He wanted to be an pilot, but he couldn't make it because of his color blindness. Unlike his friends, he was never attracted by football and he preferred water polo and hockey instead, which he used to practice at River Plate, a few blocks away from his home. He started to practice drums driven by his father Tito Alberti. By 1981, Charly met the two men who became his bandmates for 15 years: Gustavo Cerati and Hector "Zeta" Bosio, together they formed Soda Stereo, one of the most prominent and influential Argentine rock bands of the last two decades.