Name Luis Lopez Career start 1994 Playing position Role Footballer Career end 2010 | Years Team Height 1.8 m Position Defender 1994–1996 River Plate Montevideo Weight 76 kg | |
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Full name Luis Diego Lopez Breijo Date of birth (1974-08-22) 22 August 1974 (age 41) Similar People Ivo Pulga, Delio Rossi, Daniele Conti, Andrea Cossu, Joey Saputo | ||
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
Luis Diego López
Luis Diego López Breijo (born 22 August 1974) is an Uruguayan retired footballer who played as a defender, and the current coach of Italian club U.S. Città di Palermo.
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His career was intimately connected with Cagliari in Italy, for which he appeared in nearly 400 competitive games in 12 years. He later worked with the club as a manager, in several categories.
López represented Uruguay in two Copa América tournaments.
Club career
Born in Montevideo, López started playing professionally with local Club Atlético River Plate. Two years later he signed with Racing de Santander in Spain, playing in 39 La Liga games in his debut season but receiving nine yellow cards and three red in the process; in Cantabria, he shared teams with compatriots Fernando Correa and José Zalazar.
In 1998, López moved to Italy and joined Cagliari Calcio, freshly promoted to Serie A. During his first seven seasons with the Sardinian side, with the exception of his first year – only one match – he never appeared in less than 26 league contests and spent four years (2000–04) in the second division, also being eventually awarded team captaincy.
On 14 April 2009, following a tunnel brawl with ACF Fiorentina's Felipe Melo in a 1–2 away loss, López received – as the Brazilian – a five-match ban. In July, one month shy of his 35th birthday, he signed a one-year contract with Cagliari. In the 2009–10 campaign the veteran appeared in 18 league games his team again managed to avoid relegation, after finishing in 16th position.
On 9 September 2010, after not being called up to Cagliari's 2010–11 pre-season camp, López announced his retirement from professional football, having appeared in nearly 400 official games for his main club (12 professional seasons).
In July 2012, López was named at the helm of the Primavera under-19 team of Cagliari and, on 2 October, was unveiled as new assistant coach for the main squad after the Ivo Pulga-led club parted ways with Massimo Ficcadenti.
López and Pulga swapped roles in July 2013 after the former was admitted to the yearly UEFA Pro Licence course, thus being allowed to serve as head coach in the Italian top flight. The former was sacked from his position on 6 April 2014 by owner Massimo Cellino, this being the 36th manager change he went through in 22 years of tenure.
On 1 July 2014, López was appointed at Bologna F.C. 1909 in the Italian second tier. After a good start to the season, he was removed from his duties on 2 May 2015 following a number of negative results.
López was appointed as U.S. Città di Palermo's fourth manager of the campaign, on 26 January 2017.
International career
López made his debut for Uruguay on 19 October 1994, in a friendly match with Peru in the Estadio Nacional José Díaz in Lima (1–0 win). The following year he represented the nation at the Copa América, with the tournament being held on home soil and won by the hosts, who conceded just four goals in six matches.
López was overlooked, however, for the squads which appeared at the 2002 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, and amassed a total of 32 caps.