 A young Ferreyra c. 1924 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1909-02-12)12 February 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Rufino,Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 22 May 1972(1972-05-22) (aged 63) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1927–1932 | Tigre | 43 | (45) |
| 1930–1931 | →Vélez Sársfield (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1932–1939 | River Plate | 185 | (187) |
| International career | |||
| 1930–1937 | Argentina | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bernabé Ferreyra (12 February 1909 – 22 May 1972) was anArgentineassociation footballforward. He was one of the first professional players inArgentine football to reach great popularity, to the point that he had a movie biography. Ferreyra ranks 6th among theall-time Primera División top scorers,[1] with an average of almost 1 goal per match (233/234).[2][3] At the end of his active career in 1939, Ferryra had achieved a record of having more goals than matches played.[4]
Throughout his career he was known as"El Mortero de Rufino" ("themortar of Rufino" referring to the tremendous potency of his shot),[4][5] due to his capacity as a striker and his strong kick. He was also known asLa Fiera (the fierce).[4] It is said that this nickname was born when Hugo Marini (a journalist for Crítica) overheard a conversation between an old man and a boy, in which the old man said "He's not a man. He's a beast" while referring to Ferreyra.[6]
With his 1932 transfer toRiver Plate, he became the first association football player in history to be transferred for more than £1 million in modern money terms (£23 000 GBP or £1,328,431.76 in 2023)[7]
Ferreyra was born in the city ofRufino,Santa Fe Province.[8] Since early age Ferreyra chose football as his main activity, leaving school behind. Besides, he was expelled from school at 11 years old due to he used to escape to play in a field next to it. When his mother realised that Bernabé abandoned school, she sent him to live with his uncle.[4]
His debut in football was at 14 years old in Jorge Newbery, a local club from his home town where he scored 24 goals in 22 matches. At the age of 18 he went to Club Atlético Buenos Aires al Pacífico, a club formed by workers ofBuenos Aires and Pacific Railway based inJunín. With Bernabé in the team, CABAP won the Liga Juninense championship beatingClub Atlético Sarmiento in the final.[4]
His senior career started in 1926 playing forNewell's Old Boys, playing three matches there before returning to his home town. One year later he tried atTalleres de Remedios de Escalada but was not chosen to stay with the team. His next team wasTigre, that was playing in Primera División by then. Ferreyra debuted in Tigre in 1929 in a friendly match vEl Porvenir, scoring four goals.[4]
He was given on loan toHuracán for a tour to Brazil, where he played eight matches scoring 11 goals. Between 1930 and 1931, Tigre loaned him for free toVélez Sársfield, to play with the club during their Pan-American tour. (strikerFrancisco Varallo was also loaned byGimnasia y Esgrima LP).[9] He scored 38 goals with the team during the tour.[9][10] During the tour, goalkeeper of PeruvianSport Boys collapsed on the pitch after a shot by Ferreyra hit his face, causing him aconcussion.[4]
In 1932, Ferreyra was transferred from Tigre toRiver Plate for a record transfer fee of $50,000, the first time the world record fee was broken outside theUnited Kingdom.[11][12] He kept this record for a total of 17 year –the longest unbroken time period for this record. Due to the huge amount of money paid for Ferreyra's trading –along withCarlos Peucelle's one year before–, earned River Plate the nicknameMillonarios ("Millionaires") that has remained until present days.[4][13] The magazineCaras y Caretas (Argentina) published that the amount paid for Ferreyra's trading was the equivalent to the cost of 11 luxury cars, 5,000 pairs of shoes, and 514 suits (all of first quality).[4]
His first match with River was on 13 March 1932 againstChacarita Juniors. River won 3–1 and Ferreyra scored 2 goals. Bernabé played a total of 185 matches for River, scoring 187 goals, with an average of 1.01 goal per game. He won 3Primera División titles, all of them in River Plate (1932,1936 and1937). In the 1932 season he was the top scorer with 43 goals. This also gave him the title of top scorer in South America.[14] His fame and striking strength was such that the newspaperCrítica gave a prize to the firstgoalkeeper that played Ferreyra without receiving a goal.[15] The prize was awarded to Cándido De Nicola of Huracán (despite still suffering one goal in a 1–1 draw).
Ferreyra's shot was so strong thatIndependiente goalkeeper,Fernando Bello, injured his two wrists after stopping a penalty kick by him. With each passing match, Ferreyra was nicknamed different ways, such asCañonero (Cannonade),Rompe redes (Nets breaker), and alsoBalazo (gunshot) when he started scoring from a distance of 40 meters.[4]
River Plate won the1932 championship with 84 goals scored, 43 scored by Ferreyra.[16]
Ferreyra finished his career prematurely due to the frequent injuries caused by his rivals. His last official match was on 11 May 1939 againstNewell's Old Boys, which ended 2–2 and Ferreyra did not score. He retired at the early age of 29 and never accepted being a coach. Ferreyra had also a tribute match vPeñarol atEstadio Monumental, with a high attendance.[4]
Bernabé was an exceptional player: his rivals had to work on him twice as much as with other players. For all of us, his teammates, he made things easier. But as a man, he was valued more. Bernabé earned as much money as he wanted but he was not concerned with keeping it. He gave other people a lot of money, without asking for anything in return. When he shook your hand, you could be sure that you had a friend for the rest of your life .
— José Manuel Moreno about Ferreyra
Ferreyra, alongValeriano López andArthur Friedenreich, are the only American professional footballers with an average of more than 1goal per match (including domestic and international cups).[2]
Ferreyra debuted inArgentina national football team on 25 May 1931, againstUruguay in aCopa Lipton match, although he did not play well and was criticized by journalists. His run at national team was brief although he win aCopa América with the squad in1937.
Ferreyra did not participate in anyFIFA World Cup.
He married Juanita in 1936 and had two children, Bernabé Daniel and Carlos Alberto.
Ferreyra had participations in Argentine cinema, debuting as actor in the movieEl Cañonero de Giles (1937) written and directed by Manuel Romero. The title is a parody of Ferreyra's nicknameEl Mortero de Rufino while the movie narrated, in a comical tone, the life of a footballer (Luis Sandrini) fromSan Andrés de Giles that remarkably increased the strength of his shot when hearing the barking of a dog.[17] The football scenes were filmed atRiver Plate Stadium, with Ferreyra and other players of the club making some cameos.[18]
After his retirement, Ferreyra also acted in other movies, such asEl susto que Pérez se llevó, a comedy directed by Richard Harland,HAy que casar a Ernesto (Orestes Caviglia, 1941), andLa importancia de ser ladrón (Julio Saraceni, 1944).
Argentine tangoLa Fiera, dedicated to Bernabé Ferreyra,[19] was recorded byFrancisco Canaro and his orchestra in 1932. The song was composed by Francisco Laino and Adolfo Dispagna (lyrics) and Miguel Padula and Federico Germino (music).[20]
In national football,
A player stands,
one of the most phenomenal
for being a great scorer
there is no one who can resist,
his formidable shot
has defeated many
(chorus)
Boys, be careful
thatThe Fiera is coming
Excerpt fromLa Fiera (1932),a tango dedicated to Ferreyra
In his own words:[3]
My brothers persisted in telling me I had to be the stronger shooter in town. They made me kick the ball from morning to afternoon, every day. They used to encourage me shouting: 'Harder, even harder!'
I prefer to retire from football before football retires from me
There has been great football players, but my idol isAdolfo Pedernera.[21]
— During a radio interview with José María Muñoz, 1972
'So you are "La Fiera" (The Fierce): I wanted to meet you', saidCarlos Gardel to Ferreyra, who answered: 'No, master, it is you who are "La Fiera" when singing'.[6]
— A meeting between both legends and popular idols
They should have done me the favor of waiting for me with aprisoner truck at the exit of the stadium and imprisoning me six days a week, only bringing me to the stadium on Sundays to play the match. Once it finished, imprisoning me again. In that way, I would have saved some money earned in my career.[19]
— Ferreyra during an interview with sports journalistBorocotó published in 1972
In this little notebook I register all the people who told me they had been at the stadium that evening. There was about 5,000 spectators. But according to whom told me they had attended the match, there are enough people to fill three River Plate stadiums.[19]
— Ferreyra about the match v San Lorenzo, when he scored 3 goals playing for Tigre
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| People | |
