Daniel Passarella

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Daniel Passarella
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Alberto Passarella
Date of birth (1953-05-25) 25 May 1953
Place of birthChacabuco, Argentina
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Playing positionCentre back, Sweeper.
Club information
Current clubRiver Plate (president)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1971–1973Sarmiento36(9)
1974–1982River Plate226(90)
1982–1986Fiorentina109(26)
1986–1988Internazionale44(9)
1988–1989River Plate32(9)
Total447(140)
National team‡
1974–1986Argentina70(22)
Teams managed
1989–1994River Plate
1994–1998Argentina
1999–2001Uruguay
2001Parma
2002–2004Monterrey
2005Corinthians
2006–2007River Plate
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 October 2005.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 October 2005

Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is a former Argentine football centre back and former manager of the Argentine and Uruguayan national football teams. He was captain of the Argentina team that won the 1978 World Cup. He was president of the River Plate sports club for 4 years after winning the elections by a very close margin in December 2009.

One of the best attacking central defenders of all time, at one point Passarella was football's top scoring defender, with 134 goals in 451 matches (that record was since broken by Dutch defender Ronald Koeman).[2] In 2004, Passarella was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[3]

Club career

Passarella was born in Chacabuco, Buenos Aires province. He started his career at Sarmiento of Junin, Buenos Aires province. From there he joined River Plate, then Fiorentina of Italy and briefly, Internazionale. After his successful spell in the Serie A, he returned to River Plate, where he played until his retirement.

He was called "El Gran Capitán" (the Great Captain, nickname of Argentine Independence heroe José de San Martín) or "El Kaiser" (an allusion to Franz Beckenbauer) because of his leadership ability, his passion, and his organisational prowess on the field. He was a defender who often joined the attack, and helped generate and finish offensive plays. He was the top scoring defender, with 134 goals in 451 matches, a record since broken by Dutch defender Ronald Koeman.[2]

His aerial game was effective both defensively and in attack. He scored frequent headers in spite of his average height (1.73 m). He was an excellent free kick and penalty shooter. He was also noted for using his elbows against rivals whilst managing to avoid the referee's gaze. Passarella is considered the best defender in the history of South America.[4]

National career

One of the pillars of the Argentine national team, he eventually captained the side during the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina. He was the first Argentine player to hold the World Cup, as it was handed to him first when Argentina won the final. During the qualifying rounds of the 1986 World Cup, Passarella contributed to the goal which ensured Argentina's qualification in the final minutes of their match against Peru by allowing team-mate Ricardo Gareca to score.

A bout of enterocolitis meant that he missed the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He was replaced in the first team by defender José Luis Brown. Passarella had a fractious relationship with star player Diego Maradona and coach Carlos Bilardo during the tournament; he later claimed Bilardo and Maradona made sure that he was sidelined. Even so, by being a part of the squad, he became the only player to feature in both Argentina's World Cup-winning teams.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, he became the coach of River Plate, where he won several national titles.

Appointed as coach of the Argentine national team to replace Alfio Basile, Passarella was coach during the qualification games for the 1998 World Cup and during the competition itself, which was held in France. Passarella held to close friend Américo Gallego as assistant coach. Passarella had banned long hair, earrings and homosexuals in his squad, leading to disputes with several players.[5][6] Fernando Redondo and Claudio Caniggia eventually refused to play for Passarella and were excluded from the squad.[7] Argentina's performances never reached the expected heights, and the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals after a last minute 2–1 defeat to the Netherlands. After the elimination, Passarella left the post and was replaced by Marcelo Bielsa.

Passarella then became coach of Uruguay, but he left the post during the qualifying games for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, after having problems summoning players from Uruguayan sides.

After that episode, Passarella had a brief and unsuccessful period as coach of Parma in Italy in 2001.

In 2003, he won the Mexican football league title with the team CF Monterrey. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers. He was then hired as coach of Corinthians in Brazil, but was fired after a few months after a spell of bad results.

On 9 January 2006, he was appointed River Plate coach again after 12 years to occupy the vacancy left by Reinaldo Merlo's sudden departure. On 15 November 2007, he resigned as coach after River was beaten by penalties by Arsenal de Sarandí in the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana 2007.

Career statistics


Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1974River PlatePrimera División225
1975299
19763524
19774013
1978194
1979389
19804112
19814214
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1982–83FiorentinaSerie A27350--20343
1983–84277
1984–85265
1985–862911
1986–87InternazionaleSerie A23384--71388
1987–8821681--60357
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1988–89River PlatePrimera División329
Total Argentina 29899
Italy 15335
Career total 451134

Honours

Player

River Plate
  • Primera División Argentina (6): 1975 Metropolitano and Nacional, 1977 Metropolitano, 1979 Metropolitano and Nacional, 1981 Nacional
Argentina

Manager

River Plate
  • Primera División Argentina (3): 1989–90, Apertura 1991, Apertura 1993
Monterrey
  • Primera División de México (1): (closing stage) – 2003

References

  1. ↑ http://www.rivermillonarios.com.ar/wiki/Daniel_Passarella
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The World's most successful Top Division Goal Scorers of all time among defensive players" by the IFFHS.
  3. ↑ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ http://tn.com.ar/deportes/passarella-el-segundo-mejor-defensor-de-la-historia_028908
  5. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world_cup_98/teams/argentina/players/85306.stm
  6. ↑ http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=465877
  7. ↑ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football:+RED+ALERT;+Two-year+agony+over+as+Milan+ace+roars+back.-a096371653

External links

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