 Poyet in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1967-11-15)15 November 1967 (age 58)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| River Plate (Montevideo) | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Grenoble | 37 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | River Plate (Montevideo) | 78 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1997 | Zaragoza | 239 | (63) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | Chelsea | 105 | (36) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | 82 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Swindon Town | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 463 | (125) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2000 | Uruguay | 26 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2013 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Sunderland | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | AEK Athens | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Real Betis | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Shanghai Shenhua | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Bordeaux | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Universidad Católica | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Greece | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈɡuspoˈʝet]; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professionalfootball manager and formerfootballer who was recently the manager ofK League 1 clubJeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Poyet played as amidfielder and began his career with short spells atGrenoble andRiver Plate. He then spent seven years atReal Zaragoza, with whom he won theCopa del Rey and theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1997, Poyet moved toChelsea on a free transfer and helped the club win theFA Cup and theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, he moved toTottenham Hotspur, where he saw out the remainder of his career. He was also part of theUruguay side which won the1995 Copa América.
After his playing career ended, Poyet moved into coaching. He served as assistant manager toDennis Wise atSwindon Town andLeeds United, andJuande Ramos atTottenham Hotspur. In November 2009, Poyet was appointed manager ofBrighton & Hove Albion and in his first full season led the club to promotion asLeague One Champions, for which he was named League One Manager of the Year by theLMA. In October 2013, he was hired byPremier League teamSunderland and guided them to theLeague Cup final in his first season, but was sacked in March 2015 after a poor run of results. He later had spells atSuper League Greece sideAEK Athens,La Liga clubReal Betis,Chinese Super League teamShanghai Shenhua,Bordeaux ofLigue 1,Universidad Católica in Chile andGreece.
Born inMontevideo,[1] a goalscoring midfielder, he began his career with spells atGrenoble andRiver Plate. Poyet moved toReal Zaragoza in 1990; winning theCopa del Rey in 1994 and theCup Winners' Cup ayear later, beatingArsenal in the final.[2] He became Zaragoza's longest-serving foreign player, and scored 60 goals in 240 games for the club.
Poyet joined Chelsea on a free transfer in June 1997. Not long into his first season at the London club, he sufferedcruciate ligament damage, this meant he missed the victorious1998 Football League Cup Final but recovered to play in the team's successful Cup Winners' Cup Final againstVfB Stuttgart. The following year, he contributed 14 goals – making him the club's second highest scorer – to help Chelsea finish third in thePremiership, including a crucial headed goal in 1–0 win againstLeeds United.[3] He also scored the winner for Chelsea in the1998 UEFA Super Cup againstReal Madrid.[4] In the1999–2000 season, he scored 18 goals (which again made him Chelsea's second highest scorer), with a scissors-kick volley againstSunderland,[5] a long range strike againstLazio,[6] and both of Chelsea's goals in the FA Cup semi-final againstNewcastle United,[7] among the most memorable, as the team won theFA Cup and reached theUEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
With the arrival of new managerClaudio Ranieri in September 2000, Chelsea was a team in transition. With Ranieri seeking to reduce the average age of the squad, Poyet became surplus to requirements and requested a transfer.[citation needed]
In 145 appearances for Chelsea, Poyet scored 49 goals.[citation needed]
Poyet joinedTottenham Hotspur in May 2001 for around £2.2 million. He scored 14 goals in his debut season for Spurs and helped his team reach the League Cup final, but they lost 2–1 toBlackburn Rovers.[8] His time at the club was blighted by injuries, and he again sustained cruciate ligament damage in August 2002,[9] but still managed to score 23 goals in 98 games.
Poyet was aUruguay international, making his international debut on 13 July 1993 in afriendly match againstPeru (1–2). After 67 minutes, he was substituted byCarlos Aguilera.[10]
Poyet helped his country win theCopa América in 1995. In doing so, he was voted as the best player in his position at the tournament.[11]
He won 26 caps in total, scoring three goals.
In July 2006, he became a player and assistant manager atSwindon Town alongside ex-Chelsea teammate,Dennis Wise.[12] Both Poyet and Wise were given permission to talk about forming the newLeeds United management team on 23 October 2006 and looked set to take the place of caretaker manager,John Carver, until Swindon withdrew permission due to disagreements over compensation.[13] On 24 October 2006, Poyet was confirmed as assistant manager of Leeds with Dennis Wise as the manager.[14]On 29 October 2007, Poyet rejoined his former club Tottenham Hotspur to work alongside new head coachJuande Ramos as a first team coach with Marcos Álvarez as a fitness coach.[15] During his first season as assistant manager atWhite Hart Lane, he won the2007–08League Cup, beatingChelsea 2–1 after extra time in theFinal after a penalty fromDimitar Berbatov in normal time and a header early into extra time fromJonathan Woodgate.[16]
On 25 October 2008, Poyet parted company with Tottenham Hotspur along with managerJuande Ramos, first team coach Marcos Álvarez and sporting directorDamien Comolli.[17]
On 10 November 2009, Poyet was announced as the new manager of EnglishLeague One sideBrighton & Hove Albion on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[18][19] Former Tottenham teammateMauricio Taricco was also announced as Poyet's assistant manager. He steered the club to safety as he had a brilliant start to his career at Brighton by going toSouthampton and winning 3–1. He started the 2010–11 season by making a number of signings includingGordon Greer,Radostin Kishishev,Liam Bridcutt,Matt Sparrow,Casper Ankergren andAshley Barnes. He also signed a new four-year contract along with Taricco.[20]
The season started with five wins from the first eight games putting Brighton top of theLeague One table. Brighton started the year 2011 with a 5–0 home win on New Year's Day againstLeyton Orient.[21] Most notable was a run of eight straight league victories in March, leaving the club 13 points clear at the top with games in hand over all of their closest rivals with the exception of Southampton. Brighton secured promotion to theChampionship following a 4–3 home win overDagenham & Redbridge,Ashley Barnes scoring the winner in the 63rd minute. TheLeague One title was clinched on 16 April 2011, as Brighton beatWalsall 3–1, having been top without slipping since the eighth game of the season and with four games of the season still to play.[22] On 23 May 2011, Poyet was voted LMA League One Manager of the Year for his achievements in the2010–11 season – his first full season as a football manager.[23]
During pre-season 2011, Poyet twice broke the club's record transfer-fee in signingWill Buckley andCraig Mackail-Smith, and also brought in formerSpain andValencia playmakerVicente on a free transfer. After an unbeaten start to the 2011–12 season, Poyet was named as Championship manager of the month for August 2011.[24] Poyet shortly after signed a new and improved five-year contract to remain at the club until 2016.[25] In March 2012, Poyet won the Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award at theFootball League Awards ceremony, beatingCrystal Palace managerDougie Freedman and formerHuddersfield Town bossLee Clark.[26]
On 23 June 2013, Brighton released an official statement declaring that Poyet had been informed that "his employment has been terminated with immediate effect", following a disciplinary process.[27] Poyet said that he was only made aware of his sacking when a member of theBBC production staff handed him a printout of the club statement, whilst working as a pundit forBBC Three's coverage of theSpain vs.Nigeria group game in theFIFA Confederations Cup.[28]
On 8 October 2013, it was announced that Poyet had been appointed as head coach atSunderland on a two-year contract,[29] becoming the first Uruguayan to manage in the Premier League.[30] Eleven days later in his first match in charge, they lost 4–0 away toSwansea City.[31] His second game in charge, and first at theStadium of Light, resulted in a 2–1 win againstlocal rivalsNewcastle United on 27 October.[32]
In his first season in charge, he took Sunderland to theLeague Cup Final after apenalty shootout win overManchester United in the semi-finals.[33] On 19 April 2014, Poyet defeatedJosé Mourinho in his first-ever home league defeat in thePremier League asChelsea manager, a 2–1 win to Sunderland atStamford Bridge.[34] Poyet led Sunderland to a 2–0 win at home toWest Bromwich Albion on 7 May to guarantee Premier League safety with one game remaining, performing "a miracle" in his own words by arresting a decline that saw Sunderland seven points adrift of safety as late as 7 April, when they lost 5–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Defeat to Everton in their following league game made avoiding relegation look like a near impossible task for the club, but Sunderland, under Poyet's stewardship, earned 13 points out of a possible 15 in their following five league games.[35][36][37]Poyet signed a new two-year contract at Sunderland on 28 May 2014.[38]
The club sacked Poyet on 16 March 2015. At the time of his sacking, they were in 17th place in the league, one point above the relegation places.[39]
On 29 October 2015,AEK Athens reported that Poyet had agreed in principle to be the club's manager until summer 2016.[40] In February 2016, he guided his team to successive wins against neighboursOlympiacos andPanathinaikos.[41] He was sacked on 19 April 2016 after the team finished third in the league and awaited aGreek Cup semi-final; the board had taken issue with him informing the press before them that he would leave at the end of the campaign.[42]
On 9 May 2016, Poyet had signed a two-year deal withReal Betis.[43] On 12 November 2016, he was sacked and replaced byVíctor Sánchez.[44]
On 29 November 2016, Poyet became the manager ofChinese Super League sideShanghai Shenhua.[45] Despite being blamed by the public for poor performance in the league and resigning on 11 September,[46] he was still appreciated by some fans for his contribution to the team's championship in 2017Chinese FA Cup later in November, including a 1-0 home victory over classic rivalBeijing Guoan in 4th round, and a 3-1 away victory overShandong Luneng in quarter final.
On 20 January 2018, Poyet became the manager ofLigue 1 sideBordeaux taking them in 4 month from 14th in the table to 6th and qualifying for European competitions. .[47] In August, he was suspended by the club after criticising the sale ofGaëtan Laborde toMontpellier.[48] He was subsequently fired and replaced byRicardo Gomes on 5 September.[49]
On 28 February 2021, Poyet became the manager ofChilean Primera División clubUniversidad Católica.[50] He began his tenure by winning the delayed2020Supercopa de Chile against rivalsColo-Colo and made the last 16 of the2021 Copa Libertadores, but left by mutual consent at the end of August with the worst campaign in the previous 10 years.[51]
On 3 February 2022, Poyet became the manager ofGreece. He guided the team to four victories from their four opening fixtures in League C of the2022 UEFA Nations League, helping Greece earn promotion to League B for the following campaign.[52] However, Greece then narrowly failed to qualify forUEFA Euro 2024, losing a playoff final on penalties toGeorgia on 26 March 2024; Poyet's contract, which was set to expire five days later, was subsequently not renewed.[53]
On 24 December 2024, Poyet became the manager ofK League 1 clubJeonbuk Hyundai Motors.[54] On December 8 2025, after winning the double (Korea K League 1 Champions and Korea FA Cup Champions), he announced his intention to step down as manager at the end of this season.[55]
Poyet is married to Madelon González with whom he has two sons:Diego (born 1995) and Matias (born 1993).[56] Diego is also a midfielder, making his professional debut in 2014 forCharlton Athletic before moving toWest Ham United, and has represented England at youth international level.
Poyet's father was Olympic basketball playerWashington Poyet, while his brother Marcelo also played the sport professionally in South America.[57] Poyet introduced basketball to Sunderland academy training sessions, believing it to share many attributes with football, particularly marking.[57]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Zaragoza | 1990–91[58] | La Liga | 31 | 7 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 2[c] | 2 | 38 | 11 | ||
| 1991–92[59] | La Liga | 33 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 4 | ||||
| 1992–93[60] | La Liga | 33 | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 3 | — | 43 | 9 | |||
| 1993–94[61] | La Liga | 34 | 11 | 12 | 5 | — | — | — | 46 | 16 | ||||
| 1994–95[62] | La Liga | 34 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[e] | 3 | 2[f] | 0 | 44 | 14 | ||
| 1995–96[63] | La Liga | 36 | 11 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 1 | — | 46 | 12 | |||
| 1996–97[64] | La Liga | 38 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 14 | ||||
| Total | 239 | 63 | 33 | 8 | — | 18 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 294 | 80 | |||
| Chelsea | 1997–98[65] | Premier League | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[e] | 1 | 1[g] | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| 1998–99[66] | Premier League | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6[e] | 0 | 1[h] | 1 | 38 | 14 | |
| 1999–2000[67] | Premier League | 33 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14[i] | 2 | — | 53 | 18 | ||
| 2000–01[68] | Premier League | 30 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 35 | 12 | |
| Total | 105 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 145 | 49 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2001–02[69] | Premier League | 34 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 43 | 14 | ||
| 2002–03[70] | Premier League | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 6 | |||
| 2003–04[71] | Premier League | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 3 | |||
| Total | 82 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 2 | — | — | 98 | 23 | ||||
| Career total | 426 | 117 | 49 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 42 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 537 | 152 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay[72] | 1993 | 3 | 0 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 1995 | Cotton Bowl,Dallas, United States |  United States | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 5 July 1995 | Estadio Centenario,Montevideo, Uruguay |  Venezuela | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1995 Copa América |
| 3 | 24 April 1996 | Brígido Iriarte Stadium,Caracas, Venezuela | Venezuela | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion |  | 10 November 2009 | 24 June 2013 | 194 | 86 | 59 | 49 | 282 | 206 | +76 | 044.33 | [73] |
| Sunderland | | 8 October 2013 | 16 March 2015 | 75 | 23 | 22 | 30 | 82 | 105 | −23 | 030.67 | [73] |
| AEK Athens |  | 30 October 2015[40] | 19 April 2016[42] | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 47 | 13 | +34 | 064.29 | [74] |
| Real Betis |  | 9 May 2016[43] | 12 November 2016[44] | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 027.27 | [75] |
| Shanghai Shenhua |  | 29 November 2016[45] | 11 September 2017[46] | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 034.48 | [76] |
| Bordeaux |  | 20 January 2018[47] | 17 August 2018[48][a] | 21 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 061.90 | [75] |
| Universidad Católica |  | 28 February 2021[50] | 30 August 2021 | 31 | 13 | 5 | 13 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 041.94 | [78] |
| Greece | | 11 February 2022 | 31 March 2024 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 054.55 | [73] |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |  | 24 December 2024[54] | 8 December 2025 | 48 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 83 | 42 | +41 | 062.50 | [74] |
| Career Total | 459 | 209 | 117 | 133 | 664 | 512 | +152 | 045.53 | ||||
Real Zaragoza
Chelsea
Uruguay
Brighton & Hove Albion
Universidad Católica
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Individual
