CÉSAR LUIS MENOTTI, THE GREAT ARGENTINE MANAGER

Today, The Grandma has been reading about César Luis Menotti, the Argentine football player and manager, who died on a day like today in 2024.

César Luis Menotti (22 October 1938-5 May 2024), known as El Flaco, was an Argentine football player and manager who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as the head coach of the Argentina national team.

Menotti was born on 22 October 1938 in Rosario, Argentina.

Menotti played as a striker, most notably for Argentine clubs Rosario Central and Boca Juniors. As a manager, he won three cups with Barcelona and also led Atlético Madrid in La Liga in the 1980s, as well as leading Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. He was briefly the manager of Mexico and Italian Serie A club Sampdoria in the 1990s.

During Menotti's tenure as manager of the Argentina national team (from 1974 to 1982), he carried out a project that differed from previous processes, bringing him to be recognised as one of the most influential managers in the history of Argentine football.

After playing some games for the reserve team, Menotti debuted in Primera División playing for Rosario Central in 1960. His first professional match was on 3 July versus Boca Juniors, a 3-1 victory.

On 27 November 1963, Menotti played a friendly for River Plate against Juventus. He scored in the 2-1 loss in Italy. The following June, he scored in another exhibition defeat, 2-1 away to Nacional in Montevideo, and was then approached by the host team.

Menotti remained four seasons in Rosario Central prior to be transferred in 1964 to Racing, then moving to Boca Juniors in 1965, where he would win his first title as player, the 1965 Primera División. Two years later Menotti arrived to the North American Soccer League to play for the New York Generals. 

In 1968 Menotti was traded to Santos where he was teammate of Pelé and won the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, a tournament later recognized as national championship of Brazil, of that year. Menotti signed with Clube Atlético Juventus, where he retired from football in 1970 after playing games and scoring twice.

After retiring from play, Menotti 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 friend Pelé, he decided to become a coach himself. Menotti worked as coach assistant of Juárez in Newell's Old Boys.

As manager, Menotti won his first title with Huracán, the 1973 Torneo Metropolitano with a side that included notable players such as Carlos Babington, Miguel Brindisi, Roque Avallay and the outstanding René Houseman. That squad was widely praised by the media due to their style of playing, being considered one of the best Argentine teams of all time. Huracán played 32 matches, winning 19 with 5 loses. The squad scored 62 goals and conceded 30.

In March 1983, Barcelona sacked Udo Lattek and brought in Menotti, who reunited with Maradona.

After a brief spell back home with Boca Juniors, Menotti returned to Spain in July 1987 to manage Atlético Madrid, who had gone a decade without a league title.

Menotti returned to Buenos Aires in July 1988, taking over at Boca's Superclásico rivals River Plate.

In July 1990, Menotti was hired at Peñarol, a Uruguayan club going through restructuring after selling most of their team that had won the Copa Libertadores in 1987.

In 1991, Menotti returned to international football when he was appointed by Mexico, who were recovering from the Cachirules scandal that had seen them banned from the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Menotti had a third spell in Europe when he led Sampdoria of the Italian Serie A briefly in 1997.

Before and after his short stint in Italy, Menotti was manager of Independiente. His team came runners-up in the 1996-97 Argentine Primera División.

In March 2002, Menotti was hired at Rosario Central, his hometown club where he had begun playing and had always supported.

Menotti returned to Independiente for 2005, amidst financial problems at the club. Through his friendship with Emilio Maurer  -one of the executives he resigned from the Mexico national team in solidarity with- Menotti was hired by Puebla.

In late August 2007, Menotti was hired by another Mexican team, Tecos of the Liga MX.

On 3 February 2017, Guadalajara made a formal offer to sign him on as their academy director.

In January 2019, Menotti was named as the director of the Argentina national teams.

Menotti died on 5 May 2024.

More information: Coaches' Voice

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César Luis Menotti