Osvaldo ZubeldÃa
Zubeldía as coach of Estudiantes
Osvaldo Juan Zubeldía (* June 24, 1927 in Junín, Argentina, † January 17, 1982 in Medellín, Colombia) was an Argentine football player and later coach. As a player, not very successful, he was involved as a coach on the rise of Estudiantes de La Plata from relegation candidates to the World Cup winners crucial. Furthermore, he showed, among other San Lorenzo de Almagro for CA and the Colombian club Atlético Nacional, and also briefly for the Argentine national football team, responsible.
- 4.1 As a player
- 4.2 As a coach
Playing career
Osvaldo Zubeldía began his career as a football player at bonarenser club CA Velez Sarsfield in 1949. At Vélez, which, unlike today, not one of the top teams in Argentine football mattered at that time, but was still in the top division, Zubeldía stood up to the year 1955 under contract. For season 1956 finally he joined the club and played for the first time henceforth for Boca Juniors, where he was for two years under contract. In those years when the Maquina of the great rivals River Plate football in particular Argentina, it was Zubeldía in the jersey of Boca Juniors is not possible to win the championship. In the seasons 1956 and 1957, a third and a fourth place occupied while each coached by José María Minella River Plate was able to prevail. Overall, Osvaldo Zubeldía came in those two years to 38 league games in the jersey of Boca Juniors, where he scored ten goals.
From 1958 to 1959, he then played for CA Atlanta, a smaller, now long since slid down in the third division club from Buenos Aires, but the División in the fifties in the Primera was encountered. As a player of CA Atlanta Osvaldo Zubeldía reached with a fourth and a sixth place in the years 1958 and 1959 quite respectable results. In addition, the Copa Suecia was a 1958 due to the Soccer World Cup in Sweden and the resulting break it out once transmitted tournament, which can be regarded as the unofficial championship won in league play.
In 1960, Osvaldo Zubeldía finally had his last stop as an active player doing CA Banfield in the second Argentine league. Then Zubeldías ended playing career at the age of 33 years.
Coaching career
After the end of his active career as a football player Osvaldo Zubeldía was coach. Only one year after the end of his career he returned to this function to CA Atlanta, where he already stood from 1958 to 1959 as a player under contract. With Zubeldía as coach Atlanta played two quite respectable seasons. In the season 1961, the Neutrainer led his team to fourth place in the following season in seventh place was reached.
At the end of 1963 Osvaldo Zubeldía left the Club Atlético Atlanta. He was subsequently unemployed for two years. In 1965 he took over the vacant post of the Argentine national team. Since 1960, this position had already nine other coaches, including well-known personalities such as Guillermo Stábile, Juan Carlos Lorenzo and José María Minella, tried it but no one was able to work long term. Something similar happened to Osvaldo Zubeldía which, although relatively safe for the Football World Cup 1966 led the ailing Argentine national team in England, but the confidence was withdrawn even before the tournament starts. His successor, Juan Carlos Lorenzo managed with Argentina to the quarter- finals, where they, however, was denied by the host.
Interaction with Estudiantes
A few months after the end of his term as Argentine coach Osvaldo Zubeldía was introduced in 1965 as the new coach at League Estudiantes de La Plata. Estudiantes was then a resistant top notch playing, but also relatively unsuccessful provincial club. They found the club more in a relegation battle as the race for the championship. However, this status should change with the arrival of coach Zubeldía. This had already written in 1965 together with Argentino Geronazzo a book on tactics in football and came to prominence as coach of Estudiantes de La Plata as a successful tactician a name. As one of the first coach ever voted Osvaldo Zubeldía his tactics on the playing style of the opponent and let his players also by so-called " tactical fouls" or by practicing the offside trap - a then completely unknown tactical means - efforts of the opposing team to counteract. For his tactical views reaped Zubeldía much criticism, especially by followers of traditional Argentine football, which was mainly focused on performance quality, but he had with his methods also great success, what the benefits of Estudiantes de La Plata in the years 1965 to 1970 show.
Ultimately, Estudiantes developed within three years from relegation candidates to the World Cup winner Osvaldo Zubeldía as a coach and team that almost exclusively of relatively unknown players without international experience, of which probably Juan Ramón Verón and Carlos Bilardo are best known, was composed. The latter was years later, even a successful coach and coached very along the lines of Osvaldo Zubeldía. Its work is therefore also based on the cleavage of the Argentine Trainertums into two camps: On the one hand the supporters of football left, so the offensive and intent on a nice game César Luis Menotti's system and on the other the followers Bilardos and ultimately Zubeldías tactics and mostly even more defensive -oriented game.
In the first year after his arrival at Estudiantes de La Plata Zubeldía led the team to fifth place in the Primera División in 1965 and the following year they finished seventh. The first big success came in Zubeldías team in the Metropolitano Competition La Liga in 1967, when they prevailed in the final against Racing Club and the first Argentine championship ever got for Estudiantes de La Plata. Due to the championship in 1967 Estudiantes was allowed to start for the Copa Libertadores 1968. Here one was in the group stage first before Independiente Avellaneda and the Colombian representatives Deportivo Cali and CD Los Millonarios. The second group phase was finished first ahead of Independiente and Universitario de Deportes of Peru. After the semi-final against Racing Club was over, we finally met in the final at Palmeiras Sao Paulo from Brazil. With 2:1, 1:3, and a 2-0 decision in Game Estudiantes defeated the Brazilians and thus secured the first of three titles in the Copa Libertadores in series. A little later, was brought by a 1:0 and 1:1 against the winner of the European Cup of Champions 1967/68, Manchester United, even the World Cup to the Río de la Plata.
While operating in the League jumped out no more tracks, was the Estudiantes de La Plata of Osvaldo Zubeldía internationally continues to be very successful. As defending champion automatically qualified for the Copa Libertadores 1969, you could win this again by a final victory (1-0 and 2-0 ) against the Uruguayan representative Nacional Montevideo. Initially, it was eliminated in the semifinals of Chile former champions Universidad Católica. A few weeks after winning the second Copa Libertadores Estudiantes was also successful in the Copa Interamericana and won against Deportivo Toluca, the first edition of this competition at all.
In 1970, Osvaldo Zubeldía and Estudiantes de La Plata managed the Titelhatrick in the Copa Libertadores. After River Plate was clearly defeated 4-1 by return game in the semifinals, Zubeldías team again also for the final, this time Peñarol Montevideo, Uruguay pulled off the short straw. As in the previous year against AC Milan failed Estudiantes however, in September 1970 in an attempt to win the World Cup again. It sat a defeat against Feyenoord Rotterdam. The final of the World Cup in 1970 was the last international game of Osvaldo Zubeldía as coach of Estudiantes. He left the club after the season of 1970. Success coach, however, was the success. It should take until 1982 before Estudiantes should win the Argentine championship a few months after Osvaldo Zubeldías death again. Coach that team was the title of Carlos Bilardo was earned, with a tactic, as it once already practiced Zubeldía in La Plata.
Work in Colombia
1970 ended Osvaldo Zubeldías work at Estudiantes de La Plata and he spent four years in a row without a job. In 1974 he finally took over for a year as coach at CA San Lorenzo de Almagro. The team around players like Roberto Telch, Jorge Olguín and Oscar Ortiz led Zubeldía for winning the Torneo Nacional of the Primera División in 1974 by a first place with a point advantage over Rosario Central. After winning the title Zubeldía resigned in San Lorenzo de Almagro, he was the coming season new coach of Racing Club. There, the success did not materialize, however, and Osvaldo Zubeldía has been dismissed after a series of poor performances in the Torneo Metropolitano a few months after taking office.
After his release in Avellaneda left Osvaldo Zubeldía Argentina and went to Colombia to work for today's record champions Atlético Nacional as head coach. In Medellín Zubeldía had build his longest tenure as coach at all and could with success also to his great time at Estudiantes de La Plata and had a great influence on the development of Colombian football. Zubeldías work with Atlético Nacional laid with the foundation for the positive development of football in Colombia, which became one of the most successful in South America in the 1980s and 1989 in Atlético Nacional had his first Copa Libertadores winner.
" Osvaldo has marked an era, because he has professionalized us and taught us that work is the key to success."
In the years 1976 and 1981 Zubeldía won with Atlético Nacional in each case the Colombian championship. In Campeonato Colombiano 1976 one was in the final table first with six points ahead of Atlético Junior. Five years later, the new title was achieved by a first ranking in the final round consisting of four teams, two points ahead of Deportes Tolima. Little had been successful, the participation in the Copa Libertadores in the era of Osvaldo Zubeldía at Atlético Nacional, because it came out ( trained by Zubeldía here was Atlético Nacional, however, only in the first few games ) in both the Copa Libertadores in 1977 and in the Copa Libertadores 1982 already the early exit in the first round.
Death
Osvaldo Zubeldía died on 17 January 1982 at the Colombian Medellín of a heart attack, said he was still standing at the time of his death as a coach at Atletico Nacional under contract. Zubeldía suffered a heart attack, as he held one of his hobbies and pursued a horse race. Osvaldo Zubeldía was 54 years old.
His remains were brought to Argentina and buried at the central cemetery in the city of Junín.
Achievements
As a player
- Copa Suecia: 1x
As a coach
- Argentine Championship: 2x
- World Cup: 1x
- Copa Libertadores: 3x
- Copa Interamericana: 1x
- Colombian Championship: 2x