Years Team Name Cesar Menotti | Role Coach | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1938-11-05) 5 November 1938 (age 77) Similar People Carlos Bilardo, Mario Kempes, Jorge Valdano, Daniel Passarella, Angel Cappa | ||
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina | ||
C sar luis menotti
César Luis Menotti ([ˈsesaɾ ˈlwis meˈnoti]), known as El Flaco ("the slim one") (born November 5, 1938 in Rosario), is an Argentine football coach and former player who, as coach, won the 1978 FIFA World Cup for Argentina. He played as a striker.
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Cesar Luis MENOTTI talks Lionel MESSI and Argentina National Team
Playing career
Menotti grew up in the Fisherton district of Rosario and played for local clubs before a scout for Rosario Central picked him up. He played in the youth divisions while attending high school (he graduated as a chemical technician) and was signed by Central. He also played for the Argentine national football team and Santos FC.
Early managerial career
After retiring from play, he became friends with coach Miguel "Gitano" Juárez, with whom he traveled to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Fascinated by the Brazilian style of play led by his pal Pele, he decided to become a coach himself.
He won the 1973 Metropolitano title with Huracán, with a side that included Carlos Babington.
National coach
He was appointed Argentina coach in October 1974.
1978 World Cup
He was the coach of Argentina when they won their first World Cup, defeating Netherlands in the final.
Between 1978 and 1982
In the final months of 1978, when Menotti's contract was due to expire, he played a game of brinkmanship with the Argentine Football Association, which ultimately agreed to his demanding terms, both financially and professionally. Menotti's team included assistant coaches Rogelio Poncini and Roberto Saporiti, as well as fitness trainer Ricardo Pizzarotti and physician Rubén Oliva.
In 1979 he led Argentina to success in the World Youth Championship in Japan, with Diego Maradona the team's star player.
World Cup 1982
Argentina lost to Belgium in the opening match. The team started with Fillol; Olguin, Galvan, Passarella, Tarantini; Ardiles, Gallego, Maradona; Bertoni, Diaz, and Kempes.
Argentina went on to defeat Hungary and El Salvador, and met Italy and Brazil in Group 3 of the second round, although they lost both matches.
In the 1982 World Cup, Menotti deployed the same defenders as in 1978.
Later career
He was appointed FC Barcelona coach in March 1983, helping them to win the Copa del Rey, Copa de la Liga and Spanish Super Cup, before leaving the club in 1984.
On February 3rd 2017, Chivas made a formal offer to sign him on as the Academy director.
Personality, influence and political views
Menotti always displayed a rebellious streak and cultivated an image of coolness. He wore long hair, dressed casually, and used to drop references to cultural icons in his conversations, from writer Ernesto Sabato to singer Joan Manuel Serrat. He was opinionated on politics, projecting a left-wing socialist image that contrasted with his holding a very visible post during the right-wing military dictatorship.
Menotti famously proclaimed that:
{{quote|There's a right-wing football and a left-wing football. Right-wing football wants to suggest that life is struggle. It demands sacrifices. We have to become of steel and win by any method... obey and function, that's what those with power want from the players. That's how they create retards, useful idiots that go with the system.