Darío Pereyra

Darío Pereyra
Personal information
Full name	Alfonso Darío Pereyra Bueno
Date of birth	20 October 1956 (age 68)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Club Nacional de Football
Senior career*
Years	Team
1975–1977	Nacional
1977–1988	São Paulo
1988	Flamengo
1989	Palmeiras
1990–1992	Matsushita Electronic
International career
1975–1986	Uruguay
Managerial career
1997–1998	São Paulo
1998	Coritiba
1999	Atlético Mineiro
2000	Guarani
2001	Corinthians
2003	Paysandu
2003	Grêmio
2004	Portuguesa
2012	Arapongas
2013	Vila Nova
2014–???	Águia de Marabá
Medal record
Representing Uruguay
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alfonso Darío Pereyra Bueno (born 19 October 1956) is a Uruguayan former football player. Having played as a midfielder for Club Nacional de Football in his home country, he reached stardom playing for São Paulo FC as a centre-back along with Oscar. He is still remembered and revered as one of the best centre-backs in the history of Brazilian football.

Legend has it that, whilst returning from a victory in an away match that crowned São Paulo the Brazilian champions, he wouldn't understand what the fuss was all about, but the supporters would not let him sleep. He had won a few times the national championship in Uruguay, so he felt that winning the Brazilian championship was nothing special. He later realized how difficult it is to win a Brazilian National title. It had been the first time São Paulo F.C. won that championship.

Career

Playing career

Darío Pereyra started his career at the Nacional de Montevideo and debuted at the Uruguay national squad when he was only 18, becoming the captain of the national team at 19. After having scored 14 goals in 34 matches for the Nacional, São Paulo F.C. hired him on 17 October 1977 for 5 million cruzeiros, the second largest sum to be ever paid for a player at the time in Brazil.^[3] He arrived at the Congonhas airport wearing a São Paulo jersey, and was received warmly by the supporters of that team.^[4] Pereyra was not able to play immediately after his arrival, for he did not have the necessary documentation to do so. In December 1977, Real Madrid CF made an offer that could have cut his São Paulo career short, but the player was not interested in playing in Spain at that particular time.^[5]

Throughout his time at São Paulo, he and Oscar, who was also a centre-back, became a line of defence that is frequently remembered as one of the best in that club's history.^[6] He played a total of 451 matches in that club, scoring 38 goals. After the 1988 São Paulo state championship, Pereyra has transferred to Flamengo, where he played only 11 matches. After that, he was hired by Palmeiras in early 1989, when he was already 32. In the following year, he played for two years at Gamba Osaka, then called Matsushita Electronic, where he would end his playing career.

Darío Pereyra also made regular appearances in the Uruguay national team, and has played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.^[7]

Managerial career

Darío was an assistant manager at São Paulo when he took over the interim manager position in 1997, succeeding manager Muricy Ramalho. Under his management, São Paulo shook off a weak campaign in the São Paulo State Championship, but the team only obtained the vice-championship title and a 13th position in the Campeonato Brasileiro. After 1998, Pereyra was replaced by manager Nelsinho Baptista.

On 3 October 1998, Pereyra was the fifth manager to take up Coritiba in that very year. However, he managed to lead the team to six victories and five draws in 13 matches. At the end of the 1998 Brazilian championship, he managed Atlético Mineiro, where he eventually obtained the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1999.

Personal life

Pereyra is currently employed by football marketing company Traffic in Brazil as a supervisor responsible for discovering talented, young football players.^[8]^[9]

Director of Football

2007: Avaí

Honours

Club

São Paulo

Individual

Bola de Prata: 1981, 1983, 1986

References

^ "Prorrogação de contrato aproxima 'era Muricy' dos 'anos Telê'". Esporte UOL. 1 February 2008.
^ Tabelão 98 Placar, 23/9–26 October 1998, Editora Abril, págs. 2–3
^ "Contusão invisível", Placar magazine issue 450, 8 December 1978, Editora Abril, pg. 33
^ "Chegou!". Jornal da Tarde, 18 October 1977
^ "Dario chegou, para felicidade de todos". Jornal da Tarde, 5 December 1977, Edição de Esportes, pg. 9
^ Alexandre da Costa, Almanaque do São Paulo Placar. Editora Abril, 2005, pg. 382
^ Darío Pereyra Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
^ Darío Pereyra, um ‘espião’ uruguaio nos treinamentos da seleção da África do Sul. Globo.com. 27 March 2010.
^ Chefe na Traffic, Darío Pereyra não quer voltar a treinar. Portal Terra. 15 February 2009.

[1] "Prorrogação de contrato aproxima 'era Muricy' dos 'anos Telê'". Esporte UOL. 1 February 2008.

[2] Tabelão 98 Placar, 23/9–26 October 1998, Editora Abril, págs. 2–3

[3] "Contusão invisível", Placar magazine issue 450, 8 December 1978, Editora Abril, pg. 33

[4] "Chegou!". Jornal da Tarde, 18 October 1977

[5] "Dario chegou, para felicidade de todos". Jornal da Tarde, 5 December 1977, Edição de Esportes, pg. 9

[6] Alexandre da Costa, Almanaque do São Paulo Placar. Editora Abril, 2005, pg. 382

[7] Darío Pereyra Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 27 January 2010.

[8] Darío Pereyra, um ‘espião’ uruguaio nos treinamentos da seleção da África do Sul. Globo.com. 27 March 2010.

[9] Chefe na Traffic, Darío Pereyra não quer voltar a treinar. Portal Terra. 15 February 2009.

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