The incredible story of the only Argentinian who led the Brazilian national team when they were two-time world champions

Nelson Ernesto Filpo Núñez is a complete stranger for the Argentine footballer. Even for many Brazilians. However, it is a missing link between Jogo Bonito and La Nuestra. Argentine by birth, he was a goalkeeper with few occasions in the First Division, he arrived asking for work in Brazilian lands and also, almost by chance and by chance, one day he led the very powerful Brazilian national team.

Now that the names of the Spanish Josep Guardiola and the Italian Carlo Ancelotti have emerged as possible replacements for Tite, the memory of the Argentine coach appears as a rarity in the rich history of the five-time world champion, who in addition to Philip Nunez, also once had a Portuguese coach, but paired with a Brazilian. Both conducted few parties. Before and after, the coaching position was always for locals.

Reconstructing Filpo Nuñez’s history as a player is not easy. He was a goalkeeper and barely played a couple of games. Born on August 19, 1920 in the city of Buenos Aires, his first club was Estudiantil Porteño, champions of the First Division in 1931 and 1934, which was still playing in the AFA at the time. The current entity of Ramos Mejía has origins in Buenos Aires, then had its field in Ciudadela Norte until he settled permanently in Ramos, but away from official football from which he disaffiliated in 1937.

Filpo Núñez was 17 when he played Estudiantil Porteño played his last year in the AFA, so he did not make his Primera debut there. His name appears only in 1942 in the Acassuso arc, which at the time played in the Second Division. On 13 June, by the 10th date of the tournament, he started in a 1-1 draw with Talleres in the Remedios de Escalada, replacing starter Antonio Musso. It was the debut and the farewell.

According to some chronicles, already in 1947, At the age of 27 he was the coach of Independiente Rivadavia de Mendoza. He has become a wanderer. He traveled through Ecuador (there he graduated as a physical trainer), Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Portugal and, thanks to his friendship with the Brazilian Tim, he settled in Brazil in the mid-1950s.

He led Cruzeiro, Guaraní de Campinas and Juabaqara, but established himself with Palmeiras, which he led in three stages (1964-65, 1968-69 and 1978-79). In 1965, by those things of fate, he officially led a match for the Brazilian national teamwho had been world champions in Sweden 1958 and Chile 1962.

However, it came from a resounding failure like the Nations Cup held in 1964, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CBD), a tournament in which Argentina was crowned champion, after winning all three matches. 2-0 to Portugal, 3-0 to Brazil and 1-0 to England).

The official coach was Vicente Feola, the same one who managed the first title in 1958. However, the CBD council decided that for the friendly match on 7 September 1965, during the celebrations for the inauguration of the Governador Magalhães Pinto stadium, the popular “Mineirão , Mengao will represent Scratch, inactive since 4 July, when the Soviet Union won 3-0 with braces from Pelé and one from Flavio.

Palmeiras changed the traditional green for Verdeamarela. The players and the coach. Y there was Filpo Nuñez, who fielded these 11 players:Waldir; Djalma Santos, Djalma Dias; Valdemar carbine, Ferrari, Dudu; Ademir Da Guía, Julinho I, Servilio II, Tupazinho and Rinaldo. Then came Picasso, Procópio, Zequinha II, Germano, Ademar Pantera and Dario. Brazil won 3-0 with goals from Rinaldo), Tupãzinho, Germano.

Before that, in 1944, the Portuguese Jorge Gomez de Lima, known as Joreca, directed two games paired with the Brazilian Flavio Costa. Two friendlies against Uruguay, both won by Brazil: 6-1 in Rio de Janeiro and 4-0 in Sao Paulo.

In 1972 he directed Libertad de Paraguay, in 1973 he returned to Argentina, hired by Lanús, who played in Prima B, and at the beginning of 1974 he arranged with Vélez Sarsfield, already in the First Division. As soon as he took office, in a note with Clarín, he said: “It happened in 1965. I was manager of Palmeiras and the whole team was named to the CBD team. I then had the honor of being the only foreign manager who led the Brazilian team In that match we beat Uruguay 3-0”.

He returned to Brazil, returned to Argentina to direct Atlanta in 1987 and died in São Paulo on March 6, 1999. He lived in the Heliópolis area of ​​São Paulo, and subsequently the community of the neighborhood, in homage, named the center after him sports center located on Rua Freire Brayner, behind District 95.