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Biography
Alfio Basile (born 1 November 1943 in Bahía Blanca), nicknamed Coco, is an Argentine football coach and former player. He most recently coached Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Playing career
As a player, Basile was most famous for being the steady anchor of the Racing Club and Huracán championship teams.
Basile started his playing career at the Bella Vista club in his home city. From 1964 to 1970 he played for Racing Club, and then for Huracán, where he was a mainstay of the 1973 Metropolitano champions under coach César Luis Menotti. He also played for the Argentina national football team. Basile retired as a player in 1975.
Titles as a player
| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 |  Racing Club | Primera División Argentina |
| 1967 | Racing Club | Copa Libertadores |
| 1967 | Racing Club | Intercontinental Cup |
| 1973 Metropolitano | Huracán | Primera División Argentina |
Managerial career
After retirement as a player, Basile coached a number of Argentine teams, most notably Rosario Central, Racing Club, Huracán, Vélez Sársfield, Uruguayan Nacional, and Atlético Madrid.
His career as a coach reached its first peak in the early 1990s, when he led the Argentina national football team to two Copa América, one FIFA Confederations Cup and one Artemio Franchi Trophy victories. The run-up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup looked smooth until a 5-0 defeat at home to Colombia. Following that traumatic event, Diego Maradona was brought back from retirement to take part in the play-off against Australia.
In the World Cup itself, Argentina opened with two impressive victories over Greece and Nigeria. However, controversy was soon to appear. Maradona was tested for doping after the Nigeria match, and was suspended after ephedrine was found in his sample. Argentina still progressed to the last 16 despite a 2-0 defeat by Bulgaria, but morale was shattered and the team was eliminated after losing to Romania.
After resigning over the World Cup disappointment, Basile went on to coach San Lorenzo de Almagro, Club América of México and Colón de Santa Fe with varying degrees of success. In July 2005 he assumed the post of coach at Boca Juniors, winning the Recopa Sudamericana 2005 just a month later. He then won his first Argentine league title in the 2005 Apertura tournament. Four days later, Boca won the Copa Sudamericana 2005 against UNAM Pumas of Mexico.
In July 2006, he was once again offered the position of Argentina national football team coach and accepted the job taking over from José Pekerman. Before starting his new job, Basile stayed with Boca Juniors until September 14, 2006, when the team won a second consecutive Recopa Sudamericana 2006 with a victory over São Paulo FC of Brazil.
Vocal about his preference for the Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga over the English league, he made waves in England when he called for Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano to transfer to Italy, claiming the switch would be better for the latter "even if he would have to play in the second division" with Juventus.
On 16 October 2008, amidst the controversy over the historic defeat that Argentina suffered against Chile in the World Cup qualifiers, Basile tended his resignation. This eventually paved the road to the appointment of Diego Maradona as national team coach. As a coach, Basile had in total two tenures at the helm of the Argentina national football team, 1991–1994 and 2006–2008.
On July 1, 2009 Alfio "Coco" Basile returned to Boca Juniors after three years, replacing Carlos Ischia. But after a series of bad results, especially the failure to qualify for the Copa Libertadores 2010 and a crushing 3-1 defeat to archrivals River Plate during a summer tournament at Mar del Plata, he resigned on 21 January 2010.
On 26 December 2011, Basile returned to Racing Club for his fourth spell as their coach, taking over from Diego Simeone.
Titles as a manager
| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Racing Club | Supercopa Sudamericana |
| 1991 | Argentina | Copa América |
| 1992 | Argentina | FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 1993 | Argentina | Artemio Franchi Trophy |
| 1993 | Argentina | Copa América |
| 2005 | Boca Juniors | Recopa Sudamericana |
| Apertura 2005 | Boca Juniors | Primera Division Argentina |
| 2005 | Boca Juniors | Copa Sudamericana |
| Clausura 2006 | Boca Juniors | Primera Division Argentina |
| 2006 | Boca Juniors | Recopa Sudamericana |