 Pizzi asSaudi Arabia manager at the2018 World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1968-06-07)7 June 1968 (age 57)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santa Fe, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rosario Central | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Rosario Central | 57 | (27) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Toluca | 30 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1993 | Tenerife | 68 | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Valencia | 19 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Tenerife | 73 | (46) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Barcelona | 48 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | River Plate | 17 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Rosario Central | 28 | (19) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Porto | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Rosario Central | 28 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | →Villarreal (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 364 | (160) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1998 | Spain | 22 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Colón Santa Fe | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Universidad San Martín | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Santiago Morning | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Universidad Católica | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Rosario Central | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | San Lorenzo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Valencia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | León | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Chile | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | San Lorenzo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Racing Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Al Wasl | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Bahrain | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Kuwait | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxwananˈtonjoˈpisi],Italian:[ˈpittsi]; born 7 June 1968) is a retired professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
Pizzi spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, mainly atTenerife, helping to the side's consolidation inLa Liga and amassing top division totals of 221 matches and 92 goals over eight seasons – he also played forValencia andBarcelona.
Born in Argentina, Pizzi represented theSpain national team for four years,[2][3] appearing with it in oneWorld Cup and oneEuropean Championship. He embarked on a managerial career after retiring, winning theCopa América Centenario forChile in 2016. He also coachedSaudi Arabia at the World Cup in2018 andBahrain at the2023 Asian Cup.
Born inSanta Fe,[4] Pizzi started his professional career withRosario Central, before transferring to Mexico'sDeportivo Toluca.[5] After only one year, he moved toTenerife, experiencing great individual success (a total of 30 goals in his first two seasons) while also helping theCanary Islands club toqualify for theUEFA Cup in hissecond year.
This performances prompted interest from fellowLa Liga sideValencia, and Pizzi's subsequent purchase. However, highly unsettled, he returned at the end ofthe campaign to his previous team and in thesecond season in his second spell he fired them into anotherUEFA Cup qualification,topping the goal charts at 31 in 41 games[6] and adding a furtherfive in theCopa del Rey.[7]
After that, Pizzi transferred toBarcelona. Never an undisputed starter, barred byRonaldo,Sonny Anderson and the versatileLuis Enrique during his two-season stint, he managed to net 18 times in competitive matches, being very popular among theCamp Nou faithful.[8]
With Barcelona, Pizzi won theSupercopa de España in1996, theUEFA Super Cup and Spanish Cup in 1997,conquering the latter again the following year while also winning his onlyleague title. Arguably, his most memorable moment was the decisive goal in the 5–4 home win overAtlético Madrid in the domestic cup's quarter-finals second leg, after theBlaugrana trailed 3–0 at half-time.[9]
Subsequently, Pizzi returned to Argentina to play forRiver Plate, then had an unassuming spell in Portugal forPorto.[10][11] After starting 2001–02 back with Rosario he signed withVillarreal for its closure, as the club had lost to a severe leg injury countrymanMartín Palermo.[12]
Pizzi earned 22caps forSpain and scored eight goals, his debut coming on 30 November 1994 in a 2–0friendly win withFinland. The following 20 September, he helped to beat his country of birthArgentina 2–1, in an exhibition game played inMadrid.[13]
Pizzi was part of the squads forUEFA Euro 1996 and the1998 FIFA World Cup. In the latter, after being replaced byFernando Morientes in a 0–0 draw againstParaguay as Spain exited in the group stage, he retired from the international scene.[14]
After his retirement, aged almost 34, Pizzi playedpolo in theBarcelona region, then started his coaching career. Together withJosé del Solar he managedArgentine Primera División'sColón at the beginning of theClausura 2005, but both were sacked after three losses in the first three matches.[15]
On 13 April 2006, Pizzi became the coach ofUniversidad San Martín in thePeruvian Primera División.[16][17] He returned to his country of birth five years later, working with Rosario Central andSan Lorenzo andwinning the 2013Inicial with the latter.[18]
On 26 December 2013, Pizzi returned to Valencia after 20 years, being appointed manager.[19][20] His first game in charge was on 4 January of the following year, a 2–0derby home win overLevante.[21]
Pizzi was sacked on 2 July 2014, after new ownerPeter Lim took over. It was the first time in 16 years that Valencia hadfailed to qualify for Europe, after an eighth-place finish.[22]
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On 29 January 2016, after one year at the helm ofLeón in theLiga MX, Pizzi replacedJorge Sampaoli at theChile national side.[23] He took the nation tovictory in theCopa América Centenario in the United States, notably disposing ofMexico 7–0 in the last-eight stage[24] and defeatingArgentina onpenalties in the decisive match.[25]
Pizzi took the team tothe final of the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, Chile's first ever final in a FIFA competition and the fifth South American country to do so, losing 0–1 toGermany.[26][27] However, after failing toqualify for the next year's World Cup – they reached the last matchday in third place, falling to sixth following the 3–0 away loss againstBrazil – he resigned.[28]
On 28 November 2017, Pizzi was appointed to manageSaudi Arabia, becoming the third man to hold the position in as many months.[29] The team's run at the2018 World Cup ended after the first three games (one win and two losses);[30] On 21 January 2019, afterround-of-16 elimination at theAFC Asian Cup and not having been approached by theSaudi Arabian Football Federation regarding the renewal of his contract, he resigned.[31]
Pizzi returned to San Lorenzo in June 2019, six years after his first managerial spell.[32] On 31 October, he was dismissed due to poor results.[33]
On 21 January 2021, Pizzi was appointed atRacing Club.[34] His team lost theSupercopa Argentina 5–0 to River in March and theCopa de la Superliga final to Colón. He was removed by club president Víctor Blanco on 9 August after a 1–0 defeat tocity rivalsIndependiente.[35]
On 29 June 2022, Pizzi signed a one-year contract atAl-Wasl of theUAE Pro League.[36] Having finished fifth in hisonly season, he returned to international management withBahrain.[37] At the2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, his team finished their group ahead ofSouth Korea before being eliminated by Japan in the last 16. He left by mutual consent on 16 February 2024, seven months into a two-year deal.[38]
Remaining in the Middle East, Pizzi was hired on 16 July 2024 as manager ofKuwait. He succeededRui Bento, with the team in thethird round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time in 20 years.[39] with 1 win in 15 matches, news distributed Pizzi left work without informing the federation and stayed out of contact. The Federation announced they are looking for a new Replacement on April 1[40] later revealed that he’d leave after his contract expired at the end of the qualifiers.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 January 1995 | Riazor,A Coruña, Spain |  Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 1995 | Los Cármenes,Granada, Spain |  Cyprus | 3–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 3 | 5–0 | |||||
| 4 | 20 September 1995 | Vicente Calderón,Madrid, Spain |  Argentina | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 13 November 1996 | Heliodoro Rodríguez,Tenerife, Spain |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 12 February 1997 | Rico Pérez,Alicante, Spain |  Malta | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 3 June 1998 | El Sardinero,Santander, Spain |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 2–0 |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Colón Santa Fe | | 5 February 2005 | 26 February 2005 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 000.00 |
| Universidad San Martín |  | 18 April 2006 | 27 November 2006 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 039.39 |
| Santiago Morning |  | 1 July 2009 | 24 June 2010 | 44 | 16 | 9 | 19 | 60 | 75 | −15 | 036.36 |
| Universidad Católica | 8 July 2010 | 30 June 2011 | 56 | 37 | 10 | 9 | 120 | 67 | +53 | 066.07 | |
| Rosario Central | | 1 July 2011 | 5 July 2012 | 44 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 050.00 |
| San Lorenzo | 9 October 2012 | 26 December 2013 | 54 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 75 | 47 | +28 | 042.59 | |
| Valencia |  | 26 December 2013 | 2 July 2014 | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 037.50 |
| León |  | 4 December 2014 | 29 January 2016 | 51 | 25 | 6 | 20 | 97 | 88 | +9 | 049.02 |
| Chile | | 29 January 2016 | 10 October 2017 | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 040.63 |
| Saudi Arabia |  | 28 November 2017 | 21 January 2019 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 30 | −9 | 030.00 |
| San Lorenzo | | 1 July 2019 | 31 October 2019 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 20 | −5 | 038.46 |
| Racing Club | 21 January 2021 | 9 August 2021 | 32 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 040.63 | |
| Al Wasl |  | 1 July 2022 | 16 May 2023 | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 62 | 40 | +22 | 051.52 |
| Bahrain |  | 12 July 2023 | 15 February 2024 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 045.45 |
| Kuwait |  | 16 July 2024 | present | 17 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 29 | −16 | 005.88 |
| Career total | 475 | 208 | 120 | 147 | 690 | 590 | +100 | 043.79 | |||
Barcelona
Porto
Individual
Universidad Católica
San Lorenzo
Chile
Individual
International tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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