He died at the age of 80 in Barcelona, leaving a long career as a coach
A promotion to Second A with Levante and another to Second B with Premià, some of his successes
The news dyed Catalan football in mourning this Monday. The name of Roberto Alvarez Alvarez It will not sound like the youngest part of the Catalan football fans, but it is fair to remember the figure of a coach who appears with gold letters in the history of Catalan football. His heart stopped beating in Barcelona, a few months after his birthday 81 years old.
“He was one of the day laborers of Catalan football & rdquor ;. One of his friends and rivals in so many battles on dirt fields says it through tears, the also great Jaume Creixell. He was the one who alerted the fans through his social networks. Now, he mourns the death of a coach who had a long career, with a strong presence in Catalan football but also throughout Spain.
Born on October 1, 1942 in Villamartín del Sil, a small town of just over 120 inhabitants in the El Bierzo region of Leon, Roberto started out as a footballer at CD San Pedro de Ponferrada and, from there, he defended the shirts of the Cultural Leonesa, Ponferradina, Mestalla, Espanyol Fans, Europe and Badalona, among others. However, as Julià Garcia recalls in his wonderful articles about his fellow coaches, injuries forced him to hang up your boots at only 24 years old.
Roberto Álvarez, on the right, in a training session for UE Lleida
| DANI BADIA ARCHIVE
From there, a coach was forged who shone for decades and who did not give up anything, Ambitious as few and professional to the point of exhaustion, Roberto Álvarez always showed that soccer was his passion. His popular white hair was a mark of identity on all the benches he inhabited, since he formed in the early 70s in the youth academy. villarrealwhen La Cerámica was a charming El Madrigal.
From there to Sagunto Steel and his first experience as a coach in Catalan football, CF Reus in 1977. He was signed by Salvador Batlle, at that time the red and black president, to face the season in a Third Division that was no longer the third category of Spanish football, due to the birth of the now defunct Second B. He spent two seasons until in 1979 he made the leap to the Balearic Islands to direct Poblense.
Levante’s 88-89 squad, with Roberto Álvarez as coach
| RAISE YOU
His debut in Segunda B was in the Terrassa, the 80-81 season. However, after losing to the EU Lleida on matchday 6 (0-2), he was dismissed and replaced by a Miquel Vallespir, who that same season had been under him as goalkeeper and had hung up the gloves.
Precisely, the extinct EU Lleida was his next destination, in one of his longest stages on a bench. Roberto Álvarez sat on the local bench of the Camp d’Esports between 1982 and 1985, for three seasons. We talk about the time of the Amigó, Puigsolsona, Miguel Rubio, Palau, Lekumberri, Pizo Gómez and company. He was always highly appreciated in the capital of Segrià, as shown by some of the images that illustrate this report, work of the well-remembered Dani Badia, journalist for Catalunya Ràdio who left us years ago.
Dani Badia and Roberto Álvarez, journalist and coach
| DANI BADIA ARCHIVE
A new experience in poblense and another in the Teruel preceded one of the great joys of his career. In 1988 Levante bet on him and Roberto responded in a big way. The granota team was the champion of group 4 of Segunda B, with 11 points from before -when the victory was paid at 2- ahead of Ceuta and promoted to Second A. That allowed him to debut as a coach in the silver category, but His adventure ended on matchday 28, when he was relieved by Pepe Martínez. Despite this, that same campaign ended up in the Xàtiva Olympicin Second B, replacing Floro Garrido.
Palamós, Ponferradina, UDA Gramenet -in two stages-, Polideportivo Almería, again Levante, Premià and Tàrrega were his other destinations before definitively leaving his passion at the foot of the field. Of those last experiences It stands out that he went through a Premià which he took to Segunda B in the 98-99 seasoncoinciding with an anecdote that those who knew him will remember with a smile: it was a time when good Roberto, conceited like few others, decided to dye his spectacular white hair black, to the surprise of many.
Loquacious and a friend of his friends, he shared all his memories with those who talked to him until the damn Alzheimer’s began to erase his prodigious memory. Roberto Álvarez did not leave indifferent those who dealt with him and his name will always be part of the history of Catalan football. Rest in peace.