Renato Cesarini (; 11 April 1906 – 24 March 1969) was an Italian-Argentine football player and coach who most notably played for Juventus in Italy as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or forward. He was a dual international footballer and played for both the

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

national teams. While playing for Italy, he was part of the successful runner-up 1931-32 Central European International Cup & gold winning 1933-35 Central European International Cup campaigns.

Playing career

Cesarini was born in

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

, near Ancona, in the Italian region of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, but when he was only a few months old he and his family emigrated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

, Argentina. In his early career he played for several clubs around the Buenos Aires area, during the amateur era in Argentine football, most notably

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires. ...

. Cesarini was signed by Italian giants Juventus in 1929, he made his debut against S.S.C. Napoli on 23 March 1930: the game ended in a 2–2 draw. He went on to win five league championships in a row with the club. In 1936 he returned to the professionalised Argentine league where he won two championships with River Plate. This excellent River Plate team included two young players who would become legends of the game Adolfo Pedernera and José Manuel Moreno. The team was coached by the Hungarian Emerico Hirschel who had a big influence on Cesarini and his teammate Carlos Peucelle which would be put to use in the 1940s as they took charge at the club.

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Cesarini went on to become a football manager. He coached a number of clubs in Argentina including both

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

and River Plate. With River he coached one of the greatest teams of all time. From 1941 to 1947 this River Plate team achieved legendary status: Cesarini was coach from 1941 to 1944 when the level of football was such that they became known as ''La Maquina'' (The Machine); the forward line of Moreno, Pedernera, Munoz, Labruna and Lousteau is considered to this day to be the greatest seen in South America. River won Argentine league titles in 1941, and 1942 under ''La Biblia del fútbol'' as Cesarini became known for his authority on all matters pertaining to the sport. He returned to Italy to coach Juventus where he led a team including Sivori, Charles and Boniperti to Serie A success. In the mid sixties he started the underage club of Pumas today one of the top clubs in Mexico. Between 1967 and 1968, he coached the Argentina national team.

Honours

;Juventus *

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

: 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 ;River Plate * Argentine Primera: 1936, 1937 * Copa Aldao:

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

International

;

Central European International Cup The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...

: 1933-35 *

: Runner-up: 1931-32

Legacy

*The Italian expression ''zona Cesarini'' ("Cesarini zone," also known as "Montesacro zone") was originated as a reference to Renato Cesarini, who often scored decisive goals during the last minutes of the match (the best example being the

3–2

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

match of 13 December 1931 at Stadio Filadelfia of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

). This expression is still in use today in

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only ...

and it designates a goal that is scored in the final minutes of a match, namely in ''zona Cesarini''. *Cesarini has a football club and training academy in Argentina named in his honour, it was founded in 1978 by former members of the Argentina national team.Institucion ::..:: Renato Cesarini ::
/ref>

References

External links

*
Biography on the club website
*
Zona Cesarini
(archived, 10 April 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesarini, Renato 1906 births 1969 deaths People from Senigallia Association football midfielders Association football forwards Italian footballers Argentine footballers Dual internationalists (football) Italy international footballers Argentina international footballers Juventus F.C. players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Chacarita Juniors footballers Argentine football managers Argentine expatriate football managers Racing Club de Avellaneda managers Club Atlético River Plate managers Boca Juniors managers Club Atlético Huracán managers Club Atlético Banfield managers Club Universidad Nacional managers Argentina national football team managers Serie A players Argentine Primera División players Italian football managers Italian emigrants to Argentina Sportspeople from the Province of Ancona Footballers from Marche