Edgardo Bauza

Edgardo Bauza
Personal information
Full nameEdgardo Bauza
Date of birthJanuary 26, 1958
Place of birthGranadero Baigorria, near Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1977–1982Rosario Central310(80)
1983–1985Atlético Junior87(15)
1985–1986Independiente7(1)
1986–1989Rosario Central(see above)
1990–1991Veracruz31(3)
National team
1981–1990Argentina3(0)
Teams managed
1998–2001Rosario Central
2001–2002Vélez Sársfield
2002–2003Colón
2004–2005Sporting Cristal
2005–2006Colón
2006–2008LDU Quito
2009Al-Nassr Riyadh
2010–2013LDU Quito
2014–San Lorenzo
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Edgardo Bauza (Spanish pronunciation: [eðˈɣarðo ˈβausa]; born January 26, 1958 in Granadero Baigorria, Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine former footballer. Before taking up management, he played over 300 games for Rosario Central, a club he went on to manage. He also played for Independiente in Argentina, Atlético Junior in Colombia and Veracruz in Mexico. .

Playing career

During his playing career, Bauza spent most of his career playing for Rosario Central from 1977 to 1982, where he found his most successful achievement in club football. He won two Primera División and scored 80 league goals in 310 league appearances for Rosario Central, making him one of the highest scoring defenders in the history of Argentine football.

In 1983, he transferred to Atlético Junior and played for them for two years. Later on in his career, he also played for Independiente in 1985–86 but he only got seven appearances. He returned to Rosario Central in 1986.

Nicknamed El Patón (Big Footed), Bauza was an unused member of the Argentine team that were the runners-up in the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy.

Managerial career

Bauza embarked on his managerial career in 1998 with Rosario Central, a club which he played for at his peak. He had also spells with Vélez Sársfield and then Colón.

Between 2003 and 2004 he spent some time working as a TV pundit before attempting to resurrect his managerial career with Sporting Cristal of Peru. Within six months of joining the club, he had led them to the Peruvian championship. He remained with the club until 2005 when he left after a downturn in results.

After returning to Colón for a season he took over as manager of LDU Quito of Ecuador in mid-2006, leading them to a league championship in his second season.

In 2008, Bauza made history by becoming the first manager ever to lead an Ecuadorian club to victory in the Copa Libertadores (or any other international tournament). His team included three Argentine players (Damián Manso, Claudio Bieler and Norberto Araujo), along with Paraguayan midfielder Enrique Vera, strong wingers Luis Bolaños and Joffre Guerrón and veteran goalkeeper and penalty shootout hero José Francisco Cevallos. He resigned after losing the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup to Manchester United.[1]

On January 15, 2009, the IFFHS ranked him third among the top ten club coaches around the world, only behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Dick Advocaat.[2] He was also voted the 2008 South American Coach of the Year by Uruguayan newspaper El País.

In December 2009, Bauza returned to LDU Quito replacing 2009 Copa Sudamericana winning manager Jorge Fossati.[3]

Achievements

As a player

Rosario Central

As a manager

Sporting Cristal
LDU Quito
San Lorenzo

References

  1. ↑ Bauza: "Las expectativas son las mejores"
  2. ↑ The World's best Club Coach 2008
  3. ↑ Edgardo Bauza returning to coach Liga de Quito at USA Today

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Argentina Gerardo Martino		 South American Coach of the Year
2008 		Succeeded by
Argentina Marcelo Bielsa