Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxoɾxesampaˈoli]; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach who was most recently the head coach of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury.[1]
Sampaoli started with an impressive coaching run at Coronel Bolognesi of Peru in 2004, and continued with brief but successful terms at O'Higgins of Chile and Emelec of Ecuador.
On 28 June 2016, Sampaoli signed a two-year contract with Sevilla.[3] After spending only one year in Spain and leading Sevilla to fourth spot in La Liga, and ensuring Champions League football the following season, Sampaoli left the club to coach the Argentina national team,[4] where he left by mutual consent, after a disappointing run in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He eventually agreed to coach Brazilian club Santos in 2019, staying one year and leading the club to the second position in the league. In March 2021, he returned to manage in European football when he was appointed at French side Marseille. In October 2022, he returned to manage Sevilla. On 21 March 2023, he was sacked by Sevilla and replaced by José Luis Mendilibar.
Early life
Sampaoli was born in Casilda, a small town located in Caseros Department of the Santa Fe Province in Argentina. In his youth, he was very passionate about football, playing for amateur teams in his hometown league. He eventually joined Newell's Old Boys youth team, where he, by his own admission, "suffered stage fright", leading him to fail.[5] While at the club he suffered a tibia and fibula injury in 1979, forcing him to retire from playing professional football at the age of 19.[1] During his last playing years and his first managerial years, he also worked part-time at a bank.[6]
Coaching career
Early career
In October 1991, aged just 31, Sampaoli acted as an interim coach for hometown side Club Atlético Alumni, as manager Mario Bonavera was out on a personal trip. During that season, he was already working as a fitness coach aside from being a defensive midfielder.[6] He was given the role of manager of the club's youth setup in the following year, but only retired in 1993.[6] In 1994 he was named manager of the first team, taking the club to the finals of the Liga Casildense de Fútbol, but lost it to CA 9 de Julio de Arequito.[6] In the following season, he again reached the finals, but suffered defeat to the very same club.[7]
For the 1996 season, Sampaoli was appointed at 9 Julio's rivals CA Belgrano de Arequito, and coached to win the year's league title with the side.[8] In May of that year,[6] he was hired by Primera B Metropolitana side Argentino de Rosario,[9] and ended the season in the 13th position. He subsequently returned to Alumni and Belgrano,[8] before taking over CA Aprendices Casildenses in 1999; with the latter side, he won two consecutive Liga Casildense titles.[6]
Sampaoli returned to a third stint with Alumni in 2001,[6] after a short stint back at Argentino de Rosario in the previous year.[10] Despite reaching the finals of the Liga Casildense, he lost it to former side Aprendices.[6]
Juan Aurich
On 9 January 2002, Sampaoli was appointed coach of Peruvian Primera División side Juan Aurich; it was the first professional club in his career.[11][12] On 24 February, he directed his first professional game against Universitario, where they lost 2–1 after leading the whole game due to a penalty scored by Carlos Flores (66th minute).[13]
Sampaoli had a poor spell in Juan Aurich, directing only eight games, five of which the team lost and two where the team tied with Coopsol Trujillo and Alianza Lima. The team only won against Cienciano 2–0 with goals from César Sánchez and Flores. He left the club in April, when Aurich was sitting at the bottom of the table.[14]
In 2004, Sampaoli was named coach of fellow top-tier side Coronel Bolognesi,[16] replacing Roberto Mosquera.[17] There, he had an irregular start, but soon coached to settle the team during the Peruvian 2005's Descentralizado, finishing fifth in the Apertura, and then coached to finish third in that same year's Clausura, taking the club to their first international competition.
Sampaoli opted to leave the club in December 2005, but returned on 27 June 2006, replacing compatriot Raúl Donsanti.[18] Competing in the 2006's Clausura as well as in the Sudamericana tournament, his side finished third in the national league.[16]
Sporting Cristal
In 2007, Sampaoli was hired as the head coach of Sporting Cristal. However, his time at Cristal turned out to be disappointing after 18 matches and only five wins. He was dismissed from the "Celestes" in May of that year, ending his Peruvian coaching career.[16]
O'Higgins
On 12 December 2007, Sampaoli arrived in Chile to take over at O'Higgins, in the place of Jorge Garcés.[19] In 2008, the team proved to be tough to crack for bigger Chilean teams, finishing third in that year's Apertura. They were eliminated by powerhouse Universidad de Chile in the playoff quarterfinals.[citation needed]
The next year turned out to be a tough year for Sampaoli, as "La Celeste" had an irregular campaign, where they finished in 8th place, and, despite qualifying to the 2009's Apertura Playoffs, ended up being thrashed 6–1 in the second leg of the quarterfinals by Unión Española. He resigned in August 2009, being replaced by Geraldo Silva.
[20]
On 3 December 2012, Chile's Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional announced that Sampaoli would take over as coach of the national team after a successful run with La U.[28][29] His arrival brought about a turnaround in performances and results, with Chile winning three of their first four World Cup qualifiers after his appointment. Under Sampaoli, Chile returned to the energetic, high-pressing game of Marcelo Bielsa,[30] the Argentinian coach who inspired Sampaoli's coaching philosophy.
On 19 January 2016, Sampaoli resigned as coach of Chile, after allegedly having disputes with Arturo Salah, recently elected president of ANFP.[34]
Sevilla
On 27 June 2016, La Liga club Sevilla FC announced that Sampaoli would take over Sevilla on a two-year deal.[3] On 15 January 2017, his side beat Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid 2–1, ending their 40-match unbeaten run.[35]
Argentina
On 20 May 2017, the Argentine Football Association announced that Sampaoli would take over as the new coach of the national team. He was officially presented on 1 June 2017. Sampaoli's first game in charge was a friendly match against Brazil on 9 June in Australia, with Argentina winning 1–0.[36]
However, Argentina greatly struggled during the qualifiers, and it took a Lionel Messi hat trick at Ecuador to confirm qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[37] On 14 May 2018, Sampaoli announced a 35-man preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup.[38] He announced the final squad on 21 May 2018.[39]
At the World Cup, Argentina had drawn 1–1 with Iceland during their opening World Cup group match, an underwhelming performance that drew criticism from former Argentine captain and coach Diego Maradona.[40] In the next group match, Argentina suffered a heavy 0–3 loss by Croatia due to "a defence left exposed, a midfield that was overrun and an attack that was blunted", which put them on the brink of elimination and led to unconfirmed reports that Sampaoli would be sacked.[41] Senior members of the team including Messi and Javier Mascherano confronted Sampaoli and his assistants in the dressing room, while also approaching members of the Argentine FA to discuss their concerns, and there were also various rumors that Messi was involved in team selection which dismissed Sampaoli's leadership, evoking a formation based on the decisions of Argentine players.[42] The match against Croatia was his 13th game in charge, where he had used 13 lineups[43] and a total of 59 players,[44] and despite a myriad of attacking choices the defence was poor.[45][46][47][48]
Sampaoli remained in his position,[49] as Argentina defeated Nigeria 2–1 in the third group match to advance to the knockout stage.[50] In the round of 16, Argentina lost to France 4–3 and were eliminated from the tournament.[51]
On 15 July 2018, the Argentine Football Association announced that Sampaoli had left his position as national coach by mutual consent.[52][53]
Santos
On 13 December 2018, Brazilian club Santos FC announced that Sampaoli reached an "agreement in principle" to become the club's coach for the 2019 season.[54] He signed a two-year contract on 17 December,[55] being presented the following day.
Sampaoli was highly praised by the media during his time at the club, specifically due to the offensive football displayed. Despite being knocked out of the year's Campeonato Paulista and Copa Sudamericana, he took the club to the second position in the Série A.[56]
On 9 December 2019, Sampaoli resigned; Santos announced the departure of the coach in the following day.[57]
Atlético Mineiro
On 1 March 2020, Sampaoli took charge of Atlético Mineiro.[58] On 22 February 2021, Sampaoli requested the termination of his contract at the end of the current season. On the same day Atlético Mineiro announced that they had accepted the termination of Sampaoli contract.[59]
On 6 October 2022, Sevilla announced the return of Sampaoli to be their coach.[61] On 21 March 2023, Sampaoli was sacked after a 2–0 loss to Getafe left Sevilla only two ponts above the relegation places; later that day, he was replaced by José Luis Mendilibar.[62]
^ ab"Los números de Jorge Sampaoli en la U" [The incredible numbers of Jorge Sampaoli in la U] (in Spanish). Al Aire Libre. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
^"Sampaoli foi melhor do que Jesus no ano" [Sampaoli was better than Jesus in the year] (in Brazilian Portuguese). A Tribuna. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
^"Nota oficial" [Official note] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
^"Sampaoli rescinde com o Galo" [Sampaoli rescinds with Galo]. atletico.com.br (in Portuguese). 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.