Adolfo Pedernera

1932 Huracan (ARG)

1933/46 River Plate (ARG) 278 games, 131 goals

1947 CA Atlanta (ARG) 28 games, 4 goals

1948/49 Huracan (ARG) 20 games, 2 goals

1949/54 Millonarios Bogota (COL) 81 games, 33 goals

1954/55 Huracan (ARG) 10 games

With the National Team :

21 caps, 7 goals

(Friendly matches: 6 caps)

(Copa America: 12 caps, 4 goals)

(Copa Julio Roca: 3 caps, 2 goals)

(Copa Newton: 1 cap, 1 goal)

1st cap: February 18, 1940 against Paraguay (3-1)

Last cap: February 10, 1946 against Brazil (2-0)

Adolfo Alfredo Pedernera

Born November 15, 1918 in Avellaneda (ARG)

Died May 12, 1995 in Avellaneda (ARG)

Argentinian, inside-right, inside-left, 1m75

Nicknames: El maestro, El Frentudo

As a teenager, Pedernera already showed enormous talent. His first club was Cruceros de la Plata, where he played several seasons in the youth categories. Renowned for his technique and his vision, he was a great player on whom his teammates relied.

He signed his first professional contract with Atletico Huracan, at the age of 14! But the adventure was a failure, so he joined the River Plate team, which offered him his chance in 1933. But it was in 1935, at the age of 16, that he played his first match with the first team. Accompanied by exceptional attacking players such as José Manuel Moreno, Angel Labruna, Felix Loustau and Carlos Munoz, he formed the famous "Maquina", this superb River Plate team in the 30s and 40s.

In 1940, at the age of 21, he began his adventure with the Argentine national team in a match against Paraguay, a 3-1 victory for Argentina. In the 30s, he won 2 Argentine championships: 1936 and 1937. In the 40s, he added three championships to his list of achievements: 1941, 1942 and 1945.

He is a staple of the Argentine championship, playing inside-right or inside-left at River Plate, he is an excellent passer, one of the best creators in the history of football. And as a striker, he is also an excellent finisher in front of goal.

After 13 years in the River Plate club, Adolfo Pedernera left the club of which he was one of the greatest figures after a conflict with Labruna and also the president Antonio Liberti. He therefore joined the CA Atlanta club, a total failure for both the player and the club that expected to compete with the biggest teams in the country.

He returned to Atlético Huracan in 1948 where he had a rather good season in the role of creator of the team. After one season, he left the country and went to Colombia, to the Millonarios Bogota club where he was completely reborn. He had very good seasons despite his age and was very important for the evolution of the rights of Argentine footballers. Five years before his departure to Colombia, he founded with other players "Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados", a sort of footballers' union, which would lead the 1949 strike. The one that would allow many Argentinians to discover the young and fruitful Colombian football.

In Colombia, he rubbed shoulders with the famous Alfredo Di Stefano and won 4 Colombian championships. Initially a simple player, he became a player-coach after the retirement of Carlos Aldabe. In March 1952, he took part in the Millonarios de Bogota tour of Europe. During this trip, the players won a great victory against Real Madrid at the Chamartín Stadium (now called the Santiago Bernabeu) with a score of 4 goals to 2. The Spanish club wanted revenge, but the two matches organized would again end in a defeat for the Casa Blanca. In 1954, the Lima Pact forced all "illegal" players to return to their original clubs, so he returned briefly to Huracan for a few months before retiring definitively in 1955. With the Argentine national team, he participated in 21 matches and scored 7 goals, he won 2 Copa Americas and became a legend of his country.

- Received the Merit Diploma from the Argentine Konex Foundation in 1980

- Received the Honorary Award by the Argentine Konex Foundation in 2000 posthumously

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