Osvaldo Ardiles

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Osvaldo Ardiles
Personal information
Full name Osvaldo César Ardiles
Date of birth August 3, 1952 (1952-08-03) (age 55)
Place of birth    Bell Ville, Argentina
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Retired
Youth clubs
Instituto de Córdoba
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1973
1974
1975–1978
1978–1988
1982–1983
1985
1988
1988–89
1989–91
Instituto de Córdoba
Belgrano
Huracán
Tottenham Hotspur
Paris Saint Germain (loan)
St George Saints (loan)
Blackburn Rovers
Queens Park Rangers
Swindon Town
Total
014 0(3)
016 0(2)
113 (11)
221 (16)
014 0(1)
001 0(0)
005 0(0)
008 0(0)
002 0(0)
376 (32)   
National team2
1973–1982 Argentina 063 0(8)
Teams managed
1989–1991
1991–1992
1992–1993
1993–1994
1995
1996–1998
1999
2000–2001
2001
2002–2003
2003–2005
2006
2007
2008
Swindon Town
Newcastle United
West Bromwich Albion
Tottenham Hotspur
Chivas de Guadalajara
Shimizu S-Pulse
Croatia Zagreb
Yokohama F. Marinos
Al-Ittihad
Racing Club
Tokyo Verdy 1969
Beitar Jerusalem
Club Atlético Huracán
Cerro Porteño

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 07:47, 15 December 2006 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 07:48, 15 December 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Osvaldo César Ardiles (born August 3, 1952 in Córdoba Province) commonly known as Ossie Ardiles is a football coach and former midfielder who won the 1978 World Cup as part of the Argentinian national team.

A competitive and skilled midfielder, he became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddle and compatriot Ricardo Villa, as a player for Tottenham Hotspur. He notably left England for a period as a result of the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982, thus missing most of the 1982–83 season.

As manager of Tottenham in the mid-1990s, he famously played several matches utilizing a formation that had five forwards, a formation that hadn't been used in English football since the 1950s, which "Ossie" (or "Pitón", as he is affectively known in his native country) mainly used because of Tottenham's perceived defensive weakness.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Playing career

As a youngster, Ardiles played football in the streets and was given the nickname "Pitón" (python) by his brother because of his snake-like dribbling skills.[1] He began his professional career in Argentina with Instituto de Córdoba, playing also for Club Atlético Belgrano and Huracán. After the 1978 World Cup he moved to England to play for Tottenham where he spent four seasons. During that time he helped Spurs to win the FA Cup twice 1981 and 82, along with the UEFA Cup in 1984. After that he joined Paris Saint Germain, playing one season at the French club. He then returned to Tottenham, where he stayed until 1988. He then played for Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town F.C., before becoming a coach.

On 7 February 2008 Ossie Ardiles, along with his fellow countryman Ricky Villa, was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame.[2]


[edit] Management career

In July 1989, Osvaldo Ardiles moved into football management with second division Swindon Town when Lou Macari resigned to join West Ham in July 1989. He wowed fans by replacing the long ball style which had been so successful with a new "Samba style", which saw the Town playing attractive attacking football. Part of this change was the new "diamond formation" which Ardiles implemented - a 4-4-2 style with left-sided, right-sided, attacking and defensive midfielders.

Just ten months after he had joined, Ardiles led the Town to their highest ever league position - finishing fourth in the second division. After beating Blackburn in the first leg of the Play-Off semi-final, the fans paid tribute with a tickertape reception in the second leg - recreating the atmosphere of the 1978 World Cup, in which Ardiles had starred. Swindon went on to win promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history - beating Sunderland in the Play-Off Final - only to have the promotion cruelly taken from them ten days later, when the Football League demoted them for irregular payments to players.

The following season, Ardiles was told to sell to keep the club alive - and Wembley hero Alan McLoughlin was the first big-money departure. With Swindon obviously rocked by their pre-season nightmare, their form deserted them, and opposition clubs seemed to come to terms with the Town's style of play. By the end of February, relegation threatened, and when Newcastle offered Ardiles the chance to become their new boss, he accepted. But his time on Tyneside was not a success and he lasted 12 months in the job before being sacked, with the Magpies bottom of the second division - though they achieved safety under his successor Kevin Keegan.

Ardiles was not out of work for long. In June 1992 he replaced Bobby Gould as manager of West Bromwich Albion, who had just missed out on the third division playoffs in 1991–92. At the end of the 1992–93 season, Ardiles guided Albion to victory over Port Vale in the Division Two playoff final. Shortly afterwards he walked out of the Hawthorns to return his former club Tottenham as manager, but his management spell was nowhere near as successful as his spell as a player. Tottenham finished 15th in the Premiership and despite the expensive acquisition of Jürgen Klinsmann, Ilie Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Popescu in the 1994 close season, Ardiles was sacked in October 1994 with Tottenham battling relegation. They had just been punished for financial irregularities committed during the late 1980s: with a 1-year FA Cup ban, £600,000 fine and 12 league points deducted. The punishment was later amended to a £1.5million fine and six points deducted but the FA Cup ban and points deduction were later quashed.

Ardiles became coach of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos in January 2000, but was sacked in June 2001 following a poor start to the season.[3] From 2003 to 2005 he coached Tokyo Verdy 1969, with whom he won the 2004 Emperor's Cup. But in July 2005 he was fired due to the poor performance of the team, who finished second bottom in the league.[4] In mid-2006 he moved to Israel to coach Beitar Jerusalem FC, from which he was fired October 18, 2006. After a small break he was appointed Club Atlético Huracán manager in his native Argentina in September 2007, he steered the club to 7th in the table before resigning at the end of the Apertura 2007.

[edit] Career chronology

[edit] Honours

[edit] Statistics


Club Performance League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup Total
1973 Instituto 14 3
1974 Belgrano 16 2
1975 Huracán
1976
1977
1978
England League FA Cup Total
1978-79 Tottenham Hotspur First Division 38 3
1979-80 40 3
1980-81 36 5
1981-82 26 2
1982-83 2 0
France League Coupe de France Total
1982-83 Paris Saint-Germain Division 1 14 1
England League FA Cup Total
1983-84 Tottenham Hotspur First Division 9 0
1984-85 11 2
1985-86 23 1
1986-87 25 0
1987-88 28 0
1987-88 Blackburn Rovers Second Division 5 0
1988-89 Queens Park Rangers First Division 8 0
1989-90 Swindon Town Second Division 2 0
1990-91 0 0
Total Argentina 143 16
England 253 16
France 14 1
Career Total 410 33

[edit] Facts

[edit] References

  1. ^ Allen, Matt (April 2008), “One-on-One - Ossie Ardiles”, FourFourTwo (Haymarket Group): pp12–16 
  2. ^ THFC- Hall of Fame 08-02_2008
  3. ^ "Ardiles axed as Yokohama coach", BBC Sport, 2001-06-02. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  4. ^ "Ardiles sacked by Japanese side", BBC Sport, 2005-07-19. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  5. ^ 1978 FIFA World Cup squads#Argentina
  6. ^ 1982 FIFA World Cup squads#Argentina

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Brazil João Carlos
J. League Manager of the Year
1998
Succeeded by
Flag of England Steve Perryman