became manager after retiring. In 1947, he managed the first team of Huracán. He died in 1983 aged 82.

International goals

Argentina's goal tally first Italia's goal tally first

Honours

Player

Club ;Huracán *

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

(1):

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

;San Lorenzo *

(3):

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

, 1924,

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

;Juventus *

(4): 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

(1): 1937–38

International

;Argentina * South American Football Championship:

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

: Runner-up

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

: Runner-up 1930 ;

* Central European International Cup: 1933–35

Individual

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (2): 1930,

Manager

Club Juventus *

(1): 1941–42

References

External links

Detail of international appearances for Argentina and Italy
by

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

Biography at ''Planet World Cup''
*
Short bio at ''La Gazzetta dello Sport''
!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", World Cup-winners status , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Luis 1901 births 1930 FIFA World Cup players 1983 deaths Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Italian sportspeople of Argentine descent Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Italy men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Argentina Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Argentina 1934 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Club Atlético Huracán footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Juventus FC players Serie A players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Dual internationalists (men's football) Italian football managers Argentine football managers Italian expatriate football managers Argentine expatriate football managers US Triestina Calcio 1918 managers Juventus FC managers SSD Varese Calcio managers Atalanta BC managers Vigevano Calcio managers Club Atlético Huracán managers Pisa SC managers Olympic medalists in football People of Romagnol descent Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Men's association football midfielders Italian men's footballers 20th-century Italian sportsmen 20th-century Argentine sportsmen