Alberto Gallardo

Felix Alberto Gallardo was a Peruvian footballer and manager who moved to Lima with his family at age nine. He signed for the club Mariscal Castilla, after being observed by some managers in a match played by his school in the city of Huacho. Mariscal Castilla was the surprise club of the 1959 Peruvian Championship, finishing third, and Gallardo’s performance earned him a call to Sporting Cristal and to the Peruvian national football team that competed at the 1960 Roma Olympics.

Gallardo played for Sporting Cristal Lima, and then A.C. Milan, who bought him in the summer of 1964 to send him immediately to Cagliari Calcio, where he played two seasons, 1964-65 and 1965-66, playing 40 matches, and scoring four goals. He later played for Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras and again Sporting Cristal until 1975. Hallardo earned 37 caps and scored 11 goals for the Peruvian national side from 1963-72 and played in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, where he scored two goals, one against Bulgaria and one in the quarter-final against Brazil.

Gallardo later became a coach, leading clubs such as Sporting Cristal (winning the 1988 Primera Divisiòn), Uniòn Hural, Guardia Republicana, and Alcides Vigo.