Feature: Most successful Argentinean in Copa America is not Messi or Maradona

In Argentina's school textbooks, his name doesn't appear anywhere. When children play football in the park, none of them wear a shirt with his name on it. Even grandparents have forgotten his name because a lot of them never saw him play. However, before Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Alfredo Di Stefano there was an even greater Argentinean player and later coach - Guillermo Stabile.

Born in the Parque Patricios area of Buenos Aires in 1905, Guillermo Stabile began his football career with local club Sportivo Metan and then moved to Huracan in 1920 playing for the first team by 1924.

In this chapter in history, football wasn't classed as a professional, it was still very much on the amateur side of things however Huracan was classed as an elite team in Argentina at that time according to international football website Goal.

Stabile wasn't called on to play for his country until 1930 for the first ever FIFA World Cup in Uruguay where, despite his superfluous talent, he only made the reserves list.

He didn't play in the first match of the competition against France but got lucky before the second match against Mexico when Argentina's then top-striker, Roberto Cherro, couldn't play due to an anxiety attack.

The match ended 6-3 to Argentina with Stabile scoring a hat-trick in his debut which was thought for a long time to have been the very first World Cup hat-trick until FIFA declared in 2006 (76 years later) that the actual first hat-trick had been scored by Bert Patenaude for the United States two days before Stabile's.

With the help of Stabile and his goal-scoring abilities, Argentina made it through to the final against hosts Uruguay.

Even though Argentina lost the match 4-2 with Stabile scoring the second goal, Stabile had made history. He became the top scorer in the first ever FIFA World Cup with eight goals in four matches.

Although he never played for his country again, it turned out that he scored in every game he played.

After his World Cup success, Stabile moved to Europe where he played for professional teams Genoa for five years, Napoli and then Red Star Paris.

Upon retiring, Stabile got involved in football managing and it is there that he was able to win many titles.

He coached Argentina to win the Copa America (formerly known as the South American Championship) seven times in 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957 and 1959.

He managed the country in 44 matches during the tournament making him the manager who has coached in the most Copa America matches.

In total he coached the national team in 123 official matches with 83 victories. This made him one of the few coaches in history with over 100 matches in charge.

In between campaigns he took time out to coach local teams Huracan (where he began his career), Ferro and Racing.

Retiring from coaching in 1960 at 55 years old, Stabile accepted a position at the Argentine national school of football managing where he stayed until his death in 1966.

Even though his name no longer appears in school textbooks, Stabile was immortalized in the film "Ball" ("Pelota") directed by Leopoldo Torres Rios where he plays the part of himself therefore he will never be completely forgotten. Endite