Born in
Chacabuco, Buenos Aires to
Lebanese Argentine immigrants, he was affiliated to Boca Juniors since his youth. He worked as a
construction laborer, and eventually became a prosperous businessman as the proprietor of the Alegre Pavement Company. Fond of
ping pong, his affable manner helped earn him the friendship of numerous important figures in Argentine politics, including
UCR leader (and future President)
Raúl Alfonsín,
Peronist lawmaker
Antonio Cafiero, and numerous members of the
CGT trade union. Appointed director of the
Buenos Aires Province bureau of the National Nutritional Plan by the newly elected President Alfonsín, Consequently, Boca, the winners of the
Copa Intercontinental and the
Copa Libertadores de América in 1977-78, had by
1984 been relegated to 16th place over the 19
Primera División teams at the time. Alegre settled 153 lawsuits early in his tenure by mortgaging his business assets for US$250,000, and by lending Boca Juniors US$800,000. These and other measures enabled him to recover the club's finances, however La Bombonera stadium did not show any sign of improvement. The team invested increasingly large sums to acquire players who could strengthen the team, of whom few would remain, however; among his best investments was that of
Carlos Fernando Navarro Montoya, who would play for Boca in 396 games, and was instrumental in number of the team's titles in that era. Alegre also stepped up efforts to acquire players from lower divisions, and among these a number became important contributors. These included
Diego Latorre, Walter Pico, and
Rodolfo Arruabarrena. Alegre and Heller were defeated by
Mauricio Macri on December 3, 1995, and the Alegre-Heller administration stepped down. After their departure, the club won various titles including several Copa Libetadores, Intercontinental trophies and League titles. The treasurer during their last term,
Pedro Pompilio, was elected president of the team following Macri's election as Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2007, and both the late Pedro Pompilio and his successor,
Jorge Amor Ameal, who was also part of the Alegre's management board, continued Alegre's policy of acquiring players from less prominent teams. ==References==