Argentina Greatest All-Time Team before 1978

Argentina in 1966

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Argentina All-Time Team 
Argentina All-Time Team After Maradona
If Argentina sent this team to 1958 World Cup

Argentina finished second in the first ever World Cup Finals in 1930.  Three Argentine-born players – Luis Monti, Raimundo Orsi and Enrique Guaita played for Italy as Italy won the 1934 World Cup Finals.  Argentina's turn to win the World Cup did nit come until 1978.  However,  from 48 years between the first World Cup to 1978, Argentina produced many stars such as Alfredo di Stefano, Amadeo Carrizo, Omar Sivori, Silvio Marzolini, etc.  This is my selection of Argentina All-Time Team before 1978.

Argentina South American Champion 1957

Team  

GK: Amadeo Carrizo
Amadeo Carrizo was the young goalkeeper for River Plate's "La Máquina" in 1940's.  He won five Championship trophies in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1957.  He was considered one of the greatest keeper from South America. Despite his greatness, Argentina constantly refused to select him.  He only earned 20 caps. He went to the WC Finals in 1958.

GK: Rogelio Dominguez
Rogelio Dominguez played around the same time as Carrizo.  He earned 59 caps.  He missed the 1958 World Cup Finals because he moved to Real Madrid in 1957 and Argentina did not select overseas players.  With Real Madrid, he won two European Cups playing alongside with Alfredo Di Stefano.  Before Real Madrid, he played for Racing Club in Argentina.

GK: Antonio Roma 
Nicknamed Tarzan for the way of throwing himself for the ball, he started his professional career with Ferrocarril Oeste in 1955. He was then transferred, together with teammate Silvio Marzolini, to Boca Juniors in 1959. Roma stayed with Boca until his retirement in 1972.  With the club Roma won the Argentine League of 1962, 1964, 1965, and the Campeonato Nacional 1969 and 1970. In 1969 he kept his goal clear for 783 minutes.  Capped 42 times for La Albicelestes.  He went to the WC Finals in 1962 and 1966.

RB: Carlos Sosa 
Carlos Sosa started his career with Atlanta in 1939.  He joined Boca Juniors in the 1941, where he established as one of the best defenders of his generation.  He won two Argentine Primera División. He went to play in France in 1952.  He played for Racing Paris and Red Stars in Paris.  With Argentina, he was capped 12 times. He won two Copa Americas(1945 and 1946).

RB: Enrique Wolff
Wolff began his career with Racing Club in 1967. He played for the club until he was transferred to River Plate in 1972. In 1974 Wolff was transferred to UD Las Palmas in Spain, and 3 years later he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid where he was part of the championship winning sides of 1977-1978 and 1978-1979.  Capped 27 times.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 1974.

Enrique Wolff

CB: Roberto Perfumo
Nicknamed El Mariscal, Perfumo is considered as one of the best Argentine defenders ever. At club level, Perfumo played for Racing, River Plate and Brazilian team Cruzeiro. He was a legend with Racing Club in Argentina winning the Primera title, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup.  He was considered their greatest player. He had 37 caps.  He played in 1966 and 1974 WC Finals. 

CB: Federico Sacchi  
Sacchi started his career with Tiro Federal. In 1958 he was signed by Newell's Old Boys. Sacchi joined Racing Club de Avellaneda in 1961 and was part of the team that won the Argentine Primera in his first season with the club. He joined Boca Juniors in 1965 and won another league title in his debut season with the club. In 1967, he joined Sporting Cristal of Peru. Sacchi played 15 times for the Argentina national team, scoring one goal. He was a member of the Argentina squad for the 1962 World Cup.

CB: Ludovico Bidoglio 
He was an early player for Boca Juniors.  He made his debut with the club before the club was officially named as Boca Juniors.  He was capped 27 times, winning two Copa America: 1925 and 1927.

CB: José Ramos Delgado 
Born in Argentina of the Cape Verdean ancestry, he started his playing career in 1956 with Lanús. He soon earned a move to River Plate where he played 172 games in seven seasons with the club. After a short spell with Banfield, he moved to Brazil to play for Santos, where he played alongside Pelé, Coutinho and Pepe in the club's golden years.  He continued playing for Santos until the age of 38, making a total of 324 appearances and scoring one goal.  capped 25 times.  He went to the 1958 and 1962 WC Finals.

LB:  Silvio Marzolini
Marzolini started his career with f Ferro Carril Oeste.  A year later, he joined Boca Juniors where he became an idol. He was considered one of the greatest leftbacks in Latin American football history.  He had 28 caps between 1960 and 1969.  He went to the 1966 WC Finals in England.

LB: Jorge Carrascosa
El Lobo (The Wolf) started his career in 1967 with Banfield. He made his debut for Argentina in 1970 and was signed by Rosario Central, where he was part of the squad that won the Nacional 1971. In 1973, he joined Huracán where he won a second Argentine championship in his first season, the Metropolitano was the clubs first championship since the professionalisation of Argentine football in 1931. Carrascosa was capped 30 times. He was a member of the 1974 World Cup squad.

DM: Nestor Rossi
One of Argentina's greatest defensive midfielders.  Nicknamed "Pipo", he started his career at River Plate, playing from 1945 to 1949, and then again from 1955 to 1958, winning a total of 5 Argentine leagues. He also won 6 more with Millonarios in Colombia. He played in the 1958 World Cup Finals and was a part of their 1957 Copa America winning team.

DM: Luis Monti

The ruthless central midfielder led Argentina to the WC Final in 1930 where they lost to Uruguay.  Four years later, he became an Oriundo and won the World Cup with Italy.  He was also remembered for getting injured at the Battle of Highbury in 1934 when England played Italy.  Monti started his career in 1921 with Huracán. The following year he signed with Boca Juniors but left without playing a game. He joined San Lorenzo. In 1930, he joined Juventus in Italy, where he played until 1939.

Luis Monti

CM/DM: Antonio Rattin 
Rattin played his entire career with Boca Juniors.  He was remembered for getting send-off against England at the WC Finals in 1966, in which he refused to leave the field.  This incident, and others surrounding the same game, arguably started the long-lasting rivalry between the national teams of Argentina and England.  He earned 34 caps and also went to the WC Finals in 1962. 

Antonio Rattin 

RW: Omar Oreste Corbatta 

Dubbed Arlequín and El dueño de la raya (The chairman of the sideline), Corbatta was known as one of Argentina's greatest right wingers.  He played for five teams in his country – six in total – mainly Racing Club and Boca Juniors, winning four major titles and scoring 86 official goals with both teams combined. Unfortunately, he lost the Copa Libertadores to Pele's Santos in 1963. Capped over 40 times. He was part of the Copa América-winning team in 1957 and 1959. Corbatta also played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, contributing with three goals in three games in an eventual group stage exit.

LW:  Félix Loustau

A member of River Plate's "La Máquina.  It is considered to be one of the greatest team ever assembled in the history of South American football. They dominated Argentine football during the first half of the 1940s, winning eight national titles during his time at the club. He usually played as an outside left and he is considered to be one of Argentina's greatest wingers. Because the peak of his career was during the Second World War, his international career was very limited. Nevertheless, he played 28 times for Argentina scoring ten goals.  He won three straight Copa America in 1945, 1946, and 1947. 

SS/FW: Adolfo Pedernera 

He was a member of  "La Máquina".  He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest Argentine players of all-time. He was elected the 12th best South american footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000. He moved to Atlanta in 1947 and Millonarios in Colombia.  Because of the Second World War, he did not play many games for Argentina. He still won the Copa America 1941 and 1945.

FW: Bernabe Ferreyra 
He was one of the first professional players in Argentine football to reach great popularity, to the point that he had a movie biography. He started with Tigre and then a spell with Vélez Sársfield.  In 1932, Ferreyra was transferred from Tigre to River Plate for a record transfer fee of 23,000 pounds. He kept this record for a total of 17 years – the longest unbroken time period for this record.  For River Plate, his scoring ratio was more than one goal per match.  He was only capped 4 times.

SS/FW:  Omar Sivori

Sivori is remembered one of the greatest ever player from Argentina. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1961. After Argentina won the Copa America in 1957, he joined Juventus where he enjoyed 8 successful years.  He was credited with the resurgence of the club.  With John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti, he formed "the Magical Trio" with the club.  In Argentina, he played for River Plate.  After Juventus, he joined Napoli.

Omar Sivori (R)

AM/FW: José Manuel Moreno 

José Manuel Moreno was the star of  "La Máquina" of River Plate in the 1940's.  Some older fans in Argentina considered him better than Maradona and Di Stefano. He never played in the World Cup Finals due to the World War II, but won the South American Championships of 1941, 1942 and 1947. He also played club football in Mexico and Colombia.

CM/AM/FW:   Alfredo Di Stefano

The best player in the world before the emerge of Pele and Maradona. He was one of the younger member of the great River Plate in the 1940's.  In 1949, he moved to play in Colombia before moving to Europe in 1953.  He won 5 straight European Cups with Real Madrid. He was credited in turning Real Madrid into a legendary club. His international career was limited to the fact that Argentina did not select overseas players.  He played for Argentina, Colombia and Spain.

Alfredo Di Stefano

ST/FW: Ángel Labruna 

He is the second top scorer of the Argentine First Division with 293 goals, Arsenio Erico being the first top scorer with 295 goals. Labruna was also part of the celebrated River Plate offense, nicknamed La Máquina (The Machine), and he was considered one of the best South-American footballers of his generation.  He played 37 matches for Argentina, scoring 17 goals. He also won two South American Championships (1946 and 1955) and as a nearly 40-year-old he played in the final phase of 1958 FIFA World Cup held in Sweden.

Ángel Labruna 

ST: Luis Artime 

Artime started his career at Club Atlético Atlanta, but better known for his career with River Plate where he became the top scorer in Argentina on three occasions and Independiente where he helped the team to win the Nacional 1967, he was also topscorer in the tournament.  With Nacional of Uruguay, he helped the team to win the Copa Libertadores in 1971. He also played Palmeiras and Fluminense in Brazil.  For Argentina, he scored 24 goals in 25 games. He played at the 1966 World Cup and at the South American Championship 1967, where he was the top goalscorer.

Honorable Mention

Américo Tesoriere, Carlos Peucelle, Rinaldo Martino, Rene Pontoni, Ermindo Onega, Enrique Garcia, Jose Sanfillppo, Antonio Sastre, Juan Carlos Muñoz, Manuel Seoane, Ernesto Lazzatti, Manuel Ferreira, Humberto Maschio, Ernesto Grillo, José Salomón.

Squad Explanation 

-- Antonio Rattin, Luis Artime, Ángel Labruna, Bernabe Ferreyra, and Omar Corbatta were not on my Argentina All-Time Team, but they could easily be considered for it.

-- Many players are on my 1956 World Cup Team.

-- I took Antonio Roma as the third keeper over Américo Tesoriere. Roma was also my first chocie for my Boca Juniors All-Time Team.

-- Antonio Sastre was seriously considered.  I have too many attack midfielders.

-- I brought two new centerbacks who were not on my all-time team: Federico Sacchi, Ludovico Bidoglio and José Ramos Delgado.  Delgado was well-known because of his club career with Pele. José Salomón should get a spot too.

Formation
I am using the older 4-2-4 formation.