César Luis Menotti

Menotti (left) with Miguel Gitano Juárez in Rosario Central. They would then work together in Newell's Old Boys.

After playing some games for the reserve team, Menotti debuted in Primera División playing for Rosario Central in 1960. His first professional match was on 3 July versus Boca Juniors, a 3–1 victory.[1]

Menotti remained four seasons in Rosario Central prior to be transferred in 1964 to Racing, then moving to Boca Juniors in 1965, where he would win his first title as player, the 1965 Primera División. Two years later Menotti arrived to the North American Soccer League to play for the New York Generals. In 1968 Menotti was traded to Santos FC where he was teammate of Pelé and won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Intercontinental Supercup and Campeonato Paulista all in 1968. After his tenure with Santos, Menotti signed with Clube Atlético Juventus, where he retired from football in 1970.

After retiring from play, Menotti became friends with coach Miguel "Gitano" Juárez, with whom he traveled to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Fascinated by the Brazilian style of play led by his friend Pelé, he decided to become a coach himself.[1] Menotti worked as coach assistant of Juárez in Newell's Old Boys.[2]

As manager, Menotti won his first title with Huracán, the 1973 Torneo Metropolitano with a side that included notable players such as Carlos Babington,[3] Miguel Brindisi, Roque Avallay and the outstanding René Houseman. That squad was widely praised by the media due to their style of playing, being considered one of the best Argentine teams of all time.[2] Huracán played 32 matches, winning 19 with 5 loses. The squad scored 62 goals and received 30.[4]

Menotti was appointed the head coach of the Argentina national team in October 1974.[5]

Menotti was appointed Barcelona head coach in 1983, helping them to win the Copa del Rey, 1983 Copa de la Liga and the 1983 Supercopa de España before leaving in 1984.[7]

On 3 February 2017, Guadalajara made a formal offer to sign him on as their academy director.[8]

In January 2019, Menotti was named as the director of the Argentina National Teams.[9]

Menotti always displayed a rebellious streak and cultivated an image of coolness. He wore long hair, dressed casually, and used to drop references to cultural icons in his conversations, from writer Ernesto Sabato to singer Joan Manuel Serrat. He was opinionated on politics, projecting a left-wing socialist image that contrasted with his holding a very visible post during the right-wing military dictatorship.[10]

Menotti famously proclaimed:

There's a right-wing football and a left-wing football. Right-wing football wants to suggest that life is struggle. It demands sacrifices. We have to become of steel and win by any method... obey and function, that's what those with power want from the players. That's how they create retards, useful idiots that go with the system.

[10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to César Luis Menotti.

• Todo-Argentina biography (in Spanish)
• Full Spanish language electronic text of "El DT del Proceso", a book strongly critical of Menotti's ethics and his links to the military regime (in Spanish)
• Futbol Factory profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 October 2007) (in Spanish)