Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine

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 striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independiente and one of the best of the 1920s decade. He gained recognition from the media and fans for being a strategist and a team player, as well as highly technical with the ball. He was also an implacable striker, being Independiente's 2nd all-time top scorer after Arsenio Erico and 4th. amongst all-time Primera División topscorers with 249 goals in 299 league matches. He later went on to become the manager of the Argentina national team between 1935 and 1937.

Playing career

He started playing at Club Progresista with 15 years old. After scoring two goals in a practice match, he joined Independiente, where he made his official debut on 6 March 1921 in a game against San Lorenzo. Seoane totalized two titles won with the institution that played at the Asociación Amateur de Football league. Grandes 10 independiente

Independiente won its first championship in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, with a great impact on the media which nicknamed the team ''"Los Diablos Rojos" ("The Red Devils")''. The Devils has remained since as a trademark for Independiente players and supporters. That team was formed by notable players as

Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level, he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América a ...

, Zoilo Canavery, Alberto Lalín, Luis Ravaschino and Seoane himself. Seoane went on to score 241 goals for the club in 264 appearances. He finished as the Primera División top scorer on three occasions (1922, 1926 and 1929) during his career. He also won several titles with Independiente, including the Argentine championships of

and

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

. In 1923 he was sent off after an incident with a referee, this led to his suspension from the "Asociación Argentina de Football" league and his move to join El Porvenir, which played in the rival league "

Asociación Amateurs de Football The Asociación Amateurs de Football (AAmF) was a dissident football association of Argentina that organised its own championships from 1919 to 1926. The Argentine Football Association did not recognise those championships until both associatio ...

". During his time with El Porvenir he made his debut for the Argentina national team, where he formed the forward line with Cesáreo Onzari. Seoane scored 3 goals in his debut with the national side, where he played a total of 19 matches scoring 14 goals between 1921 and 1929. In 1925 Seoane joined

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 ...

on its successful tour on Europe hitting 16 of the 40 goals converted by the team. He also played for Argentina in the 1925 South American Championship, being the topscorer of the tournament with 6 goals.Manuel Seoane
on Futbol Factory Once the punishment ended, he returned to Independiente in 1926, winning the title with the club that same year apart from being the topscorer with 76 goals. He continued playing for Independiente until his retirement in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

due to his

overweight Being overweight is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. , excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than ...

problems. On 22 August 1934, the club organised a match in his honour and made a collection to buy him a house. Seoane played for Argentina between 1924 and 1929, appearing in 4

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

s (1924, 1925, 1927 & 1929). He was part of the winning team in 1925 1927 and 1929 and he was also the top scorer in 1925 with 6 goals.

Managerial career

Seoane went on to have a successful career as a football manager, he was manager of

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 ...

between 1934 and 1937.

Later life

During his last years, Seoane was in charge of the Independiente's

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

located in

Quilmes, Buenos Aires Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' pa ...

, after retiring from the textile industry where he had worked. Seoane died in

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

on 21 August 1975, aged 73."Biografía de Manuel Seoane"
Somos Diablos website

Honours

Club

; Independiente: * Primera División: 1922 AAmF, 1926 AAmF

International

;

: *

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

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 ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seoane, Manuel 1902 births 1975 deaths Footballers from Avellaneda Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Atlético Independiente footballers Boca Juniors footballers Argentine Primera División players Argentina men's international footballers Argentine football managers Argentina national football team managers Copa América–winning players 20th-century Argentine sportsmen