Luis Cubilla

Luis Alberto Cubilla Almeida (28 March 1940 – 3 March 2013) was a Uruguayan professional footballer and manager. He had a successful playing career winning 16 major titles. He then went on to become one of the most successful managers in South American football with 17 major titles.

Early career Also known as "El Negro", Cubilla was born in Paysandú and started his playing career in the youth team of Colón de Paysandú. In 1957 he joined Peñarol where he was part of the team that won four Uruguayan league championships, two Copa Libertadores and a Copa Intercontinental.

Career highlights In 1962 he joined FC Barcelona of Spain, where he was part of the team that won the Copa del Rey in 1963. He played 49 games and scored 12 goals with Barça.

Cubilla returned to South America in 1964 to play for River Plate of Argentina. In 1969, he returned to Uruguay joining Nacional where he won 4 more Uruguayan league titles, another Copa Libertadores, a Copa Interamericana and another Copa Intercontinental.

In the last years of his career he played for Santiago Morning of Chile and Defensor Sporting of Uruguay where he helped the club to win their first league championship and break the complete dominance of the league by Peñarol and Nacional.

Between 1959 and 1974 Cubilla played 38 games for the Uruguay national team in which he scored 11 goals. He played in three World Cups in 1962, 1970 and 1974.

Managerial career As a coach, Cubilla achieved enormous success with Olimpia of Paraguay, winning 7 international titles (among them two of the team's three Copas Libertadores) and several national championships. He also coached Nacional, Peñarol, Defensor Sporting, Danubio (all of Uruguay), Atlético Nacional of Colombia, Newell's Old Boys and River Plate of Argentina and Cerro Porteño and Club Libertad, both from Paraguay.

Between 1991 and 1993 Luis Cubilla was the head coach of the Uruguay National Team and worked together with his older brother Pedro Cubilla as his assistant coach and Alejandro Riccino as the physical trainer.

During 1994 he coached the famous Argentinean club Racing Club de Avellaneda.

In February 2007, Cubilla signed with the Ecuadorian team Barcelona de Guayaquil.

In 2010, he returned once again as a coach for Olimpia. He died, aged 72, in Asunción.

Honours

As a player

Peñarol Uruguayan Primera División: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 Copa Libertadores: 1960, 1961 Intercontinental Cup: 1961

Barcelona Copa del Rey: 1962–63

Nacional Uruguayan Primera División: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 Copa Libertadores: 1971 Intercontinental Cup: 1971 Copa Interamericana: 1971

Defensor Uruguayan Primera División: 1976

Individual IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team

As a manager

Olimpia Asunción Paraguayan Primera División: 1979, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 Copa Libertadores: 1979, 1990 Supercopa Libertadores: 1990 Recopa Sudamericana: 1990, 2003 Intercontinental Cup: 1979 Copa Interamericana: 1979

Peñarol Uruguayan Primera División: 1981