Jorge SAMPAOLI

Born in 1960, in Casilda in Argentina, Jorge Sampaoli was signed up to the Academy of Newell's Old Boys as a youth, but never achieved his goal of becoming a professional footballer. He cut his teeth as a football coach with the Youth Team at the Argentine club, before accepting his first management role in senior football with Juan Aurich in the town of Chiclayo in Peru in 2002. After a decent start, climbing upto to a creditable sixth in the table in the first half of the season, Sampaoli's club slipped to relegation via the play offs at the end of the season. The following season, the manager transformed Peruvian side Sport Boys from a midtable side to a team battling for qualification for the continental cup competitions. Having managed two clubs in two seasons, he took over at Tacna side Coronel Bolognesi, and managed to stay there for two years. In both seasons, he got his side up into the places fighting for a spot in the Copa Sudamericana, qualifying on each occasion. His next role (in 2007) with Sporting Cristal was short-lived, leaving after just 19 matches in charge. Thereafter, he had brief spells with O'Higgins in Chile, and Club Sport Emelec in Ecuador, where he would experience disappointment, despite beating his old club Newell's Old Boys in the Copa Libertadores. Emelec finished bottom of their group. He then stepped up to take over at Universidad de Chile, where he would leave his mark. During his spell at the club, he won the Apertura league title, the Copa Sudamericana, and even the Clausula title in the same season. He was even nominated for the South American Manager of the Year award. His growing reputation saw him offered the job of coaching the Chilean National Team, where he would create a major shock in the 2014 World Cup, beating reigning champions Spain. He turned down the chance of a job with Turkish giants Galatasaray to guide Chile to the 2015 Copa America title, beating his native Argentina in the Final on penalties, ending Chile's 99 year wait for silverware. Unsurprisingly, this achievement earned him the recognition he deserved, with the South American Manager of the Year award this time going his way. He was even shortlisted for the World Manager of the Year title. In 2016, Sampaoli returned to club football, and gained his first experience of football in Europe. He was named Manager of Sevilla FC, following the departure of Unay Emery. On his debut, he suffered defeat in the European Super Cup to Real Madrid, and fell to defeat in the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona over two legs. Sevilla's fortunes picked up, however over the course of the season, and the Argentine coach left with a positive overall record in 2017, to become the Manager of his own country's senior team. He would spend a year at the helm, only to lose his job after Argentina were eliminated from the 2018 World Cup by France in a seven-goal thriller at the Round of 16 stage of the competiition. He returned to Latin America to manage Santos and then Atletico Mineiro in Brazil, where he finished with a positive record in each case. In February 2021, Sampaoli gained his first taste of French football with Olympique de Marseille. He earned qualification for the Europa League at the end of that season, and after finishing 3rd in the group stage, Marseille were transferred to the inaugural season of the UEFA Conference League, where they reached the Quarter Finals, before finally being knocked-out by Dutch side Feyenoord. In the domestic league, he achieved qualification to the Champions League. But things soured in the summer, and the Argentine resigned in July 2022, complaining about the lack of resources available to strengthen the Marseille squad for playing in the elite European competition. He was offered the chance of a return to Andalucia, and FC Sevilla for the 2022/2023 season. The Spanish club were going through a difficult period, and chose Sampaoli to replace Lopetegui, who had been sacked. But the second time around wasn't the success he'd hoped for. He was forced out after just eight months, and crossed the Atlantic to manage Flamengo. Once again, his stay would be short-lived, inspite having a 51% win ratio. In November 2024, out of contract, Sampaoli answered the call from Stade Rennais to succeed Julien Stéphan as Manager of the Red and Blacks, who were going through a tough time themselves in the league, thereby becoming the eighth overseas coach to have managed at Rennes in the club's history. However, just 67 days after his first match on the bench with Rennes, he had his contract terminated by mutual agreement, with just 3 wins and 7 defeats in his 10 matches in charge of Stade Rennais. Stubbornly sticking to his favoured system with three central defenders, which never worked out for the Red and Blacks, he was replaced by Habib Beye on 30th January 2025.