Dr. Carlos Salvador Bilardo (born 16 March 1938) is an Argentine former physician,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, and manager. Bilardo achieved worldwide renown as a player with

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

in the 1960s, and as the manager of the Argentina side that won the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

and came close to retaining the title in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, where they reached the final. As manager of Argentina, he was renowned for successfully employing the 3–5–2 formation at the highest level; this formation has been in use for decades, but has never achieved mainstream status. Bilardo is known by fans and the media as ''el narigón'' ("the big nosed one").

Early life

Bilardo was born in the Buenos Aires

La Paternal La Paternal or Paternal () is a ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, neighborhood'' or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a city decree (''decreto'') and was named 'La Paternal' after the San Martín Line (Buen ...

neighbourhood to Sicilian immigrants from Mazzarino. He was drawn to football from his childhood, but did not neglect study or work. On school vacations, he would get up before dawn to haul produce to the Abasto market in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Bilardo was a promising prospect in the youth divisions of major Buenos Aires club

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

, and he was drafted to the junior

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team (), nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' (), represents Argentina in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino ( ...

that obtained the 1959 Pan-American title and took part in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1961, Bilardo was transferred to second-division side Deportivo Español, where he became the team's top scorer, but he slowly gravitated to the position of

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. In parallel, he continued his studies in the Faculty of

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

of the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

Club career

In 1965, Bilardo was transferred to

, where manager Osvaldo Zubeldía built a team based on the ''Killer youth divisions'' (''la tercera que mata'') and thought of using Bilardo as a more mature anchor for the midfield. Bilardo became Estudiantes' inside-the-pitch tactician. Over a four-year span, the team won one Metropolitano title (1967), three

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

titles (1968–1970, defeating Palmeiras, Nacional and

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

respectively at the finals) and one Intercontinental Cup in 1968 against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. After graduating as a physician (together with fellow player Raúl Horacio Madero), Bilardo retired from play and accepted the job of Estudiantes coach in 1971. For the next years, he divided his time between managing, his family (he married in 1968 and fathered a daughter), and helping manage his father's furniture business. He even found time to research rectal cancer and practice as a

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

(Bilardo finally retired from the practice of medicine in 1976, feeling that being a physician requires a full-time commitment that he was unable to provide).

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Bilardo became Estudiantes coach in 1971. Estudiantes got to the final of the

1971 Copa Libertadores The Copa Libertadores 1971 was the 12th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. Club Nacional de Football, Nacional won the competition, defeating in the final the defending champions Estudiantes de La P ...

, which it lost to Nacional. In 1976, he became manager of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

's Deportivo Cali and after a 2-year stint he managed to get the squad into the Copa Libertadores Finals but once again failed to win the title. After failing in the 1978 Copa Libertadores Finals, Bilardo had a short stint in San Lorenzo and then became Colombia national team's trainer. When the team failed to qualify for the 1982 World Cup, he was fired from his position, and Estudiantes arranged for his return to Argentina. Bilardo mexico 86

The club was enjoying healthy finances due to the transfer of

Patricio Hernández Patricio Hernández (born 16 August 1956) is an Argentina, Argentine Association football, football coach and former player. Hernández started his career in 1974 at Estudiantes de La Plata, a club that he would later manage. He soon earned a r ...

, and accommodated Bilardo's request for reinforcements. The team made the semi-finals of the 1982 ''Nacional'' and went on to win the same year's ''Metropolitano'' title. Bilardo's scheme was based on Zubeldía's tactics, and its attacking might (fueled by players like Sabella, Trobbiani, Gottardi and Ponce) earned the attention of the media—and of the top brass of the

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association (, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine football league system, Argentine league system (from Argentine Primera División, Pri ...

, who offered him to manage the Argentina national team. He held the post from 1983 until after the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. Under his watch,

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

became the most dominant player of his age, and Argentina enjoyed their best international harvest, winning the 1986 edition and reaching the 1990 final. Bilardo wrote a book called "Así Ganamos" ("How we won", Editorial Sudamericana Planeta) retelling the story of Argentina's 1986 FIFA World Cup win.

After 1990

From 1990 and onwards, Bilardo alternated teaching and journalism stints with managing. He would reunite with Maradona in

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

and later in

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, and have a brief term as the national coach of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Bilardo returned to Estudiantes for the 2003–2004 season. In a publicised episode during that season, Bilardo sat next to the pitch during a game against

Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la Plata. ...

and drank from a bottle of

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. When confronted by media, he maintained that the bottle actually contained

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

; the contents of the bottle were analysed by a forensic lab, confirming Bilardo's version. Within that season, results improved, and several young players were promoted to the first team, including

José Ernesto Sosa José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, who would later help Estudiantes become a contender; three years later, the team won the League title under coach Diego Simeone, and in 2009 Estudiantes won the Copa Libertadores again, with Bilardo attending the final in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

and receiving a gift from coach Sabella—his "lucky" beige coat. Bilardo covered the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for Argentine TV station Canal 13 as a commentator. In the aftermath of the tournament, Argentine manager José Pekerman renounced the post, and Bilardo's name was floated as a possible substitute. The job eventually went to Alfio Basile, who had earlier succeeded Bilardo as national coach after the 1990 World Cup. Following the 2007 gubernatorial election, Bilardo was named Secretary of Sports of

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

under governor Daniel Scioli.

General Manager

A new generation of Bilardo-influenced coaches has taken over many key positions in Argentine and South American football:

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, Pumpido, Burruchaga,

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

Russo Russo may refer to: * Russo (surname) * Russo (footballer, 1915–1980), full name Adolpho Milman, Brazilian football forward and manager * Russo (footballer, born 1976), full name Ricardo Soares Florêncio, Brazilian football defender * Russo brot ...

, and Maradona. When Maradona was named as national team coach in October 2008, Bilardo was tapped for the post of Argentina General Manager. After the designation, Bilardo agreed to quit his Secretary post.

Honours

Player

; San Lorenzo * Primera División:

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

; Estudiantes * Primera División: 1967 Metropolitano *

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, 1969,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...

: 1968 ;

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

* Pan American Games Gold Medal:

Manager

; Estudiantes * Primera División: 1982 Metropolitano ; Deportivo Cali *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

runner-up: 1977, 1978 *

runner-up:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

;

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

: 1986; runner-up:

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

Third place:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Individual * Guerin Sportivo Manager of the Year: 1986 *

South American Coach of the Year The South American Coach of the Year () is an annual association football award presented to the best coach of a club or national team in South America over the previous calendar year. The award has been presented by Uruguayan newspaper ''El País' ...

: 1986, 1987 * Konex Award: 1990 * ''World Soccer'' 29th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013

References

External links

* *
Bilardo returns to Manchester
*
Estudiantes » Squad 1970/1971
at WorldFootball.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilardo, Carlos Salvador 1938 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Argentine men's footballers Olympic footballers for Argentina Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Argentine Primera División players San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Deportivo Español footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Copa Libertadores–winning players Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine journalists Argentine male journalists Argentine gynaecologists Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Argentine football managers Estudiantes de La Plata managers San Lorenzo de Almagro managers Boca Juniors managers Deportivo Cali managers Colombia national football team managers Argentina national football team managers Sevilla FC managers 1986 FIFA World Cup managers 1990 FIFA World Cup managers 1983 Copa América managers 1987 Copa América managers 1989 Copa América managers FIFA World Cup–winning managers University of Buenos Aires alumni Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Colombia Expatriate football managers in Guatemala Expatriate football managers in Libya Expatriate football managers in Spain Guatemala national football team managers Libya national football team managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Guatemala Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Libya Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain 20th-century Argentine sportsmen