Alberto Spencer

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Alberto Spencer bigraphy, stories - Ecuadorian footballer

Alberto Spencer : biography

06 December 1937 – 03 November 2006

Alberto Pedro Spencer Herrera (December 6, 1937 – November 3, 2006) was an Ecuadorian football (soccer) player, regarded as the best of his country. He is probably best known for his still-standing record for scoring the most goals in the Copa Libertadores, the most important club tournament in South America. He was elected the 20th best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2004. – rsssf.com – by Karel Stokkermans, RSSSF, 2000. He was known as "" (Spanish for magic head).

Trivia

  • In one of the exhibition tours that Peñarol did in Colombia, one of the Millonarios players, Flaco Néstor Rossi, launched a horror-tackle on Spencer that went unpunished. Soon afterward, one of Spencer’s friends in Peñarol, Jose Pepe Sasía, ran after him, grabbed his neck and said:
  • Pelé, interview with Pablo Forlan said:
  • Spencer was red carded twice in his career at a league match defending Peñarol. Three days later the team had to travel for a Copa Libertadores match, but Spencer didn’t go, saying that he was too ashamed because of his expulsion. The other one, was on a crucial qualifying match for 1966 World Cup against Chile, because he hit Humberto Cruz on his face, in 1965, in a final match in Lima, Perú
  • His debut at Peñarol was in a friendly against Argentine team Atlanta (striped blue and yellow) where Peñarol wore for first and last time a plain red jersey (one of the colours of the long hated arch-rival Nacional). Peñarol won 6-2 with a Spencer hat-trick.
  • Upon Spencer’s death, the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol decided to change the name of the Estadio Modelo in Guayaquil to Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera in his honour.

Achievements

Spencer still maintains the South American club record in Copa Libertadores, with his tally of 54 goals between 1960 and 1972, playing for Everest of Guayaquil, Barcelona of Guayaquil, and Peñarol (Uruguay). During that period, he walked away as winner of the competition three times (1960, 1961, 1966) and was winner of the Intercontinental Cup twice, beating Eusebio’s Benfica and Real Madrid, and was runner-up once. In fact, his Intercontinental goal tally is only one goal behind the all-time record of his more famous contemporary, Pelé.

Spencer was also four times the leading scorer of Uruguay’s League, helping them to win the Uruguayan championship eight times during his 12-year stay. Throughout his professional career, he scored a grand total of 450 goals, surpassing 500, if friendlies were taken into account.

Biography

Born in Ancón, Guayas, Ecuador, Spencer was the son of a Jamaican of British origin.

He was an ambidextrous striker with lethal pace, off-the-ball movement, heading and balance skills, and excellent finishing, that tore defences to shreds for over a decade. After his retirement in 1973, he lived in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 1982, he was appointed consul of Ecuador in Uruguay.

Spencer suffered a heart attack on September 14, 2006 during a routine checkup with his cardiologist. He died on November 3, 2006 in the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. His line survives through his Chilean wife María Teresa, his children Alberto, Walter, Jacqueline and his grandchildren.http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=499184

Honors

Club

  • Peñarol
    • Primera División (7): 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968
    • Copa Libertadores (3): 1960, 1961, 1966
    • Intercontinental Cup (2): 1961, 1966
    • Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales (1): 1969
  • Barcelona
    • Serie A (1): 1971

Individual

  • Copa Libertadores top scorer (2): 1960, 1962.
  • Primera División top scorer (4): 1961, 1962, 1967, 1968.
  • : Player of the century.
  • IFFHS: 20th best South American player in the century.