Luis Alberto Cubilla Almeida (28 March 1940 – 3 March 2013) was a Uruguayan professional footballer and manager. He had a successful playing career winning 16 major titles. He then went on to become one of the most successful managers in South American football with 17 major titles.[1][2]

Luis Cubilla
Cubilla with Uruguay in 1970
Personal information
Full name Luis Alberto Cubilla Almeida
Date of birth (1940-03-28)28 March 1940
Place of birth Paysandú, Uruguay
Date of death 3 March 2013(2013-03-03) (aged 72)
Place of death Asunción, Paraguay
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
Colón de Paysandú
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1958–1962 Peñarol 123 (24)
1962–1964 Barcelona 26 (3)
1964–1968 River Plate 129 (31)
1969–1974 Nacional 150 (39)
1975 Santiago Morning 14 (2)
1976 Defensor Sporting 18 (3)
International career
1959–1974 Uruguay 38 (11)
Managerial career
1979–1980 Olimpia Asunción
1980 Newell's Old Boys
1981 Peñarol
1982 Olimpia Asunción
1983 Atlético Nacional
1984 River Plate
1988–1991 Olimpia Asunción
1991–1993 Uruguay
1994 Racing Club
1995–1999 Olimpia Asunción
2003 Talleres
2005 Comunicaciones
2007 Barcelona SC
2009 Colegio Nacional Iquitos
2010 Olimpia Asunción
2012 Tacuary
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 2022

Early career

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Also known as "El Negro", Cubilla was born in Paysandú and started his playing career in the youth team of Colón de Paysandú. In 1957 he joined Peñarol where he was part of the team that won four Uruguayan league championships, two Copa Libertadores and a Copa Intercontinental.

Career highlights

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In 1962 he joined FC Barcelona of Spain, where he was part of the team that won the Copa del Rey in 1963. He played 49 games and scored 12 goals with Barça.

Cubilla returned to South America in 1964 to play for River Plate of Argentina. In 1969, he returned to Uruguay joining Nacional where he won 4 more Uruguayan league titles, another Copa Libertadores, a Copa Interamericana and another Copa Intercontinental.

In the last years of his career he played for Santiago Morning of Chile and Defensor Sporting of Uruguay where he helped the club to win their first league championship and break the complete dominance of the league by Peñarol and Nacional.

Between 1959 and 1974 Cubilla played 38 games for the Uruguay national team in which he scored 11 goals.[3] He played in three World Cups in 1962, 1970 and 1974.

Managerial career

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As a coach, Cubilla achieved enormous success with Olimpia Asunción of Paraguay, winning 7 international titles and several national championships. He also coached Nacional, Peñarol, Defensor Sporting, Danubio (all of Uruguay), Atlético Nacional of Colombia, Newell's Old Boys and River Plate of Argentina and Cerro Porteño and Club Libertad, both from Paraguay.

Between 1991 and 1993 Luis Cubilla was the head coach of the Uruguay National Team and worked together with his older brother Pedro Cubilla as his assistant coach and Alejandro Riccino as the physical trainer.[4]

During 1994 he coached the famous Argentinean club Racing Club de Avellaneda.

In February 2007, Cubilla signed with the Ecuadorian team Barcelona de Guayaquil.

In 2010, he returned once again as a coach for Olimpia Asunción of Paraguay. He died, aged 72, in Asunción.

Honours

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Cubilla and Ricardo Pavoni (1974)

As a player

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Peñarol

Barcelona

Nacional

Defensor

Individual

  • IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team[5]

As a manager

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Olimpia Asunción

Peñarol

References

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  1. ^ "Adiós a Luis Cubilla, leyenda del fútbol uruguayo". 4 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Noticias Club | Canal Oficial FC Barcelona".
  3. ^ Uruguay record international players Archived 16 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine. rsssf. Retrieved on 2016-07-21.
  4. ^ Uruguay national football team
  5. ^ "IFFHS All-Time Uruguay Men's Dream Team". IFFHS. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
Preceded by South American Coach of the Year
1990
Succeeded by