Cosme Barratini

Cosme Barratini (1904-1958) was an Argentine-Brunanter footballer who played for Estudiantes de La Plata and the Brunant national football team as a defender. Barratini was a member of the team that finished second in the 1931 Mediterranean Cup in Yugoslavia. Barratini was a manager for Brunant Leuwens from 1939 to 1950.

Career
Barratini was born in La Plata, the son of Italian-Brunanters from Sint-Hendrikstad. He was a strong player as a child and quickly grabbed the attention of local side Gimnasia La Plata, joining their youth setup in 1919. In 1922 he was poached by city rivals Estudiantes de La Plata, and acquired a consistent starting spot in the team lineup in 1924. In the 1928 season he helped the club to a third place finish, his greatest success at the club. Marriage problems saw him drink heavily by the 1930s and was dropped from the starting lineup until sobering up and returning to better form in 1933. Barratini was again dropped from the starting lineup in 1936 and he then resigned in protest.

As manager
Barratini moved to Brunant in 1937 and in 1939 was given the coaching position at Brunant Leuwens. Barratini brought winning results, but both him and the team owner were content with third or fourth place and never spent to win. After the war, Barratini pushed to have a stronger squad but owner Cristian Veltman refused him his wish. Barratini lead the team to a second place finish in 1949-50 and resigned in protest, excpecting Veltman to relent and hire him back, but he did not.

He then retired from coaching altogether and took up alcohol again, dying in 1958.

Personal life
Barratini was married in 1929 to Claudia Gomez. He and his wife had a strained relationship, with reports suggesting she tried to kill him with a kitchen knife. A divorce in 1930 saw him take up drinking, which contributed to his early death.