Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Osvaldo César Ardiles | ||
Date of birth |
3 August 1952 |
||
Place of birth | Bell Ville, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
Instituto de Córdoba | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1973 | Instituto de Córdoba | 14 | (3) |
1974 | Belgrano | 16 | (2) |
1975–1978 | Huracán | 113 | (11) |
1978–1988 | Tottenham Hotspur | 221 | (16) |
1982–1983 | → Paris Saint-Germain (loan) | 14 | (1) |
1985 | → St George Saints (loan) | 1 | (0) |
1988 | Blackburn Rovers | 5 | (0) |
1988–1989 | Queens Park Rangers | 8 | (0) |
1989 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 5 | (1) |
1989–1991 | Swindon Town | 2 | (0) |
Total | 376 | (32) | |
National team | |||
1975–1982 | Argentina | 52 | (8) |
Teams managed | |||
1989–1991 | Swindon Town | ||
1991–1992 | Newcastle United | ||
1992–1993 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
1993–1994 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
1995 | Guadalajara | ||
1996–1998 | Shimizu S-Pulse | ||
1999 | Croatia Zagreb | ||
2000–2001 | Yokohama F. Marinos | ||
2001 | Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo | ||
2002–2003 | Racing Club | ||
2003–2005 | Tokyo Verdy | ||
2006 | Beitar Jerusalem | ||
2007 | Huracán | ||
2008 | Cerro Porteño | ||
2012 | FC Machida Zelvia | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
3 August 1952
Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is a football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentine national team. He now runs his own football school in the UK called the Ossie Ardiles Soccer School.
A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddle and compatriot Ricardo Villa, as a player for Tottenham Hotspur. He left England for a period on loan as a result of the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982, thus missing most of the 1982–83 English season.
After retirement, Ardiles began his management career in England, coaching Swindon Town, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, before returning to Tottenham to become the first Premier League manager from outside of the British Isles or Ireland. As manager of Spurs in the mid-1990s, he played several matches utilizing a formation that had five forwards, a formation that hadn't been used in English football since the 1950s. During his career, Ardiles has also coached in Mexico, Croatia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Paraguay and his native Argentina.
In Ireland he is a pundit for RTÉ Sport.
Ardiles was born in Córdoba Province, Argentina, and played for Instituto de Córdoba from a young age. As a youngster, Ardiles played football in the streets and was given the nickname Pitón (python) by his brother because of his snake-like dribbling skills. He was named as El Gráfico's best player of the interior in 1974, and abandoned his law degree studies in order to play professional football.