Dante Pesce


José Dante Pesce Figueroa, known as Dante Pesce, was a Chilean football player and manager who played as a forward. Besides Chile, he played in Ecuador.

Career

As player

A forward from the Universidad de Chile youth system, Pesce made his debut on 29 April 1950 in a 4–3 win against Universidad Católica, scoring the first goal. In 1954, he was loaned to Ecuadorian side Liga de Quito, scoring a goal in the first official match in the club history. He and his compatriot Carlos Arce became the first Chileans to play for them before players such as Pedro Pérez, Adolfo Ovalle, Edson Puch, among others.
Back in Chile, he played for Green Cross until 1960 and Universidad Católica in the 1961 Copa Chile Green Cross, scoring two goals in the final match.

As manager

He developed his career in Chile. Subsequently, his retirement, he began coaching Green Cross in the top division. In that division, he also led San Luis, Unión Española, Deportes La Serena, O'Higgins and Lota Schwager.
In the second division, he led Iberia, Coquimbo Unido, Palestino, Audax Italiano, Deportes La Serena, Santiago Wanderers and Provincial Osorno.
At youth level, he worked in the systems of Green Cross, Universidad de Chile and Deportes La Serena. In 1963, he also coached a youth team made up by players from clubs in the Asociación Central de Fútbol in a national championship in Arica.
In addition, he served as assistant in Universidad Católica in 1965 and was the third manager of Concepción-Lord, later Deportes Concepción, in the 1965 regional championship.

Personal life

He made an appearance in the 1988 German film Der Radfahrer vom San Cristóbal by Peter Lilienthal, about a cyclist in the context of the Chilean society in the 1980s.
He suffered the Alzheimer's disease and died on 23 June 2013.

Legacy

Pesce was a founder member of the Association of Football Managers in Chile alongside coaches such as Fernando Riera, Hugo Tassara, José Santos Arias, among others.
As a football coach of Deportes La Serena, he is considered a forefather of football academies in La Serena.