Gus Poyet

Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡus poˈʝet]; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Poyet and the second or maternal family name is Domínguez.

Gus Poyet
Poyet in 2010
Personal information
Full name Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez[1]
Date of birth (1967-11-15) 15 November 1967[1]
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Greece (manager)
Youth career
River Plate (Montevideo)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Grenoble 37 (8)
1989–1990 River Plate (Montevideo) 78 (28)
1990–1997 Zaragoza 239 (63)
1997–2001 Chelsea 105 (36)
2001–2004 Tottenham Hotspur 82 (18)
2006 Swindon Town 0 (0)
Total 463 (125)
National team
1993–2000 Uruguay 26 (3)
Teams managed
2006 Swindon Town (assistant)
2006–2007 Leeds United (assistant)
2007–2008 Tottenham Hotspur (assistant)
2009–2013 Brighton & Hove Albion
2013–2015 Sunderland
2015–2016 AEK Athens
2016 Betis
2016–2017 Shanghai Shenhua
2018 Bordeaux
2021 Universidad Católica
2022– Greece
Honours
Representing  Uruguay
Copa América
Winner1995
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with short spells at Grenoble and River Plate. He then spent seven years at Real Zaragoza, with whom he won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1997, Poyet moved to Chelsea on a free transfer and helped the club win the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where he saw out the remainder of his career. He was also part of the Uruguay side which won the 1995 Copa América.

After his playing career ended, Poyet moved into coaching. He served as assistant manager to Dennis Wise at Swindon Town and Leeds United, and Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur. In November 2009, Poyet was appointed manager of Brighton & Hove Albion and in his first full season led the club to promotion as League One Champions, for which he was named League One Manager of the Year by the LMA. In October 2013 he was hired by Premier League team Sunderland and guided them to the League Cup Final in his first season, but was sacked in March 2015 after a poor run of results. He later had spells at Superleague Greece side AEK Athens, La Liga club Real Betis, Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua, Bordeaux of Ligue 1, and Universidad Católica in Chile.

Playing career

Club career

Born in Montevideo,[1] a goalscoring midfielder, he began his career with spells at Grenoble and River Plate. Poyet moved to Real Zaragoza in 1990; winning the Copa del Rey in 1994 and the Cup Winners' Cup a year later, beating Arsenal in the final.[2] He became Zaragoza's longest-serving foreign player, and scored 60 goals in 240 games for the club.

Poyet joined Chelsea on a free transfer in June 1997. Not long into his first season at the London club, he suffered cruciate ligament damage, this meant he missed the victorious 1998 Football League Cup Final but recovered to play in the team's successful Cup Winners' Cup Final against VfB Stuttgart. The following year, he contributed 14 goals – making him the club's second highest scorer – to help Chelsea finish third in the Premiership, including a crucial headed goal in 1–0 win against Leeds United.[3] He also scored the winner for Chelsea in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid.[4] In 1999–2000, he scored 18 goals (which again made him Chelsea's second highest scorer), with a scissors-kick volley against Sunderland,[5] a long range strike against Lazio,[6] and both of Chelsea's goals in the FA Cup semi-final against Newcastle United,[7] among the most memorable, as the team won the FA Cup and reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

With the arrival of new manager Claudio Ranieri in September 2000, Chelsea was a team in transition. With Ranieri seeking to reduce the average age of the squad, Poyet became surplus to requirements and requested a transfer.

In 145 appearances for Chelsea, Poyet scored 49 goals.

Poyet joined Tottenham Hotspur in May 2001 for around £2.2 million. He scored 14 goals in his debut season for Spurs and helped his team reach the League Cup final, but they lost 2–1 to Blackburn Rovers.[8] His time at the club was blighted by injuries, and he again sustained cruciate ligament damage in August 2002,[9] but still managed to score 23 goals in 98 games.

International career

Poyet was a Uruguay international, making his international debut on 13 July 1993 in a friendly match against Peru (1–2). After 67 minutes, he was substituted by Carlos Aguilera.[10]

Poyet helped his country win the Copa América in 1995. In doing so, he was voted as the best player in his position at the tournament.[11]

He won 26 caps in total, scoring three goals.

Managerial career

Early coaching

In July 2006, he became a player and assistant manager at Swindon Town alongside ex-Chelsea teammate, Dennis Wise.[12] Both Poyet and Wise were given permission to talk about forming the new Leeds United management team on 23 October 2006 and looked set to take the place of caretaker manager, John Carver, until Swindon withdrew permission due to disagreements over compensation.[13] On 24 October 2006, Poyet was confirmed as assistant manager of Leeds with Dennis Wise as the manager.[14] On 29 October 2007, Poyet rejoined his former club Tottenham Hotspur to work alongside new head coach Juande Ramos as a first team coach with Marcos Álvarez as a fitness coach.[15] During his first season as assistant manager at White Hart Lane, he won the 2007–08 League Cup, beating Chelsea 2–1 after extra time in the Final after a penalty from Dimitar Berbatov in normal time and a header early into extra time from Jonathan Woodgate.[16]

On 25 October 2008, Poyet parted company with Tottenham Hotspur along with manager Juande Ramos, first team coach Marcos Álvarez and sporting director Damien Comolli.[17]

Brighton & Hove Albion
Poyet as Brighton manager in 2011

On 10 November 2009, Poyet was announced as the new manager of English League One side Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[18][19] Former Tottenham teammate Mauricio Taricco was also announced as Poyet's assistant manager. He steered the club to safety as he had a brilliant start to his career at Brighton by going to Southampton and winning 3–1. He started the 2010–11 season by making a number of signings including Gordon Greer, Radostin Kishishev, Liam Bridcutt, Matt Sparrow, Casper Ankergren and Ashley Barnes. He also signed a new four-year contract along with his assistant Mauricio Taricco.[20]

The season started with five wins from the first eight games putting Brighton top of the League One table. Brighton started the year 2011 with a 5–0 home win on New Year's Day against Leyton Orient.[21] Most notable was a run of eight straight league victories in March, leaving the club 13 points clear at the top with games in hand over all of their closest rivals with the exception of Southampton. Brighton secured promotion to the Championship following a 4–3 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge, Ashley Barnes scoring the winner in the 63rd minute. The League One title was clinched on 16 April 2011, as Brighton beat Walsall 3–1, having been top without slipping since the eighth game of the season and with four games of the season still to play.[22] On 23 May 2011, Poyet was voted LMA League One Manager of the Year for his achievements in the 2010–11 season – his first full season as a football manager.[23]

During pre-season 2011, Poyet twice broke the club's record transfer-fee in signing Will Buckley and Craig Mackail-Smith, and also brought in former Spain and Valencia playmaker Vicente on a free transfer. After an unbeaten start to the 2011–12 season, Poyet was named as Championship manager of the month for August 2011.[24] Poyet shortly after signed a new and improved five-year contract to remain at the club until 2016.[25] In March 2012, Poyet won the Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award at the Football League Awards ceremony, beating Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman and former Huddersfield Town boss Lee Clark.[26]

On 23 June 2013, Brighton released an official statement declaring that Poyet had been informed that "his employment has been terminated with immediate effect".[27] Poyet said that he was only made aware of his sacking when a member of the BBC production staff handed him a printout of the club statement, whilst working as a pundit for BBC Three's coverage of the Spain vs. Nigeria group game in the FIFA Confederations Cup.[28]

Sunderland
Poyet on the touchline as Sunderland manager away to Chelsea in April 2014

On 8 October 2013, it was announced that Poyet had been appointed as Head Coach at Sunderland on a two-year contract,[29] becoming the first Uruguayan to manage in the Premier League.[30] Eleven days later in his first match in charge, they lost 4–0 away to Swansea City.[31] His second game in charge, and first at the Stadium of Light, resulted in a 2–1 win against local rivals Newcastle United on 27 October.[32]

In his first season in charge, he took Sunderland to the League Cup Final after a penalty shootout win over Manchester United in the semi-finals.[33] On 19 April 2014, Poyet defeated José Mourinho in his first-ever home league defeat in the Premier League as Chelsea manager, a 2–1 win to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.[34] Poyet led Sunderland to a 2–0 win at home to West Bromwich Albion on 7 May to guarantee Premier League safety with one game remaining, performing "a miracle" in his own words by arresting a decline that saw Sunderland seven points adrift of safety as late as 7 April, when they lost 5–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Defeat to Everton in their following league game made avoiding relegation look like a near impossible task for the club, but Sunderland, under Poyet's stewardship, earned 13 points out of a possible 15 in their following five league games.[35][36][37] Poyet signed a new two-year contract at Sunderland on 28 May 2014.[38]

The club sacked Poyet on 16 March 2015. At the time of his sacking, they were in 17th place in the league, one point above the relegation places.[39]

AEK Athens

On 29 October 2015, AEK Athens reported that Poyet had agreed in principle to be the club's manager until summer 2016.[40] In February 2016, he guided his team to successive wins against neighbours Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.[41] He was sacked on 19 April 2016 after the team finished third in the league and awaited a Greek Cup semi-final; the board had taken issue with him informing the press before them that he would leave at the end of the campaign.[42]

Betis

On 9 May 2016, Poyet had signed a two-year deal with Real Betis.[43] On 12 November 2016, he was sacked and replaced by Víctor Sánchez.[44]

Shanghai Shenhua

On 29 November 2016, Poyet became the manager of Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua.[45] Despite of being blamed by public for poor performance in the league and resigning on 11 September,[46] he was still appreciated by some fans for his contribution to the team's championship in 2017 Chinese FA Cup later in November, including a 1-0 home victory over classic rival Beijing Guoan in 4th round, and a 3-1 away victory over Shandong Luneng in quarter final.

Bordeaux

On 20 January 2018, Poyet became the manager of Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.[47] In August, he was suspended by the club after criticising the sale of Gaëtan Laborde to Montpellier.[48] He was subsequently fired and replaced by Ricardo Gomes on 5 September.[49]

Universidad Católica

On 28 February 2021, Poyet became the manager of Chilean Primera División club Universidad Católica.[50] He began his tenure by winning the delayed 2020 Supercopa de Chile against rivals Colo-Colo and made the last 16 of the 2021 Copa Libertadores, but left by mutual consent at the end of August with the worst campaign in the last 10 years.[51]

Greece

On 3 February 2022, Poyet became the manager of the Greece national team. He guided the team to four victories from their four opening fixtures in League C of the 2022 UEFA Nations League, helping Greece earn promotion to League B for the following campaign.[52]

Personal life

Poyet is married to Madelon González with whom he has two sons: Diego (born 1995) and Matias (born 1993).[53] Diego is also a midfielder, making his professional debut in 2014 for Charlton Athletic before moving to West Ham United, and has represented England at youth international level.

Poyet's father was Olympic basketball player Washington Poyet, while his brother Marcelo also played the sport professionally in South America.[54] Poyet introduced basketball to Sunderland academy training sessions, believing it to share many attributes with football, particularly marking.[54]

Career statistics

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Uruguay[55] 199330
199400
1995122
199651
199720
199800
199920
200020
Total263
Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Poyet goal.
List of international goals scored by Gus Poyet
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
125 March 1995Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States United States2–22–2Friendly
25 July 1995Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay Venezuela4–14–11995 Copa América
324 April 1996Brígido Iriarte Stadium, Caracas, Venezuela Venezuela2–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics
As of match played on 27 September 2022
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Brighton & Hove Albion 10 November 2009 23 June 2013 194 88 57 49 282 206 +76 045.36 [56]
Sunderland 8 October 2013 16 March 2015 75 23 23 29 82 105 −23 030.67 [56]
AEK Athens 29 October 2015 19 April 2016 28 18 5 5 47 13 +34 064.29 [57]
Real Betis 11 May 2016 11 November 2016 11 3 2 6 11 22 −11 027.27 [58]
Shanghai Shenhua 29 November 2016 11 September 2017 29 10 7 12 45 46 −1 034.48 [59]
Bordeaux 20 January 2018 5 September 2018 21 13 2 6 37 22 +15 061.90
Universidad Católica 28 February 2021 30 August 2021 31 13 5 13 42 41 +1 041.94 [60]
Greece 3 January 2022 present 8 6 0 2 11 3 +8 075.00
Total 397 174 101 122 557 458 +99 043.83

Honours

Player

Real Zaragoza

Chelsea

Uruguay

  • Copa América: 1995[61]

Manager

Brighton & Hove Albion

Universidad Católica

  • Supercopa de Chile: 2020[63]

Individual

References
  1. "Poyet: Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez: Manager". BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  2. Moore, Glenn (11 May 1995). "Extraordinary Nayim strike denies Arsenal". Independent.co.uk. London. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  3. "Chelsea book Champions League spot". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 5 May 1999. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  4. "Poyet secures Super Cup". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 August 1998. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  5. "Chelsea open season in style". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 August 1999. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  6. "Lazio steal Chelsea's thunder". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 March 2000. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  7. "Chelsea triumph over gutsy Magpies". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 April 2000. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  8. "Cole strike stuns Spurs". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 February 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  9. "Poyet suffers injury heartache". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  10. "Uruguay – International Matches 1991–1995". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  11. "One-on-One". FourFourTwo. January 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
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  14. "Leeds complete Wise move". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
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  40. "Gustavo Poyet agrees with AEK FC". 29 October 2015.
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  63. "La UC da vuelta un 0-2 para golear a Colo Colo y coronarse bicampeón de la Supercopa 2020". El Desconcierto (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  64. "Manager of the Month". LMA. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  65. "Poyet wins Football Manager Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award". The Football League. 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
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