 Russo with Estudiantes LP in 1971 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Ángel Russo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-04-09)9 April 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Valentín Alsina, Argentina | ||
| Date of death | 8 October 2025(2025-10-08) (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | Buenos Aires, Argentina[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Estudiantes (LP) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1988 | Estudiantes LP | 435 | (11) |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1985 | Argentina | 17 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1989–1994 | Lanús | ||
| 1994–1995 | Estudiantes LP | ||
| 1996 | Universidad de Chile | ||
| 1997–1998 | Rosario Central | ||
| 1998–1999 | Salamanca | ||
| 1999 | Colón | ||
| 1999–2000 | Lanús | ||
| 2000–2001 | Los Andes | ||
| 2001–2002 | Morelia | ||
| 2002–2004 | Rosario Central | ||
| 2005–2006 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| 2007 | Boca Juniors | ||
| 2008–2009 | San Lorenzo | ||
| 2009 | Rosario Central | ||
| 2010–2011 | Racing Club | ||
| 2011 | Estudiantes LP | ||
| 2012–2014 | Rosario Central | ||
| 2015 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| 2016–2018 | Millonarios | ||
| 2019 | Alianza Lima | ||
| 2019 | Cerro Porteño | ||
| 2020–2021 | Boca Juniors | ||
| 2021–2022 | Al-Nassr | ||
| 2023–2024 | Rosario Central | ||
| 2024–2025 | San Lorenzo | ||
| 2025 | Boca Juniors | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Miguel Ángel Russo (9 April 1956 – 8 October 2025) was an Argentine professional footballplayer andmanager who played as adefensive midfielder. As a player, Russo spent his entire career inEstudiantes de La Plata.[3] As a manager, he coached for over 1,000 matches within more than 30 years of career.[4]
Russo made his professional debut in Estudiantes LP in 1975, playing for fourteen consecutive seasons until his retirement in 1988. He played 435 official matches with Estudiantes, also winning twoPrimera División titles. Russo also played 17 matches for theArgentina national team.[3]
Russo was aone club man; he played his entire career forEstudiantes de La Plata, from 1975 to his retirement in 1988. Adefensive midfielder, Russo was a staple of the team that won two back-to-back championships in the1982 Metropolitano and1983 Nacional.
Although Russo was called on byArgentina national team coachCarlos Bilardo to play in the1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, a string of minor injuries prevented him from traveling to the main event in Mexico, which Argentina ultimately won.
Russo's career as a coach included stints atEstudiantes de La Plata andLanús (both of whom he helped promote), and other sides in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Spain.
In June 2005, he won the2005 Clausura tournament withVélez Sarsfield, his first title as a coach in the Argentine top division. On 15 December 2006, he was signed byBoca Juniors to replaceRicardo La Volpe.
With Russo at the helm, Boca Juniors took second place in the2007 Clausura tournament and won the2007 Copa Libertadores. After Boca, Russo managedSan Lorenzo between 2008 and 2009. After losing toSan Luis Potosí and being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, the coach has announced his decision to resign on 9 April 2009.[5]
On 15 April 2009, Russo joinedRosario Central, replacingReinaldo Merlo[6] and just two months later on 14 July 2009 the coach quit the team.[7]
The former midfielder then managedRacing Club between 2010 and 2011. On 21 June 2011, less than a week after resigning as coach of Racing Club, Russo signed a contract to again coach his former club, Estudiantes de La Plata, being his second stint as an Estudiantes coach, having done so in 1994.[8]
On 6 November 2011, after Estudiantes was defeated 3–1 byGodoy Cruz and in turn falling to last place with only 10 points in 14 games, Russo resigned as manager, less than five months after having assumed charge.[9] He then had a successful stint at Rosario Central, winning the2012–13 Primera B Nacional and reaching the final of the2013–14 Copa Argentina.
In 2015, Russo agreed to become manager of Vélez Sarsfield, his second spell at the club.
On 23 December 2016, he was chosen to trainMillonarios F.C. from Bogotá, Colombia after the untimely departure of Diego Cocca. On 17 December 2017, he was crowned Champion of the second half of 2017 with Millonarios F.C. (Torneo Clausura), to which he gave them the title number 15 after winning the first leg 1–0, and then drawing 2–2 against Independiente Santa Fe. With this victory, Millonarios F.C. will go directly to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores played among the best club teams in South America.
On 4 January 2019, he was officially appointed the newAlianza Lima coach. However, he decided to terminate his contract for personal reasons and poor results.
On 7 June 2019, his transfer toCerro Porteño was made official. On 6 October 2019, after losing to Deportivo Capiatá, the club decided to do without its services.
In January 2020, he started his second cycle with Boca Juniors,[10] two months later he obtained a new title winning the2019–20 Superliga beating River Plate led by Marcelo Gallardo in the final stretch.[11] After being eliminated by Santos (BRA) from theCONMEBOL Libertadores, Boca Juniors playedCopa Diego Maradona final against Banfield. This match ended in a tie in one, and finally, Boca Juniors became champions by winning the penalties.[12] On 17 August 2021, he was sacked by the club.[13]
Russo spent most of the 2021–22 season in charge ofAl-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, before returning to Rosario Central on 18 December 2022.[14] He later returned to San Lorenzo before being appointed for a third stint at Boca Juniors ahead of their participation in the2025 FIFA Club World Cup.[15]
Russo's son,Ignacio, is a professional footballer.[16]
Russo died at home on 8 October 2025, at the age of 69, after battling with prostate cancer since 2017.[17][18]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Lanús | 1 July 1989 | 30 June 1994 | 200 | 70 | 74 | 56 | 238 | 210 | +28 | 035.00 |
| Estudiantes LP | 1 July 1994 | 30 September 1995 | 53 | 27 | 16 | 10 | 94 | 48 | +46 | 050.94 |
| Universidad de Chile | 1 January 1996 | 31 December 1996 | 54 | 25 | 12 | 17 | 87 | 71 | +16 | 046.30 |
| Rosario Central | 1 July 1997 | 30 June 1998 | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 038.10 |
| Salamanca | 1 August 1998 | 30 January 1999 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 025.00 |
| Colón | 1 July 1999 | 31 October 1999 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 025.00 |
| Lanús | 30 November 1999 | 30 June 2000 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 035.29 |
| Los Andes | 1 December 2000 | 30 June 2001 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 023.08 |
| Morelia | 27 October 2001 | 16 February 2002 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 033.33 |
| Rosario Central | 1 July 2002 | 31 December 2004 | 67 | 25 | 20 | 22 | 93 | 89 | +4 | 037.31 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 1 January 2005 | 15 December 2006 | 95 | 43 | 29 | 23 | 134 | 87 | +47 | 045.26 |
| Boca Juniors | 15 December 2006 | 31 December 2007 | 56 | 30 | 12 | 14 | 102 | 56 | +46 | 053.57 |
| San Lorenzo | 1 July 2008 | 8 April 2009 | 36 | 17 | 5 | 14 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 047.22 |
| Rosario Central | 16 April 2009 | 14 July 2009 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 045.45 |
| Racing Club | 17 February 2010 | 30 June 2011 | 53 | 23 | 9 | 21 | 65 | 59 | +6 | 043.40 |
| Estudiantes LP | 1 July 2011 | 6 November 2011 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 018.75 |
| Rosario Central | 6 July 2012 | 29 November 2014 | 101 | 44 | 26 | 31 | 123 | 104 | +19 | 043.56 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 1 January 2015 | 31 December 2015 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 029.41 |
| Millonarios | 1 January 2017 | 13 November 2018 | 112 | 45 | 37 | 30 | 134 | 93 | +41 | 040.18 |
| Alianza Lima | 1 January 2019 | 26 April 2019 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 020.00 |
| Cerro Porteño | 7 June 2019 | 8 October 2019 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 036.84 |
| Boca Juniors | 1 January 2020 | 16 August 2021 | 64 | 29 | 23 | 12 | 87 | 40 | +47 | 045.31 |
| Al-Nassr | 5 December 2021 | 28 June 2022 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 41 | 22 | +19 | 075.00 |
| Rosario Central | 19 December 2022 | 2 August 2024 | 79 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 92 | 86 | +6 | 034.18 |
| San Lorenzo | 17 October 2024 | 30 May 2025 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 036.67 |
| Boca Juniors | 31 May 2025 | 8 October 2025 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 023.08 |
| Total | 1,273 | 509 | 371 | 393 | 1,707 | 1,375 | +332 | 039.98 | ||
Estudiantes (LP)
Lanús
Estudiantes (LP)
Vélez Sarsfield
Boca Juniors
Rosario Central
Millonarios
Individual
 | ||