January 17 – Â¡Feliz CumpleaÃ±os El Filtrador!

Guillermo StÃ¡bile’s 1957 Copa AmÃ©rica winning Argentina side

MOST forwards are pretty darn chuffed if they manage a strike rate of a goal every two games but today we are featuring a player who scored two goals for every game he played for his country.

Guillermo StÃ¡bile is that man and it was on this day in 1905 that he was born in Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

Apart from his terrific strike rate StÃ¡bile’s other big claim to fame is that he was top scorer at the first ever world cup held in Uruguay in 1930.

His eight goals at the tournament came in only four games after he was left out of the side for Argentina’s opening match against France. He also scored in the final to give his team a 2-1 lead at half time before they were beaten 4-2 by Uruguay.

StÃ¡bile’s nickname was El Filtrador which translates as ‘The Creeper’ or ‘The Infiltrator’ after his ability to sneak in undetected behind the opposition’s defence. Possibly the coolest nickname in football.

Having never played for the national team before, StÃ¡bile was an unexpeted hero for the Argentines but he never played for his country again after the competition in Uruguay meaning his record read: played four, scored eight.

After the tournament he took advantage of his new found fame and moved to Italy to play for Genoa. Continuing his habit of making an impact he scored a hattrick on his debut against rivals Bologna to become an instant fan favourite.

After five years at Genoa El Filtrador preceeded another Argentine great by moving to Napoli before he finished his playing days in France with Red Star Paris.

Far from the unknown amateur who sat on the bench at that first match in the 1930 world cup, by 1939 StÃ¡bile a much respected figure in the game and was given the top job as manager of the Argentine national side. He went on to win six Copa AmÃ©rica titles with the team with his 1957 title winning team in particular lauded as one of the best sides ever to play the beautiful game.

The old infiltrator got out of the football game in 1960 and died six years later aged only 61.

Here is the big man scoring in the 1930 final and come back tomorrow to find out why you won’t find many former footballers running pubs or becoming plasterers anymore.