Héctor Veira

Héctor Veira

Veira (right) with Chief of Government
of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri
Personal information
Full nameHéctor Rodolfo Veira
Date of birthMay 29, 1946
Place of birthBuenos Aires, Argentina
Playing positionStriker
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1963–1969San Lorenzo128(67)
1970–1971Huracán54(21)
1971–1972Laguna
1972–1973San Lorenzo
1974Banfield16(9)
1975–1976Sevilla0(0)
1976Corinthians4(0)
1977Universidad de Chile18(10)
1978Comunicaciones
1978Oriente Petrolero
National team
1965–1967Argentina2(0)
Teams managed
1980San Lorenzo
1983–1984San Lorenzo
1984Vélez Sársfield
1985–1987River Plate
1987–1990San Lorenzo
1990–1991Cádiz
1992–1996San Lorenzo
1996–1998Boca Juniors
1998–2000Bolivia
2000–2001Lanús
2002Newell's Old Boys
2004Quilmes
2004San Lorenzo
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 2007.
† Appearances (Goals).

Héctor "Bambino" Veira (born May 29, 1946 in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine footballer. Since retiring as a player he has gone on to win several major titles as a manager.

Playing career

Veira started his professional career in 1963 with San Lorenzo, in 1964 he became the topscorer in the Argentina Primera División at the age of only 18. In 1967 Veira received his first call up to the Argentina national football team and in 1968 he helped San Lorenzo to win the Metropolitano championship without losing a game, to become the first team in the professional era of Argentine football to become unbeaten champions. In 1970 Veira joined Huracán, the club he had supported as a boy. He then had a spell with Laguna in Mexico[1] before returning to San Lorenzo in 1973. In his later career he played for Club Atlético Banfield in Argentina, Sevilla in Spain, Corinthians in Brazil, CSD Comunicaciones in Guatemala and Universidad de Chile.

Titles as a player

Season Team Title
Metropolitano 1968Argentina San Lorenzo Primera División Argentina

Managerial career

Veira started his managerial career with San Lorenzo in 1980, he then had a short stint in charge of Vélez Sársfield before joining River Plate in 1985. Veira had a productive time in charge of River Plate, he led them to the 1985-1986 championship. In 1986 he led them to their first ever victory in the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Intercontinental later that year. In 1987 Veira returned to San Lorenzo where he stayed until 1990. He then returned to the club again in 1992, leading them to the 1995 Clausura championship. In 1996 he became the manager of Boca Juniors, staying with the club until 1998 when he took over as the coach of Bolivia. In 2000 he became manager of Club Atlético Lanús and in 2002 he took charge of Newell's Old Boys.After retiring as manager of Quilmes after only one month in charge Veira returned to San Lorenzo for a fourth time in 2004, by the end of this period, he had been manager of San Lorenzo for 371 games, making him San Lorenzo's longest serving manager in their history.[2]

Titles as a manager

Season Team Title
1985–1986Argentina Club Atlético River Plate Primera División Argentina
1986Argentina Club Atlético River Plate Copa Libertadores
1986Argentina Club Atlético River Plate Copa Intercontinental
1995 ClausuraArgentina San Lorenzo Primera División Argentina

Scandal

In 1987 Veira was accused of raping a 13-year-old boy, Sebastián Candelmo.[3] In 1991 he was found guilty of the offence and sentenced to six years in prison. In 1992 he was given a conditional discharge and returned to work as manager of San Lorenzo. Veira has always maintained his innocence, and claimed that the boy was instructed by his mother to make the allegations for financial gains.

Personality

He is famous for having a series of bon mots and a very distinctive sense of humour. Some of his classic phrases are:

References

  1. ↑ "Recuerdos del Ayer: Un argentino rentable" (in Spanish). El Siglo de Torreon. 22 October 2008.
  2. ↑ Museo de San Lorenzo
  3. ↑ Todo Pasión article