Enzo Francescoli

Source Wikipedia

Enzo Francescoli Uriarte was born in Montevideo, on November 12, 1961.

He came from a family of Italian origins and was brought up in the Capurro district of the capital. He supported Peñarol from childhood. He was however rejected by Peñarol after a trial as he was considered physically too weak.

His first professional team were Montevideo Wanderers where he played three seasons in the Uruguayan top flight. He played 74 games and scored 20 goals.

In 1983 he signed for River Plate in Argentina. He stayed three years playing 113 games and scoring 58 goals. His last year was particularly prolific as he scored 25 goals in 32 appearances and the Milionarios won the league title.

In 1986 he moved to Europe. He joined Racing Club de Paris in the French top flight. In Paris too he stayed three seasons, playing 93 games with 32 goals. The club however were not particularly competitive and finished 13, 7th and 17th.

In 1988-89 he played a season for Olympique Marseille. Les Olympiens won the league under Gérard Gili and Francescoli played 40 games with 11 goals. OM also reached the semi-final of the European Cup. The squad included: goalkeeper Jean Castaneda, defenders Manuel Amoros, Karlheinz Förster, midfielders Didier Deschamps, Jean Tigana, Abedi Pelé, Chris Waddle and forwards Éric Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin.

In 1990 he moved to Serie A, considered the best league in the world at the time. He signed for newly promoted Cagliari and stayed three seasons. The Casteddu finished 14th, 13th and 6th (UEFA qualification). He played a total of 104 games with 19 goals. He then left Cagliari also due to some friction with the owner Massimo Cellino.

In 1991 he signed for Torino. The manager was Emiliano Mondonico and Toro finished 8th. Francescoli was hindered by some injuries but played a total of 34 games with 5 goals (including Lazio in 1-1 draw in Turin).

In Italy he scored some superb goals and delighted Cagliari with his skills. He is in the Rossoblu Hall of Fame and has been included in the Cagliari best 11 in history.

In 1994 he returned to Argentina and River Plate. He played another four seasons and 121 games with 67 goals. La Banda won the Apertura titles in 1994, 1996 and 1997 plus the Clausura in 1997. In 1996 they won the biggest prize of all, the Copa Libertadores and in 1997 the Supercopa Sudamericana.

He then retired at 36.

Since retiring he has worked as a sporting director. From 2013 he has been sporting director of River Plate.

At international level he won 75 caps for Uruguay with 19 goals. With La Celeste he won 3 Copa Américas, 1983, 1987 and 1995 (and tournament best player award) and was runner-up in 1989. He took part in two World Cups (1986, 1990), reaching the last 16 in the Mexican edition.

Francescoli is considered one of the best Uruguayan players in history. He was voted South American player of the year in 1984 and 1985, Argentinian player of the year in 1985 and 1986, was Argentine league top scorer in 1985, 1986 and 1996 and was player of the year in France in 1990. He is placed at number 80 in the best players of the 20th century and 24th South-American.

Francescoli or "El Principe" as he was called was an attacking midfielder but could also play as forward or even as a "falso nueve" centre-forward. He was an incredibly skillful player with sublime control and dribbling skills. An elegant and classy player who could score goals but especially set them up.

Sources

Wikipedia