Jorge D'Alessandro

Argentine footballer and manager

Jorge D'Alessandro
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Jorge D'Alessandro di Ninno
Date of birth	(1949-07-28) 28 July 1949 (age 74)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1974	San Lorenzo	56	(0)
1974–1984	Salamanca	280	(0)
Total		336	(0)
Managerial career
?–1989	Salamanca (youth)
1989–1990	Salamanca B
1990–1992	Figueres
1992–1993	Betis
1994	Atlético Madrid
1994–1995	Atlético Madrid
1996	Salamanca
1997–1998	Mérida
2000	Elche
2000–2001	Elche
2002–2003	Salamanca
2003–2004	Rayo Vallecano
2010	Salamanca
2011–2012	Gimnàstic
2013	Huesca
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roberto Jorge D'Alessandro di Ninno (born 28 July 1949) is an Argentine retired football goalkeeper and manager.

He spent most of his career with Salamanca in Spain, appearing in nine La Liga seasons and more than 300 official games with the club. He subsequently embarked in a managerial career in the same country, coaching several teams.

Playing career

Born in Buenos Aires, D'Alessandro spent six years in his country with San Lorenzo de Almagro, being part of the squads that won four Argentine Primera División championships. In June 1974 the team played UD Salamanca in a friendly, and the Spaniards were so impressed they decided to purchase him, having to (successfully) deal with the Argentine Football Association first; players under 26 were prohibited from moving abroad, and he was 25.^[1]

D'Alessandro stayed in goal for the Castile and León side over ten seasons, nine of those in La Liga. In a match against Athletic Bilbao during the 1976–77 season, his collision with Dani resulted in a tear in his kidney, even though he finished the game. After having the organ removed, he resumed his football activity against all medical advice,^[2] still putting on several solid campaigns.

D'Alessandro retired in June 1984 at the age of 35 following Salamanca's relegation, having made 242 appearances in the Spanish top flight (307 in all competitions), a club record.^[3]^[4]

Coaching career

D'Alessandro started coaching at his last club, being in charge of both the youth and reserve teams. His first three professional seasons were spent in the Segunda División, with UE Figueres (two years) and Real Betis.^[5]

In late March 1994, D'Alessandro became Atlético Madrid's sixth manager of the season, being appointed as the side, led by elusive chairman Jesús Gil, was placed in the relegation zone;^[6] the Colchoneros eventually finished in 12th position, and his contract was not renewed. He returned to Madrid for a second spell in November, taking the place of Francisco Maturana and being himself dismissed after 13 games.^[7]

D'Alessandro briefly worked with Salamanca in 1995–96, suffering top-division relegation.^[8] He then signed for CP Mérida of the second tier, being promoted in his first year^[9] and relegated in his second. He continued his career at that level, with three teams including another spell with his main one.^[10]^[11]^[12]

In April 2010, after several years working as a sports commentator in both radio and television,^[13] D'Alessandro returned to Salamanca for his third stint as a manager,^[14] eventually avoiding relegation from the second division.^[15] On 31 October 2011 he joined another club in the same league, Gimnàstic de Tarragona, replacing the fired Juan Carlos Oliva as they ranked last.^[16] His first match was a 5–0 home win over Catalonia neighbours CE Sabadell FC;^[17] however, after not being able to prevent the final drop even though the results improved overall, he resigned.^[18]

Honours

Individual

Ricardo Zamora Trophy: 1974–75, 1976–77^[3]

Manager

Mérida

Segunda División: 1996–97^[9]

References

^ Los nuevos fichajes (The new signings); Mundo Deportivo, 22 July 1974 (in Spanish)
^ A D'Alessandro se le extirpó un riñón (D'Alessandro had kidney removed); El País, 3 January 1978 (in Spanish)
^ ^a ^b D'Alessandro recibe 45 años después el Trofeo Zamora a mejor portero de la Liga (D'Alessandro receives Zamora Trophy for the best League goalkeeper 45 years later); Marca, 16 December 2019 (in Spanish)
^ La historia de Jorge D'Alessandro, el exfutbolista argentino que se luce en “El Chiringuito“ y es furor en las redes (The story of Jorge D'Alessandro, the former Argentine footballer who shines at "El Chiringuito" and rocks the Internet); Clarín, 28 December 2022 (in Spanish)
^ Jorge D'Alessandro, al Betis (Jorge D'Alessandro, to Betis); Mundo Deportivo, 14 July 1992 (in Spanish)
^ Todos los hombres del presidente (All the president's men); Mundo Deportivo, 22 March 1994 (in Spanish)
^ El Pichón espera al Coco (Pichón awaits Coco); Mundo Deportivo, 22 February 1995 (in Spanish)
^ D'Alessandro dimite (D'Alessandro resigns); El País, 22 May 1996 (in Spanish)
^ ^a ^b El Mérida regresa a la máxima categoría (Mérida return to the top tier); Mundo Deportivo, 2 June 1997 (in Spanish)
^ Jorge D’Alessandro será el entrenador (Jorge D'Alessandro will be the manager); Mundo Deportivo, 26 January 2000 (in Spanish)
^ D'Alessandro, nuevo entrenador (D'Alessandro, new manager); As, 14 October 2002 (in Spanish)
^ D'Alessandro: "Intentaré devolver la tranquilidad con victorias" (D'Alessandro: "I will try to bring tranquility back with wins"); As, 11 November 2003 (in Spanish)
^ El entrenador Jorge D'Alessandro, pregonero de las Fiestas de Salamanca (Manager Jorge D'Alessandro, crier of the Salamanca Festivities); ABC, 30 July 2012 (in Spanish)
^ Jorge D'Alessandro, nuevo entrenador del Salamanca (Jorge D'Alessandro, new Salamanca manager); Marca, 12 April 2010 (in Spanish)
^ D'Alessandro no seguirá en el Salamanca (D'Alessandro will not continue in Salamanca); Marca, 22 June 2010 (in Spanish)
^ Jorge D'Alessandro, nuevo entrenador del Nàstic (Jorge D'Alessandro, new Nàstic coach) Archived 3 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Diari de Tarragona, 31 October 2011 (in Spanish)
^ El Nastic de D'Alessandro debuta con goleada (5–0) al Sabadell (D'Alessandro's Nastic rout Sabadell (5–0) in debut); El Periódico de Catalunya, 6 November 2011 (in Spanish)
^ El Nàstic baja a Segunda B (Nàstic relegated to Segunda B); Sport, 19 May 2012 (in Spanish)