Helenio Herrera
- Dag Jenkins
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Helenio Herrera Gavilán was born in Buenos Aires on April 10, 1910.
He was Argentinian but parents were of Spanish origin, his father was a carpenter and an anarchist from Andalusia. He later also acquired French citizenship.
He lived in the poor area of Palermo in Buenos Aires until he was eight when his family moved to Morocco. In North Africa the family continued to have economic difficulties but it was here that Helenio started to play football.
He started at 12 with Roches Noires but his first big club was Racing Casablanca.
At 19 he moved to France where he spent the rest of his career. His clubs were: Club Français (Paris, 1929-32), CASG (Paris, 1932-33), Stade Français (Paris, 1933-35), Charleville (1935-37), Excelsior Roubaix (1937-39), Red Star (Paris, 1940-42), Stade Français (1942-43), ÉF Paris-Capitale (1943-44) and Puteaux (Paris, 1944-45). His only silverware was a French Cup with Red Star in 1942.
It was in his last club Puteaux that he started his coaching career as player-manager also due to a knee injury.
In 1945 he moved to Stade Français and stayed three seasons. In his first they won promotion to the top flight and then finished 5th twice.
In 1948 he moved to Spain and coached Real Valladolid for a season. The Blanquivioletas finished 12th.
In 1949 he joined Atlético Madrid where he stayed three and a half seasons. In his first two years the Colchoneros won the Liga and came 4th in the third season. In the fourth season he was sacked in January after 8 league defeats in 17 games.
In February 1953 he joined struggling Malaga but could not avoid the Boquerones (Anchovies) from getting relegated.
In July 1953 he moved to Deportivo La Coruña but was sacked in December after 7 defeats in 15 games.
In January 1954 he went back to Andalusia but to Sevilla. He stayed three and a half seasons. The Sevillistas finished 5th, 4th twice and 2nd (five points behind champions Real Madrid).
In 1957 he moved across to Portugal and signed for Belenenses (Lisbon). He was sacked in April after 12 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats.
He immediately however got the Barcelona job. The Blaugrana only had two games to go and finished 3rd. In the next two years Barça won consecutive Ligas and a Copa del Rey.
In 1960 he started his long Italian adventure. He joined Inter where he would remain for eight seasons. He won the Scudetto three times (1963, 1965, 1966), the European Cup twice (1964, 1965), the Intercontinental Cup twice (1964, 1965). In 1967-68 the Nerazzurri only finished 5th and he left at the end of the season.
In 1968 he joined Roma and stayed five seasons. He was not as successful as with Inter. The Giallorossi finished 8th, 10th, 6th,7th and 11th. In the third season he was sacked in April only to return the following season with new ownership (Alvaro Marchini to Gaetano Anzalone). Herrera did win silverware with the Lupi, the Coppa Italia in 1969 and the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1972.
In 1973 he returned to Inter but returns do not always work out and he had to leave in February to a heart attack. In Serie A the Nerazzurri had won 6, drawn 5 and lost 4 and were in 6th place (six points behind leaders Lazio).
Herrera reappeared in November 1976 when he took charge of Rimini in Serie B. He was replaced in December after 3 wins and 3 defeats. He returned to Rimini in March 1979 but again was replaced in April after 1 win, 3 draws and 4 defeats. The Biancorossi were eventually relegated.
In March 1980 he was back at Barcelona when he took over from Joaquim Rifé. The Blaugrana finished 4th (W6, D4, L1). The following season he again came in after 9 games replacing László Kubala and finished 5th but won the Copa del Rey (Sporting Gijón 3-1).
That was the end of his coaching career which had also seen him involved with national teams: France 1946-48 on the technical commission, Spain 1959-62 with Pablo Hernández Coronado and Italy 1966-67 with Ferruccio Valcareggi.
After retiring he worked as a television pundit in Italy.
As a player he was a strong defender but it was as a manager he will be remembered. He was nicknamed "Il Mago" (magician) and had his greatest successes with the "Grande Inter" of the 1960's.
He did not invent the "Catenaccio" but, especially at Inter, was one of the coaches in history that used it most effectively. He was known as a great motivator and for his use of psychological tactics both for his players and against the opponents. He was meticulous in his work and famous for noting down everything he observed and learnt.
In 2004 he was accused by a former player of using doping on his players, amphetamines dissolved in coffee. The majority of his other former players denied this and the few who confirmed either claimed it was common practice at all clubs at the time or later took back their allegations.
His silverware is impressive; 2 European Cups, 4 Ligas, 3 Scudetti, 2 Copa del Rey, 1 Coppa Italia, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 1 Fairs Cup and 1 Anglo-Italian Cup.
Helenio Herrera died in Venice on November 9, 1997.
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