Chris Wildgoose | Sports Journalist

Ten years ago, on Friday 3 November 2006, football lost a true legend. Alberto Spencer sadly passed away aged 68 after suffering a heart attack. For those unfamiliar with South American football, Alberto Pedro Spencer Herrera, known as Cábeza Mágica – “Magic Head” in Spanish – is the all-time top scorer in the Copa Libertadores, with 54 goals in 87 appearances.

The Copa Libertadores is the most prestigious club competition in Latin American football, and Spencer was part of the Club Atlético Peñarol side that won the first tournament in 1960. As well as scoring in the first leg of the final, the striker netted seven times, including a brace against Argentinean outfit San Lorenzo in the semi-final play-off.

His glittering career began as a 15-year-old at Club Deportivo Everest, an Ecuadorian club based in the city of Guayaquil, where he amassed over 100 goals between 1953 and 1959. Then-Uruguayan champions Peñarol scouted Spencer while playing on loan for Barcelona Sporting Club in Ecuador and moved quickly to secure his services in 1960.

Cábeza Mágica enjoyed ten incredible years with Peñarol and claimed seven Primera División titles, his last coming in 1968. Four of those seasons with Manyas were spent under the management of legendary former Uruguay goalkeeper Roque Máspoli, who was a World Cup winner in 1950.

In 1966, Peñarol claimed a third Copa Libertadores crown with a 4-2 play-off victory over Argentinean giants River Plate, with both sides winning a respective leg initially (2-0 and 3-2). Spencer scored twice in the finale to take his tally to six for the tournament, some way short of River’s Daniel Onega who amassed an incredible 17 goals – a record that has never been surpassed.

Later that year, Peñarol beat Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup final 4-0 on aggregate with Spencer scoring three goals. It was the second time the Uruguayan side had won the competition following the 1961 triumph over Portuguese giants Benfica – a side containing Eusebio, José Águas, José Augusto and Joaquim Santana.

Spencer’s performances in South America had drawn the attention of a number of top European clubs, most notably Inter Milan. However, Spencer rebuffed the approaches and Peñarol managed to keep hold of their prized asset.

Most interesting, perhaps, is Spencer’s dual nationality. The striker played simultaneously for Ecuador and Uruguay between 1964 and 1967 and became the first Ecuadorian to score at Wembley when England beat Uruguay 2-1 in 1964. West Ham United’s Johnny Byrne scored both goals for the Three Lions.

Uruguay had hoped to persuade Cábeza Mágica to become a full citizen in order to compete at the 1966 World Cup, but Spencer turned down the offer, stating that his loyalties lay with Ecuador. Unfortunately, his goal scoring exploits were not enough to help his home nation qualify for the tournament as Ecuador lost 2-1 to Chile in a play-off match.

In 2004, he was ranked 20th as South American Player of the Century in a poll by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) and also voted Ecuadorian Player of the Century by the same body. His six goals in the Intercontinental Cup is just one shy of Pelé, although the Brazil legend amassed his total of seven in just three games compared to Spencer’s six.

His career spanned almost two decades and was trophy laden: seven Primera División titles, three Copa Libertadores crowns, two Intercontinental Cup triumphs and a La Liga (Ecuador) title with Barcelona in 1971. Spencer finished as the Primera División top scorer four times while at Peñarol and was the Copa Libertadores top scorer in 1960 and 1962.

Incidentally, the next top goal scorers in Copa Libertadores history – Fernando Morena (37) and Pedro Rocha (36) – both played for Peñarol.

Following his death, Estadio Modelo, a 42,000 seater multi-purpose stadium in Guayaquil was renamed Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera. A fitting testament to a true football legend.