Juan Antonio Pizzi
Encyclopedia
Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja (born 7 June 1968) is a retired Argentine
-born Spanish
professional footballer who played as a striker, and a current coach.
He spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, namely at the service of Tenerife
, helping to the side's consolidation in La Liga
, and amassing top division totals of 221 games and 92 goals over the course of eight seasons - he also played for Valencia
and Barcelona
.
Pizzi represented the Spanish national team
for four years, appearing with it in one World Cup
and one European Championship
. After retiring, he embarked in a managerial career.
, Pizzi started his professional career with Rosario Central
, before transferring to Mexico
's Deportivo Toluca. After only one season he moved to CD Tenerife
, with great individual success (30 goals in his first two seasons combined), while also helping the Canary Islands
outfit qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year.
This performances prompted interest from fellow La Liga
club Valencia CF
. Highly unsettled, Pizzi returned after only one season to Tenerife. In the second season in his second spell, he fired the club into another UEFA Cup qualification, topping the goal charts at 31, in 41 contests, also good enough for the European Golden Boot.
After that, Pizzi transferred to FC Barcelona
. Never an undisputed starter (barred by Ronaldo
, Sonny Anderson
and the versatile Luis Enrique
during his two-season stint), he managed to net 11 goals in the league alone, being very popular among the Culé fans.
With Barcelona he won the Spanish Supercup
in 1996, the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Cup
in 1997, winning the latter again in the following year, in which he also won his only league title. Arguably, his most memorable moment was the decisive goal in the 5–4 victory over Atlético Madrid in the King's Cup quarterfinals second leg, after Barcelona trailed 3–0 at half-time.
Subsequently, Pizzi returned to Argentina to play for Club Atlético River Plate
, then had an unassuming spell in Portugal
(only 11 matches) for F.C. Porto. After starting 2001–02 back with Rosario, he signed with Villarreal CF
for its closure, as the club had lost to a severe leg injury countryman Martín Palermo
.
After his retirement, aged almost 34, Pizzi played polo
in the Barcelona
region, then started his coaching career. Together with Peru
vian José del Solar
, he managed Argentine first division's Colón de Santa Fe
at the beginning of the Clausura 2005, but both were sacked after three losses in the first three matches.
On 13 April 2006, Pizzi became the coach of Universidad San Martín de Porres
, in the Peruvian first division.
, scoring eight goals. His debut came on November 30, 1994, in a 2–0 friendly
win with Finland
. In the following year, on September 20, he helped beat country of birth Argentina
2–1, in a friendly played in Madrid
.
Pizzi was part of the squads for UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup
. In the latter, after replacing Fernando Morientes
in a 0–0 draw against Paraguay
, as Spain exited in the group stage, he retired from the international scene.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
professional footballer who played as a striker, and a current coach.
He spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, namely at the service of Tenerife
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife . Founded in 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, with a 24,000-seat capacity.-History:Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in...
, helping to the side's consolidation in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
, and amassing top division totals of 221 games and 92 goals over the course of eight seasons - he also played for Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
and Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
.
Pizzi represented the Spanish national team
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
for four years, appearing with it in one World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
and one European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
. After retiring, he embarked in a managerial career.
Club career
Born in Santa FeSanta Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...
, Pizzi started his professional career with Rosario Central
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....
, before transferring to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's Deportivo Toluca. After only one season he moved to CD Tenerife
CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife . Founded in 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, with a 24,000-seat capacity.-History:Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in...
, with great individual success (30 goals in his first two seasons combined), while also helping the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
outfit qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year.
This performances prompted interest from fellow La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
club Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. Highly unsettled, Pizzi returned after only one season to Tenerife. In the second season in his second spell, he fired the club into another UEFA Cup qualification, topping the goal charts at 31, in 41 contests, also good enough for the European Golden Boot.
After that, Pizzi transferred to FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. Never an undisputed starter (barred by Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
, Sonny Anderson
Sonny Anderson
Anderson da Silva Nilmar , known as Sonny or Anderson, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a striker....
and the versatile Luis Enrique
Luís Enrique Martínez García
Luis Enrique Martínez García , known as Luis Enrique, is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current head coach of Serie A club A.S. Roma...
during his two-season stint), he managed to net 11 goals in the league alone, being very popular among the Culé fans.
With Barcelona he won the Spanish Supercup
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
in 1996, the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Cup
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
in 1997, winning the latter again in the following year, in which he also won his only league title. Arguably, his most memorable moment was the decisive goal in the 5–4 victory over Atlético Madrid in the King's Cup quarterfinals second leg, after Barcelona trailed 3–0 at half-time.
Subsequently, Pizzi returned to Argentina to play for Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
, then had an unassuming spell in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
(only 11 matches) for F.C. Porto. After starting 2001–02 back with Rosario, he signed with Villarreal CF
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
for its closure, as the club had lost to a severe leg injury countryman Martín Palermo
Martín Palermo
Martín Palermo is a retired Argentine footballer who formerly played for Boca Juniors of Argentina, and the Argentina national team...
.
After his retirement, aged almost 34, Pizzi played polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
in the Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
region, then started his coaching career. Together with Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian José del Solar
José del Solar
José Guillermo del Solar Alvarez-Calderón is a retired Peruvian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and a current coach....
, he managed Argentine first division's Colón de Santa Fe
Colón de Santa Fe
Club Atlético Colón, commonly referred to as Colón de Santa Fe, is a football team from Santa Fe, Argentina. As of Primera División Argentina 1946 the football squad plays in the highest division of Argentine football, and has done so continuously since 1995-96...
at the beginning of the Clausura 2005, but both were sacked after three losses in the first three matches.
On 13 April 2006, Pizzi became the coach of Universidad San Martín de Porres
Universidad San Martín de Porres
Club Deportivo Universidad San Martín de Porres is a Peruvian football club, who plays in the city of Lima. The club was founded in 2004 as a joint stock company, the first in Peru. They then bought Club Sport Coopsol's place in the First Division who was promoted to the Peruvian First Division...
, in the Peruvian first division.
International career
Pizzi played 22 matches for SpainSpain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
, scoring eight goals. His debut came on November 30, 1994, in a 2–0 friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
win with Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
. In the following year, on September 20, he helped beat country of birth Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
2–1, in a friendly played in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Pizzi was part of the squads for UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
. In the latter, after replacing Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes Sánchez is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.His main asset was his aerial and strong goalscoring abilities. He played for a number of clubs throughout his career, including Real Madrid, Monaco, Liverpool, and Valencia...
in a 0–0 draw against Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
, as Spain exited in the group stage, he retired from the international scene.
Club statistics
| Season | Club | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988/89 | Rosario Central Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season.... |
26 | 12 |
| 1989/90 | Rosario Central | 31 | 15 |
| 1990/91 | Toluca Club Toluca Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club is a Mexican professional football club. Toluca's stadium Nemesio Diez Riega is located in Toluca, State of Mexico in Mexico. Toluca plays in the Primera División de México and has been champion ten times... |
30 | 12 |
| 1991/92 | Tenerife | 34 | 15 |
| 1992/93 | Tenerife | 34 | 15 |
| 1993/94 | Valencia Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the... |
19 | 4 |
| 1994/95 | Tenerife | 32 | 15 |
| 1995/96 | Tenerife | 41 | 31 |
| 1996/97 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
33 | 9 |
| 1997/98 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
15 | 2 |
| 1998/99 | River Plate Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football.... |
17 | 6 |
| 1999/00 | Rosario Central | 28 | 19 |
| 2000/01 | Porto | 11 | 3 |
| 2000/01 | Rosario Central Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season.... |
10 | 4 |
| 2001/02 | Rosario Central Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season.... |
18 | 7 |
| 2001/02 | Villarreal Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community... |
13 | 1 |
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win% | ||||
| Colón Santa Fe Colón de Santa Fe Club Atlético Colón, commonly referred to as Colón de Santa Fe, is a football team from Santa Fe, Argentina. As of Primera División Argentina 1946 the football squad plays in the highest division of Argentine football, and has done so continuously since 1995-96... |
 |
13 February 2005 | 26 February 2005 |
|||||
| Universidad San Martín Universidad San Martín de Porres Club Deportivo Universidad San Martín de Porres is a Peruvian football club, who plays in the city of Lima. The club was founded in 2004 as a joint stock company, the first in Peru. They then bought Club Sport Coopsol's place in the First Division who was promoted to the Peruvian First Division... |
 |
23 April 2006 | 26 November 2006 |
|||||
| Universidad Católica Club Deportivo Universidad Católica Club Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.Universidad Católica is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile and considered one of the three "big teams"... |
 |
18 July 2010 | ||||||
| Total |
||||||||
External links
- Argentine League statistics
- ArgentineSoccer profile
- BDFutbol profile
- El Mundo profile
- National team data
- International appearances; at RSSSFRec.Sport.Soccer Statistics FoundationThe Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation is an international amateur organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football...
- USMP coach profile