 Berizzo managingSevilla in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Eduardo Berizzo Magnolo[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-11-13)13 November 1969 (age 56)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Cruz Alta,Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1993 | Newell's Old Boys | 126 | (10) |
| 1993–1996 | Atlas | 94 | (10) |
| 1996–1999 | River Plate | 94 | (3) |
| 1999–2000 | Marseille | 13 | (0) |
| 2000 | →River Plate (loan) | 30 | (2) |
| 2001–2005 | Celta | 101 | (4) |
| 2005–2006 | Cádiz | 14 | (0) |
| Total | 472 | (29) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–2000 | Argentina | 13 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2010 | Chile (assistant) | ||
| 2011 | Estudiantes LP | ||
| 2011–2014 | O'Higgins | ||
| 2014–2017 | Celta | ||
| 2017 | Sevilla | ||
| 2018 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| 2019–2021 | Paraguay | ||
| 2022–2023 | Chile | ||
| 2022–2023 | Chile Olympic | ||
| 2024–2025 | León | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Manuel Eduardo Berizzo Magnolo (Latin American Spanish:[eˈðwaɾðoβeˈɾiso];[a] born 13 November 1969) is an Argentine formerfootballer who played as acentral defender, currently amanager.
During his 18-year professional career he played for six teams in four countries, mainlyNewell's Old Boys,River Plate andCelta. He representedArgentina in twoCopa América tournaments.
Berizzo managed in the top leagues of Argentina, Chile and Spain, leadingO'Higgins to their first major honours and taking charge of threeLa Liga teams including Celta. He was also head coach of the national teams ofParaguay andChile, going to two Copa América editions with the former.
Born in Cruz Alta,Marcos Juárez,Córdoba, Berizzo was playing in a children's league when he and friendDario Franco were scouted forNewell's Old Boys by managerMarcelo Bielsa.[3] He helped the team to twoPrimera División titles,[4] as well as theCopa Libertadores finals of1988 and1992, lost toClub Nacional de Football andSão Paulo FC, respectively;[3] in the latter final, he scored the only goal of the first leg from apenalty kick, but was the first to miss in thepenalty shootout that decided the tie at theEstádio do Morumbi.[5] He was part of a trio within the team known asLos tres chiflados ("The Three Stooges"), taking the role ofMoe alongsideJulio Saldaña (Larry) andAlfredo Berti (Curly).[6]
In 1993, as Newell's sought to renew their team and transfers toSporting de Gijón andUdinese Calcio in Europe did not materialise, Berizzo signed for Mexico'sAtlas F.C. under Bielsa. Arriving with a knee injury, he adapted to the country's heat and altitude and becamecaptain. After three seasons that he described as "not good but excellent", he was about to sign a five-year contract extension when an offer came through fromClub Atlético River Plate in his country; club president Francisco Ibarraretired his number 2 jersey for the rest of his term.[3]
At River, Berizzo played in central defence alongside ParaguayanCelso Ayala in a team that won three consecutive league tournaments and the 1997Supercopa Libertadores.[3] His solid performances eventually attracted the attention of French clubOlympique de Marseille, who signed him in July 1999 on a three-year deal for a fee of 20 millionfrancs (€3 million) to replace1998 FIFA World Cup winnerLaurent Blanc.[7] After a 5–1 loss atAS Saint-Étienne on 11 December, he argued with new managerBernard Casoni; unsettled and out of form, he was loaned to his former team in January 2000.[8]
Known initially as "Totito", Berizzo inherited the nickname "Toto" from his father, who died in a car accident in March 2000 after watching him play for River againstClub Universidad de Chile in theLibertadores. He won anotherClausuratournament that year.[3]
Berizzo moved to Spain withRC Celta de Vigo, in another winter transfer move.[9] He was an important defensive unit for theGalicians, contributing 17La Liga matches in hisfirst year as they finished in sixth position; in a run tothe final of theCopa del Rey, he scored in each leg of a 4–2 aggregate win overFC Barcelona in thesemi-finals in June 2001, the second at theCamp Nou beingPep Guardiola's farewell for the hosts.[10] In hissecond full season he registered career-bests (at Celta) 27 games with two goals, helping the side toreach theUEFA Champions League for the first time ever.[11]
In the2003–04 campaign, Berizzo wassent off four times, twice in the last two rounds, as Celta eventually dropped down a level. He also made five appearances in around-of-16 run in European competition, eventually losing his importance and being released in June 2005 at 35.[11]
Berizzo stayed in Spain and signed a one-year contract withCádiz CF,[12] appearing scarcely andsuffering another top-flight relegation.[13] He retired at the end of the season.[14]
The bearer of anItalian passport, Berizzo did not occupy a non-European Union spot while competing in the continent.[15]
Having played for theunder-23 team that missed out inqualification for the1992 Olympic tournament,[3] Berizzo made his debut forArgentina in the1998 FIFA World Cupqualifying stage againstVenezuela, on 9 October 1996. He was picked up for the squads for the1997 Copa América – only playing in the quarter-final loss toPeru and being sent off after twoyellow cards[16]– and the1999 Copa América, where he was not used.[17][18]
Berizzo's last international took place on 15 November 2000, in the2002 World Cup qualifier againstChile, appearing seven minutes in a 2–0 away win. He broke hisankle in February 2002, completely ruling him out of the final stages inSouth Korea andJapan.[19]
When Bielsa took over as Chile manager in July 2007, Berizzo became assistant manager. On 10 October 2009, in aWorld Cup qualifier againstColombia (4–2 away victory), he was ejected alongsideFabián Orellana and eventually received a four-match ban, not being present on the bench for the entirety of the final stages inSouth Africa.[20]
On 7 February 2011, Berizzo was hired in his own right at Argentine defending championsEstudiantes de La Plata, after the resignation ofAlejandro Sabella.[21] His first game four days later was a 2–1 home win over his former club, Newell's.[22] He resigned on 30 May after a poor run of form, including elimination from theCopa Libertadores by Paraguay'sCerro Porteño in thelast 16.[23]
Berizzo signed a two-year deal withO'Higgins F.C. of theChilean Primera División on 2 December 2011.[24] He achieved runner-up honours in hisdebut season, losing the final againstClub Universidad de Chile in apenalty shootout.[25]
On 10 December 2013, Berizzo led the team fromRancagua to the2013 Apertura, the first title in their 58-year history.[26] The following 3 May, theywon theSupercopa de Chile againstDeportes Iquique, again on penalties;[27] he had already agreed that this would be his last game.[28]
On 19 May 2014, Berizzo returned to Celta but as a manager, replacingFC Barcelona-boundLuis Enrique on a two-year deal.[29] Inhis third, he coached the side to the last-four stage in both theCopa del Rey and theUEFA Europa League.[30]
Berizzo was confirmed as the new manager ofSevilla FC on 27 May 2017, replacing countrymanJorge Sampaoli who accepted the Argentina job.[31] On 22 November, it was announced he had been diagnosed withprostate cancer;[32] a month later, he was fired due to a poor run of results.[33] Much of his short time at the club was recorded in theAmazon Prime television documentary seriesSix Dreams, in which he was one of its stars.[34]
Berizzo returned to active on 31 May 2018, being appointed atAthletic Bilbao.[35] After winning only two of his 15 competitive matches in charge and with the team in therelegation zone, he was dismissed.[36][37]
On 18 February 2019, Berizzo was namedParaguay's new coach afterJuan Carlos Osorio's resignation.[38] At theyear's Copa América in Brazil, he led the team to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated on penalties after a goalless draw withthe hosts.[39]Two years later, the national side fell at the same stage on the same method againstPeru.[40]
Berizzo was relieved of his duties on 15 October 2021, following a 4–0 loss inBolivia in theWorld Cup qualifiers.[41]
Berizzo was hired on a four-year contract to be the manager of Chile on 26 May 2022, after the dismissal ofMartín Lasarte for failing to reach the World Cup.[42] His first game on 6 June was a 2–0friendly loss away toSouth Korea;[43] this wasfollowed by defeats toTunisia andGhana at theKirin Cup in Japan.[44]
Berizzo did not win until his eighth game, a 3–2 exhibition win over Paraguay on 28 March 2023.[45] Having taken one win and two draws from the first five games of2026 World Cup qualification, he resigned on 17 November 2023.[46]
On 7 September 2024, Berizzo returned to club duties by joiningClub León ofLiga MX.[47] One year later, he resigned.[48]
Shortly after leaving Marseille, Berizzo spoke out against alleged homosexuality in France:
"A bunch of faggots is what you have in French football. There are so many homosexual players there, they always provoke you, they touch your thighs, your bum, to see if you will give some kind of signal. I feel disgusted when a homosexual shares the same shower and stares at one's bum with desire, and even gets emotional when you are naked."
— Berizzo quoted in aDaily Telegraph article.[49]
The day after that quote was published by Mexican newspaperLa Crónica de Hoy, he denied having said that:
"It is an outrage. This is serious. That note never existed. I have no problem with having a gay colleague. People can do whatever they want to do with their private life."
— Berizzo quoted byClarín.[50]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Estudiantes |  | 4 February 2011 | 30 May 2011 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 034.78 | |
| O'Higgins |  | 3 November 2011 | 2 June 2014 | 122 | 63 | 29 | 30 | 191 | 126 | +65 | 051.64 | |
| Celta |  | 2 June 2014 | 27 May 2017 | 148 | 61 | 36 | 51 | 205 | 207 | −2 | 041.22 | [52] |
| Sevilla | | 27 May 2017 | 22 December 2017 | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 051.85 | [53] |
| Athletic Bilbao | | 31 May 2018 | 4 December 2018 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 013.33 | [54] |
| Paraguay |  | 18 February 2019 | 15 October 2021 | 31 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 022.58 | |
| Chile | | 26 May 2022 | 16 November 2023 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 025.00 | |
| Chile Olympic | | 26 May 2022 | 16 November 2023 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 075.00 | |
| León |  | 7 September 2024 | 27 September 2025 | 44 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 53 | 61 | −8 | 034.09 | |
| Total | 434 | 180 | 118 | 136 | 598 | 545 | +53 | 041.47 | ||||
Newell's
River Plate
O'Higgins
Chile Olympic
Argentina squads | |||||||
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Paraguay squads | |||||||||||||
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