Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera was a French-Argentine football player and manager. Herrera had a relatively modest career as a player but, with 16 major titles, he became not only one of the most successful, but also one of the most influential managers in the history of the game.
There is a controversy regarding his year of birth, as, in the 50s, he manipulated his birth year changing it to from 1910 to 1916. While born in Argentina, Herrera emigrated at age four with his parents (both Spanish) to Casablanca, Morocco where he adopted French citizenship. Playing as a defender, in 1932 he earned a transfer from RC Casablanca to mainland France - CASG Paris. Before World War II, Herrera (or H.H. as he was known) played in Stade Francais, FCO Charleville (where he was called up for the national team twice) and Excelsior Roubaix. During the war, he played for five years more in Red Star Paris, Stade Francais, EF Paris-Capitale and Puteaux, where he started his managing career in 1944 as a player-manager. He retired in 1945, and while his playing career was very short of notable, his managing career, coinciding with the early beginnings of UEFA competitions, had a marked effect on the game's tactical definitions.
After his first season in Puteaux, Herrera rejoined Stade Francais for a third time now as manager. After three seasons with no trophies collected, the club's president opted to sell the franchise. Herrera moved to Spain, where he spent the next six years in minor stints with Real Valladolid, Atletico Madrid, CD Malaga, Deportivo de La Coruna and Sevilla FC, before entering a two year tenure with Lisbon side CF Os Belenenses. Later returning to Spain, he managed giants FC Barcelona, but several problems, including disagreements between him and star player Ladislao Kubala obliged him to leave the club in 1960.
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