The wonderful world of Alejandro Sabella
CRAIG MUNCEY takes a look at the career of a man who led Argentina to a World Cup final – and played for Sheffield United and Leeds
THERE have been many players who have come from abroad to ply their trade in English football in recent years. However, back in the late 70s this route was not such a well-worn track.
There were players such as Argentinians Alberto Tarantini, Ossie Ardilles and Ricky Villa, Polish player Kazimierz Deyna, Dutchmen Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren - and in 1978 Sheffield United acquired the services of another Argentinian winger, Alejandro Sabella, or as he was known to British fans Alex Sabella.
Sabella is a colourful character, a bit of a maverick if you were. Sabella is known for his left wing political beliefs, where the state controls the large majority of people's thoughts.
Sabella once famously put down his greatest eleven on a chalk board. Viewers settled down believing they would see such names as Daniel Passarella and Diego Maradona.
But Sabella listed his greatest left wing activists of all time - he does things his own way.
The wide, creative, intuitive midfielder was known in his playing career by two nicknames, “el mago” (the magician), and “la pachorra” (the sloth), the latter nickname a slightly less flattering one based on his perceived lack of pace on a football field.
Sabella may not have been the quickest, but could dribble past players, make a yard of space and deliver dangerous crosses, or alternatively come infield and create chances centrally. He was a fine player.
Originally, the story goes that the Sheffield United board were looking at the prospect of bringing to Yorkshire a certain Diego Armando Maradona, but decided the fee was too expensive, so they bought Sabella for £160,000.
He played for the Blades for two seasons, scoring eight goals in 76 appearances. After United were relegated to
the third tier of English football, Sunderland were keen to buy him for £600,000. However, Sabella was not keen on the move as Sunderland were playing in the second tier and he believed his talents belonged on the top stage. Sabella got his wish and in 1980 - he was sold to Leeds United for £400,000. His Leeds career was short, only lasting a season in which he played 23 games scoring two goals. Sabella returned to Argentina, playing for Estudiantes de La Plata. Back in his homeland, Sabella's career thrived and in 1983 he played for Argentina in the Copa America. Overall, he played eight times for his country, which, when you think how good Argentina were during those years, shows how fine a player Alejandro Sabella was. His career came to an end in 1989 playing for Iraputo in Mexico. However, this was just the start of a new journey. After retiring, he became a coach and built up a great relationship with Argentinian defensive legend and World Cup winning captain,