Argentina loses a legend

Argentine football is in mourning for the late Miguel Angel Russo

- Joel Richards reports

As a player, he was a one-club man. As a coach, with more than 1,000 games at 16 clubs in eight countries spanning over three decades, he was respected and admired. Winning the 2007 Copa Libertadores with Boca Juniors placed him in the pantheon of Argentine and South American football greats. In October, Miguel Angel Russo died of prostate cancer at the age of 69.

Emotive tributes poured in and a minute's silence was observed at grounds across the country after news broke of his passing. The day after the funeral, his son Ignacio, a young striker at Tigre, finished off a counterattack to score in the league match against Newell's Old Boys. Ignacio lifted his shirt to point to a tattoo, which read: “todo se cura con amor” - “love heals everything”. Boca Juniors legend... tributes are paid to Miguel Angel Russo at the Bombonera It is a quote from his father when he first started treatment for his illness.

"I took the decision to play because he would have wanted me to," said the 24-year-old forward, moved by the reaction from his fellow professionals and from supporters. "I didn't realise what my father meant to people"

Russo was perhaps not viewed as a master tactician or someone who brought radical innovation to the game. He made teams, he knew how to handle players, and he knew how to manage pressure. He left a unique imprint wherever he went.

RUSSO THE PLAYER

Over the course of 14 seasons, Russo played more than 400 games for Estudiantes de la Plata. He won the 1982 Metropolitano title and the 1983 Nacional as captain alongside the likes of Alejandro Sabella, who would go on to coach Argentina to the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.