Norberto Alonso

Norberto Alonso

Alonso in the Centro Cultural York of Olivos, Buenos Aires, in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1953-01-04) 4 January 1953 (age 64)
Place of birth	Vicente López, Argentina
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Number	10
Youth career
	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1976	River Plate	168	(68)
1976	Olympique Marseille	17	(6)
1977–1981	River Plate	142	(63)
1981–1983	Vélez Sársfield	73	(14)
1983–1987	River Plate	64	(18)
Total		464	(169)
National team
1972–1983	Argentina	19	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 2007.

Norberto Osvaldo Alonso (born 4 January 1953), known colloquially as "Beto" Alonso, is a former Argentine football midfielder, who played the majority of his career for the Argentine club River Plate. He remains one of their most iconic players. He stands in fifth place in River Plate's all time goalscoring records with 149 goals and in 7th place in their all time appearances record with 374 matches played. Alonso is considered the best attacking midfielder in the history of Argentine football for many experts.

Alonso was born in Vicente López, Buenos Aires province, but grew up in the poor suburb of Los Polvorines. An attacking midfielder, he rose through the ranks of River's youth divisions as the team was undergoing its infamous dry spell (18 years, 1957 to 1975, without a championship title). When Angel Labruna took the reins in 1975, Alonso was the team's anchor and holder of the No. 10 jersey.

With reinforcements Roberto Perfumo and Ubaldo Fillol, and the maturing of players like Daniel Passarella, Carlos Morete, J. J. López and Reinaldo Merlo, Alonso led the squad that won both the Metropolitano and the Nacional tournaments of 1975, ushering in a series of seven local titles in the period 1975-1981.