About Alfio Basile
Alfio "Coco" Basile (born 1 November 1943) is an Argentine football manager and former player. He played for Racing Club de Avellaneda and Huracán before becoming a manager. He coached many teams during his career, being most notable Racing Club de Avellaneda (where he won the Supercopa Libertadores, the first international title for the club since 1967), the Argentina national team (with 4 titles won) and Boca Juniors, where he won five titles in two years. Basile holds the distinction of being the only manager to coach both Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi internationally, having called both up to the national team during his two separate tenures as Argentina's manager. The last team managed by Basile was Racing Club de Avellaneda, which he left in 2012. == Playing career == Born in Bahía Blanca, Basile is of Sicilian descent through his grandparents, who emigrated from Catania. He started his playing career at Club Bella Vista in his home city. From 1964 to 1970 he played for Racing Club, where he played as midfielder until the arrival of coach Juan José Pizutti, who moved him to the defensive line to play as centre-back. In that position, Basile formed a remembered defensive pair with Roberto Perfumo, winning three titles with the club, which reached its peak with the Intercontinental Cup won in 1967 to Celtic FC, the first intercontinental title for an Argentine team. Basile totalized 186 matches with Racing Club before moving to Huracán, where he was a mainstay of the 1973 Metropolitano champions under coach César Luis Menotti.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.