| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Eduardo Esnáider Belén | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-03-05)5 March 1973 (age 52)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Mar del Plata, Argentina[1] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ferro Carril Oeste | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1991 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 6 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Real Madrid B | 44 | (18) |
| 1991–1993 | Real Madrid | 10 | (1) |
| 1993–1995 | Zaragoza | 61 | (29) |
| 1995–1996 | Real Madrid | 20 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Atlético Madrid | 35 | (16) |
| 1997–1998 | Espanyol | 37 | (15) |
| 1999–2001 | Juventus | 16 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | →Zaragoza (loan) | 17 | (11) |
| 2001 | Porto | 3 | (0) |
| 2002 | Cadetes San Martín | ||
| 2002 | River Plate | 9 | (0) |
| 2003 | Ajaccio | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Murcia | 17 | (1) |
| 2005 | Newell's Old Boys | 10 | (1) |
| Total | 261 | (83) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (7) |
| 1995–1997 | Argentina | 3 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Getafe (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Zaragoza B | ||
| 2013 | Córdoba | ||
| 2016 | Getafe | ||
| 2017–2019 | JEF United Chiba | ||
| 2023 | Renofa Yamaguchi | ||
| 2024 | PSBS Biak | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Juan Eduardo Esnáider Belén (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxwanesˈnajðeɾ]; born 5 March 1973) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as astriker, currently amanager.
Having spent most of his career in Spain, he was known as a powerful player with an excellent aerial game. He started atReal Madrid in that country, having little impact with its first team and going on to represent another four clubs (mostlyReal Zaragoza), amassingLa Liga totals of 197 matches and 74 goals. Other than in his own country, he also competed in Italy (Juventus), Portugal and France.
In 2011, Esnáider started working as a coach.
Born inMar del Plata,Buenos Aires Province, Esnáider began his footballing career withFerro Carril Oeste, and made his professional debut againstVélez Sarsfield on 2 September 1990. After only six games, he was bought byReal Madrid,[2] and still managed two first-team appearances during the1990–91 season, also going on to score nearly 20 goals forthe reserves in theSegunda División.[3][4]
However, Esnáider never really settled in the main squad, and moved on loan toReal Zaragoza for1993–94 (with the latter having the option to buy at the end of the campaign). He quickly developed into one of European football's most in-form strikers and, already property of theAragonese side, helped them to the1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, scoring inthe final againstArsenal[5][6] and being the tournament's second-best scorer behindIan Wright (he also added 16 inLa Liga).[7]
Real Madrid paid Zaragoza more than double they had received in July 1995,[8] but Esnáider only netted once duringanother disappointing season.[4] Signed byAtlético Madrid for1996–97 – immediately after an historicdouble – he again displayed his best football, with 21 goals in all competitions.[9]
Esnáider joinedBarcelona-basedEspanyol after being released by Atlético, and produced another good individual season with 13 successful strikes in the league. In January 1999, he was signed byJuventus for an estimated fee of£4,5 million, as an intended replacement forAlessandro Del Piero who had just been sidelined with a serious knee injury,[10] but was unable to settle at theTurin-based team.[11] In late December 2000 he returned to Zaragoza and,[12] with 11 goals in just 17 matches, helped the sideavoid relegation (that included two on 14 April 2001 in a 4–4 tie atBarcelona),[13][4]adding his secondCopa del Rey in the process.[14]
Subsequently, Esnáider's career remained low-profile, with spells atPorto (arriving the season after countrymanJuan Antonio Pizzi, who also left unsettled after a few months),[15]Cadetes de San Martín,River Plate,[16]Ajaccio[17] andReal Murcia, before retiring atNewell's Old Boys in Argentina. He obtained his coaching degree in 2008 and, in April of the following year, becameGetafe's assistant to former Real Madrid teammateMíchel, who was replacingVíctor Muñoz after a string of bad results; he occupied the position until December 2010.[18]
On 8 April 2013, afterone full season inSegunda División B withZaragoza's B team,[19] Esnáider was appointed atCórdoba until June after the sacking ofRafael Berges.[20] He won only two of nine games during his spell, as the team went onrank 14th in the second tier.[21]
Esnáider returned to Getafe on 12 April 2016 following the dismissal ofFran Escribá, but now as head coach.[22] His first match in the Spanish top flight – as a manager – took place four days later, in a 5–1 home loss to former club Real Madrid.[23]
Esnáider representedArgentina on three occasions, his debut coming in 1995.[24] Previously, he appeared with theunder-20s at the1991 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Portugal.[25]
During his first spell at Zaragoza and while at Atlético Madrid, Esnáider was considered by many as one of the most promising strikers in European football. However, this was often overshadowed by his misconduct and foul play in many matches:
After missing apenalty kick in Atlético's match againstAjax, in the1996–97 edition of theUEFA Champions League, he made a ferocious two-footedtackle atRichard Witschge, but was lucky to receive only ayellow card. Minutes later, he was enraged when he was substituted by coachRadomir Antić, shouting outprofanities;[26][27][28] the next day, he was transferlisted by illusive chairmanJesús Gil.
In 2000–01's dying stages, as Zaragoza fought to retain their top-division status, Esnáider brutally assaulted aCelta de Vigo player with hiselbow (with the consequentdismissal), allegedly after being told by the club he would be deemed surplus to requirements for the following season. The player denied, however, this as the main reason for the incident.[26]
At the 1991 World Youth Championships, Esnáider wassent off forheadbutting refereeGuy Goethals and calling him a"son of a whore". He was banned from international football for a year, and Argentina were disqualified fromthe following edition of the tournament.[29][30]
Esnáider was ofVolga German andSpanish descent. His surname was a Spanish spelling of theGermanSchneider, meaning "tailor".[26]
OnChristmas Day 2012, Esnáider lost a 17-year-old son to illness.[31] A son also namedJuan, was also a footballer and a forward, and he too represented Zaragoza;[32] another son, Facundo was born during his spell inPorto, and also played the sport.[33]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Zaragoza B[34] | 1 July 2011 | 30 June 2012 | 40 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 032.50 |
| Córdoba[35] | 8 April 2013 | 11 June 2013 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 022.22 |
| Getafe[36] | 12 April 2016 | 26 September 2016 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 021.43 |
| JEF United Chiba[37] | 26 February 2017 | 17 March 2019 | 89 | 37 | 16 | 36 | 148 | 144 | +4 | 041.57 |
| Renofa Yamaguchi[38] | 8 June 2023 | 13 November 2023 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 026.09 |
| PSBS Biak[39] | 14 May 2024 | 10 September 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 000.00 |
| Career total | 178 | 61 | 40 | 77 | 245 | 280 | −35 | 034.27 | ||
Real Madrid
Zaragoza
Juventus
River Plate
