Helenio Herrera

Helenio Herrera Gavilán (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈlenjo eˈreɾa ɣaβiˈlan]; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentine and naturalised French football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success with the Inter Milan team known as Grande Inter in the 1960s.

During his managerial career, Herrera won four La Liga titles in Spain (with Atlético Madrid and Barcelona) and three Serie A titles in Italy with Inter. He also guided Inter to European glory, winning two consecutive European Cups, among several other honours. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.

Herrera was arguably the first manager to collect credit for his teams' performances, in the process becoming a superstar in the world of football. Up to that time, managers were more marginal figures in a team. All teams throughout Europe were known for their headline-grabbing individual players, e.g. Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, whereas Inter during the 1960s is still referred to as Herrera's Inter.

Herrera was born in 1910 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to immigrant parents from Spain. His father Francisco, who worked as a carpenter, was an exiled anarchist originally from Andalusia. His mother, Maria Gavilán Martínez, was a cleaner. In 1920, Herrera's family left Argentina for Casablanca, in what was then French Morocco, in search of a better life. In Casablanca, Herrera started his career as a footballer.

Playing as a central defender, in 1932 the 22-year-old Herrera earned a transfer from RC Casablanca to mainland France, to CASG in Paris. Before the onset of World War II, Herrera (or "H.H." as he was known) had spells at several French clubs. From 1933 to 1935 he was at Stade Français, from 1935 to 1937 at FCO Charleville (where he was called up for the France national team twice), and at Excelsior Roubaix from 1937 to 1939.

During the war, he played for five years at Red Star Paris, Stade Français, EF Paris-Capitale and Puteaux, where he started his managing career in 1944 as a player-manager, before retiring from playing in 1945, at 35 years of age. While he spent his career playing for established French clubs, Herrera did not win any notable silverware. His managing career, which coincided with the early beginnings of UEFA competitions, had a marked effect on the game's tactical development.

After his first season in Puteaux, Herrera rejoined Stade Français for a third time, now as manager. After three seasons with no trophies collected, the club's president opted to sell the club. Herrera moved to Spain, where he spent the next six years with Real Valladolid, Atlético Madrid (where he won La Liga in 1950 and 1951), Málaga, Deportivo de La Coruña and Sevilla, before moving to Portugal and a two-year tenure with Lisbon side Belenenses. Later, returning to Spain, he managed giants Barcelona, where he won various titles (including La Liga, twice), but several problems, including disagreements between him and star player Ladislao Kubala, forced him to leave the club in 1960.

He immediately emigrated to Italy and signed with Inter Milan (where he was to remain until 1968), winning three Serie A titles and two European Cups during his stay with the club, where he used a 5–3–2 formation, and modified a tactic known as the Verrou (door bolt) – used by Karl Rappan – to include larger flexibility for counter-attacks; thus, the Catenaccio system was born. The side was later nicknamed Grande Inter, due to the club's successes under Herrera's eight–year spell, which saw the team win back–to–back European Cup titles in 1964 and 1965, as well as three Serie A titles, and two Intercontinental Cup titles. During this time he was also coaching Spain (between 1959 and 1962) and Italy (1966–67).