Manuel Fleitas Solich

Manuel Fleitas Solich
Personal information
Full name	Manuel Agustín Fleitas Solich
Date of birth	30 December 1900
Place of birth	Asunción, Paraguay
Date of death	24 March 1984 (aged 83)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1918–1926	Club Nacional
1927–1931	Boca Juniors
1931	Racing Club
1932–1933	Platense
1933	Talleres (RE)
1933–1936	Boca Juniors
International career
1919–1926	Paraguay
Managerial career
1922–1929	Paraguay
1932	Lanús
1933	Newell's Old Boys
1934–1935	Quilmes
1936	Talleres (RE)
1937	Lanús
1937–1938	Club Nacional
1939	Paraguay
1940–1941	River Plate
1942	Olimpia
1942	Paraguay
1943–1944	Libertad
1944-1945	Newell's Old Boys
1945–1946	Paraguay
1946	Lanús
1947	Quilmes
1947–1953	Paraguay
1953–1957	Flamengo
1958–1959	Flamengo
1959–1960	Real Madrid
1960–1962	Flamengo
1962	Corinthians
1962	Fluminense
1966	Palmeiras
1967–1968	Atlético Mineiro
1970–1971	Bahia
1971	Flamengo
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel Agustín Fleitas Solich (30 December 1900 – 24 March 1984) was a Paraguayan football player and coach. He was known as "El Brujo" (the Wizard).

Career as a player

Fleitas Solich played for Club Nacional of Paraguay where he won two Paraguayan League titles, in 1924 and 1926. He also played for Boca Juniors where as the captain of the team he led them to the 1930 Argentine title. During his time at Boca he played 99 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 15 goals. He suffered an injury in 1930 and never recovered to his full ability.

In Argentina he also played for clubs such as Racing Club, Platense and Talleres (RE).

While playing for the Paraguay national football team, Solich had 32 caps and 6 goals.

Career as a coach

Solich's career as a coach proved to be impressive as he led the Paraguay national team to a final in the 1947 Copa América and won the 1953 tournament (which was the first Copa América ever won by Paraguay). He also coached the Paraguay national team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. At the club level coached several Brazilian clubs such as Palmeiras, Corinthians, Atlético,^[2] Fluminense and Flamengo, being this last club where he won several titles. In Europe, Solich coached Real Madrid for seven months of the 1959–1960 season, where he led the Spanish team to 21 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses.^[3] He also coached the Peru national football team, Newell's Old Boys, Quilmes, Club Libertad and his beloved Club Nacional.

Managerial statistics

Team	Nation	From	To	Record
Team	Nation	From	To	G	W	D	L	Win %
Paraguay	Paraguay	1922	1929	40	13	6	21	32.5
Lanús	Argentina	1932	1932	37	8	7	22	21.62
Quilmes	Argentina	1934	1935	64	16	12	36	25
Talleres (RE)	Argentina	1936	1936	34	7	5	22	20.59
Lanús	Argentina	1937	1937	34	13	6	15	38.24
Paraguay	Paraguay	1939	1939	5	2	0	3	40
Olimpia	Paraguay	1942	1942	18	9	5	4	50
Libertad	Paraguay	1943	1944	34	24	6	6	50
Paraguay	Paraguay	1945	1946	9	3	1	5	33.33
Lanús	Argentina	1946	1946	30	8	10	12	26.67
Quilmes	Argentina	1947	1947	38	23	8	7	60.53
Paraguay	Paraguay	1947	1953	28	15	7	6	53.57
Flamengo	Brazil	1953	1957	276	175	47	54	63.41
Flamengo	Brazil	1958	1959	90	53	18	19	58.89
Real Madrid	Spain	1959	1960	30	21	5	4	70
Flamengo	Brazil	1960	1962	99	59	18	22	59.6
Fluminense	Brazil	1962	1962	12	9	0	3	75
Corinthians	Brazil	1962	1962	17	9	4	4	52.94
Palmeiras	Brazil	1966	1966	31	20	5	6	64.52
Atlético Mineiro	Brazil	1967	1968	76	42	19	15	55.26
Bahia	Brazil	1970	1971	32	15	10	7	46.88
Flamengo	Brazil	1971	1971	39	13	17	9	33.33
Total				1,079	559	222	303	51.81