 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sebastián Andrés Beccacece | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-12-17)17 December 1980 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Right back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ecuador (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| Lavalle | |||
| 1995–2001 | Juan XXIII | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016 | Universidad de Chile | ||
| 2016–2017 | Defensa y Justicia | ||
| 2018–2019 | Defensa y Justicia | ||
| 2019 | Independiente | ||
| 2020–2021 | Racing Club | ||
| 2021–2022 | Defensa y Justicia | ||
| 2023–2024 | Elche | ||
| 2024– | Ecuador | ||
Sebastián Andrés Beccacece (born 17 December 1980) is an Argentine professionalfootballmanager. He is the current head coach of theEcuador national team and led them to qualification for the2026 FIFA World Cup.
Born inRosario, Beccacece lived in the La República neighborhood with his parents Julio and Mónica, and his two brothers. Histwin brother Aníbal played football for their hometown sideCentral Córdoba.[1]
Beccacece played for Argentine amateur clubs Lavalle and Juan XXIII as a right back when he was teenager,[2] but after realising he would not become a top-tier footballer, he stopped playing.[1] He then started working atNewell's Old Boys' youth setup, initially managing kids between the age of four and 12. He also worked at Club Renato Cesarini's youth setup, managing the 1989/1990 age groups.[3]
After meetingJorge Sampaoli in his hometown in 2002, Beccacece was named his assistant coach at Peruvian sideSport Boys in 2003.[4] He remained his assistant atCoronel Bolognesi (2004–2005 and 2006),Sporting Cristal (2007),O'Higgins (2008–2009) andEmelec (2010).
In 2010, following the2010 FIFA World Cup, Beccacece reportedly rejected an invitation ofMarcelo Bielsa to work as his assistant in theChile national team, and continued to work with Sampaoli.[3] The duo subsequently joinedUniversidad de Chile for the 2011 season, where they won the2011 Apertura, the2011 Clausura, the2012 Apertura and the2011 Copa Sudamericana.[5]
Following their success at Universidad de Chile, in 2013, Beccacece and Sampaoli were signed by theANFP to led the Chile national team, finally arriving there after rejecting Bielsa's offer.[6] At Chile they achieved the qualification to the2014 FIFA World Cup and lifted the first everCopa América title in the country's history. In 2015, they resigned from the Chile national team amidst theFIFA corruption case where they were involved alongside the federation's presidentSergio Jadue.[7]
On 11 January 2016, Beccacece ended his spell as Sampaoli's assistant to take over Universidad de Chile, replacingMartín Lasarte.[8] During his first days at the club, the team received as signings the Argentine playmakerLuis Fariña on 12 January,[9] and a week later, the Chilean internationalGonzalo Jara[10] and the also ArgentineFabián Monzón fromCatania.[11]
On 24 January, in his secondleague game since his debut for this competition at the bench (a 1–1 away draw withDeportes Antofagasta), Beccacece impressed following the team's 8–1 home thrash overO'Higgins at theEstadio Nacional.[12] After of that great victory nevertheless the team reaped three draws and one loss againstPalestino (2–1). During February's first days, the team was eliminated of theCopa Libertadores first stage by Uruguay'sRiver Plate, which was his first failure and it meant being the target of criticism from the press and the team's supporters.[13] On 28 February, the 4–1 away victory overCobresal would be a balm of the team's moment.[14] Following a 0–0 draw withUnión Española and two losses (3–1 withUniversidad de Concepción as local and 5–4 againstSantiago Wanderers as visitors), he back to draw, now in theChilean football derby withColo-Colo, which was again a goalless where both teams were criticized for its game level.[15] Finally, Beccacece would end in the tenth place with three wins, seven draws and five losses and his continuity was heavily questioned during theCopa América Centenario break.[16]
For the purpose of the 2016 Torneo Apertura, the club hired to Luis María Bonini as fitness coach[17] and were appointed ten players which joined the club, between the most important figuredJean Beausejour from archi-rivals Colo-Colo,Christian Vilches fromAtlético Paranaense (former Colo-Colo too) and the Argentine playmakerGastón Fernández fromEstudiantes.[18] He began the tournament losing 1–0 with Wanderers atValparaíso, and drawing 1–1 as locals with Deportes Antofagasta on 7 August, date where again his continuity was questioned.[19] Nevertheless, he would return to victory, reaching two consecutive triumphs withSan Luis de Quillota (4–2) and Universidad de Concepción (3–1), that this time saw their end on 27 August after being defeated 3–0 byUniversidad Católica.[20] Highlighting, that game he kicked a freezer next to the bench during the moment that the referee Roberto Tobar took penalty which finally was Católica's third goal.[21]
Beccacece leftla U on 17 September 2016, after agreeing to cut short his contract with the club.[22]
On 15 November 2016, Beccacece replacedAriel Holan at the helm ofArgentine Primera División sideDefensa y Justicia.[23] His first match in charge of the club occurred thirteen days later, a 1–2 loss againstPatronato.[24]
Beccacece was also in charge of Defensa during their2017 Copa Sudamericana run, the club's first continental competition in their history, where they notably knocked out Brazilian sideSão Paulo at theMorumbi Stadium.[25] His last match in charge occurred on 28 June, a 1–0 win againstChapecoense,[26] as he left the club to join Sampaoli's staff again.[27]
After admitting contacts made by Sampaoli in April 2017,[28] Beccacece accepted the role as his assistant manager at theArgentina football team in May,[29] and joined the staff in June. Despite struggling in the qualifiers, they achieved the qualification to the2018 FIFA World Cup in the last round.
After Argentina's elimination from the World Cup, Beccacece rescinded his contract with theArgentine Football Association on 6 July 2018.[30]
On 7 July 2018, Beccacece returned to Defensa y Justicia, again being named their manager.[31] He achieved an impressive2018–19 season with the club, finishing second and qualifying the team to theCopa Libertadores for the first time in their history.[32]
On 7 June 2019, Beccacece was presented as manager of fellow top-tier sideIndependiente.[33] He left the club on 26 October, by mutual agreement.[34]
On 16 December 2019, Beccacece signed an 18-month contract withRacing Club, still in the Argentine top tier.[35] He led the club to a fourth position inthe league before its abandonment due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and reached the quarterfinals of the2020 Copa Libertadores before being knocked out byBoca Juniors.
On 26 December 2020, Beccacece resigned.[36]
On 15 February 2021, Beccacece returned to Defensa for a third spell.[37] He resigned on 11 September of the following year.[38]
On 21 March 2023, Beccacece was named in charge of SpanishLa Liga sideElche, becoming their fourth manager ofthe season.[39] Despite suffering relegation, he remained in charge of the club inthe following campaign, before announcing his departure on 26 May 2024, after the club's chances to qualify tothe play-offs were extinguished.[40]
On August 1, 2024, he was announced as head coach of theEcuador national team.[41]
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Universidad de Chile |  | 11 January 2016 | 17 September 2016 | 25 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 020.00 | [42] |
| Defensa y Justicia |  | 15 November 2016 | 28 June 2017 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 13 | +17 | 062.50 | [43] |
| Defensa y Justicia | 7 July 2018 | 7 June 2019 | 37 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 051.35 | ||
| Independiente | 7 June 2019 | 26 October 2019 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 050.00 | [44] | |
| Racing Club | 16 December 2019 | 26 December 2020 | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 044.83 | [45] | |
| Defensa y Justicia | 15 February 2021 | 11 September 2022 | 92 | 34 | 27 | 31 | 126 | 115 | +11 | 036.96 | ||
| Elche |  | 21 March 2023 | 2 June 2024 | 57 | 21 | 14 | 22 | 59 | 65 | −6 | 036.84 | [46] |
| Ecuador |  | 1 August 2024 | present | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 037.50 | |
| Career total | 296 | 121 | 83 | 92 | 363 | 318 | +45 | 040.88 | — | |||
Defensa y Justicia