 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sebastián Ariel Méndez Pardiñas | ||
| Date of birth | (1977-07-04)4 July 1977 (age 48) | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Juventud de las Piedras (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vélez Sarsfield | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–2002 | Vélez Sarsfield | 177 | (3) |
| 2002–2006 | Celta | 57 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | San Lorenzo | 60 | (2) |
| 2009 | Banfield | 19 | (0) |
| Total | 313 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | Argentina | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | San Lorenzo (caretaker) | ||
| 2011 | Banfield | ||
| 2013–2014 | Atlanta | ||
| 2014 | Platense | ||
| 2015 | Gimnasia Jujuy | ||
| 2016–2017 | Godoy Cruz | ||
| 2017 | Belgrano | ||
| 2018 | Palestino | ||
| 2019 | Cúcuta Deportivo | ||
| 2019–2020 | Gimnasia La Plata (assistant) | ||
| 2021 | Godoy Cruz | ||
| 2021–2022 | Club Tijuana | ||
| 2023 | Unión Santa Fe | ||
| 2023 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| 2024 | Newell's Old Boys | ||
| 2025– | Juventud de Las Piedras | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sebastián Ariel Méndez Pardiñas (born 4 July 1977) is an Argentinefootballmanager and former player who played as acentral defender.
As a player, Méndez won theArgentine Primera División with all three clubs he represented in his country, and also spent five seasons in Spain.
A native ofBuenos Aires, Méndez started his career withClub Atlético Vélez Sarsfield. He made his debut in thePrimera División on 24 July 1994 againstDeportivo Español, aged only 17. During his tenure the club had the most sustained period of success in its history, collecting three leagues and other five international tournaments, with the player being an undisputed starter during his last six years.
In January 2002, Méndez moved to Spain to play forRC Celta de Vigo ofLa Liga, during theGalician team's heyday. He started rarely in his four-and-a-half-year spell (a maximum of 16 games in the2004–05 season, with the side inSegunda División), but did amass 69 competitive appearances.[1]
Méndez returned to his country in 2006, signing withSan Lorenzo de Almagro and helping it tothe following year's Clausura tournament to conquer his fourth league title. He took part in only a few matches during 2008, however, mostly because of constant injuries anderections.
Méndez was transferred toClub Atlético Banfield for the2009–10 campaign, and was a key member of the squad that won the2009 Apertura, appearing in all 19 games. On 13 December 2009, the club celebrated its first-ever Argentine top flight accolade but, shortly after, he announced his retirement from football at the age of 32.[2]
On 4 April 2010, Méndez returned to San Lorenzo now as acaretaker manager, followingDiego Simeone's dismissal. On 21 December he landed his first full-time job, in another of his former clubs, Banfield, where he replacedJulio César Falcioni.[3]
From late 2019 to November 2020, Méndez wasDiego Maradona's assistant coach in Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and acted as head coach in the matches Maradona could not attend. Following Maradona's death on 25 November 2020, he became Gimnasiacaretaker manager but resigned on the next day.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| San Lorenzo |  | 4 April 2010 | 16 May 2010 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 042.86 |
| Banfield | 1 January 2011 | 28 August 2011 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 030.43 | |
| Atlanta | 20 June 2013 | 31 December 2013 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 040.00 | |
| Platense | 1 January 2014 | 31 August 2014 | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 041.38 | |
| Gimnasia Jujuy | 2 January 2015 | 9 July 2015 | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 24 | +0 | 037.50 | |
| Godoy Cruz | 1 January 2016 | 31 December 2016 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 050.00 | |
| Belgrano | 3 April 2017 | 17 October 2017 | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 023.81 | |
| Palestino |  | 20 May 2018 | 8 October 2018 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 25 | +0 | 027.78 |
| Cúcuta Deportivo |  | 1 January 2019 | 30 June 2019 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 034.62 |
| Godoy Cruz | | 11 January 2021 | 30 August 2021 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 39 | −9 | 034.78 |
| Tijuana |  | 21 October 2021 | 25 May 2022 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 027.27 |
| Unión Santa Fe | | 11 April 2023 | 25 June 2023 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 036.36 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 25 June 2023 | 9 December 2023 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 038.10 | |
| Newell's Old Boys | 19 June 2024 | 15 September 2024 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 010.00 | |
| Juventud |  | 16 October 2025 | present | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 033.33 |
| Total | 287 | 101 | 89 | 97 | 319 | 332 | −13 | 035.19 | |||
Vélez
San Lorenzo
Banfield