Daniel Passarella

Daniel Alberto Passarella
Passarella holding the FIFA World Cup Trophy after the 1978 final
President of River Plate
In office
5 December 2009 – 15 December 2013
Preceded byJosé María Aguilar
Succeeded byRodolfo D'Onofrio
Personal details
Born
Daniel Alberto Passarella

(1953-05-25) 25 May 1953 (age 71)
Chacabuco, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
OccupationFootballer
Association football career
Position(s) Centre-back, sweeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1973 Sarmiento 36 (9)
1973–1982 River Plate 266 (90)
1982–1986 Fiorentina 109 (26)
1986–1988 Inter Milan 44 (9)
1988–1989 River Plate 24 (7)
Total 479 (143)
International career
1976–1986 Argentina 70 (22)
Managerial career
1989–1994 River Plate
1994–1998 Argentina
1999–2001 Uruguay
2001 Parma
2002–2004 Monterrey
2005 Corinthians
2006–2007 River Plate
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1978 Argentina
Winner 1986 Mexico
Representing  Argentina (as manager)
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar del Plata Team
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals


Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former footballer and manager, who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time.[2][3][4] As a player for Argentina, he was part of two FIFA World Cup-winning teams; he captained his nation to victory at the 1978 World Cup which Argentina hosted, and was also part of the winning squad in 1986.

Although playing as a centre-back, Passarella was also a proficient goalscorer; at one point, he was football's highest-scoring defender, with 134 goals in 451 matches, a record which was subsequently broken by Dutch player Ronald Koeman.[5] In 2004, Passarella was named one of the 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé at a FIFA awards ceremony.[6] In 2007, The Times placed him at 36th in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history, recalling that he "tackled with the ferocity of the wild bull of the Pampas".[7] In 2017, he was named as the 56th best player by FourFourTwo in their list of the 100 all-time greatest footballers.[8] As a manager, he coached the Argentina and Uruguay national teams, among several club sides.

After his playing and coaching career, Passarella also served as the president of River Plate for four years, after winning the elections in December 2009.[9]

  1. ^ "Daniel Passarella". River Plate. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  2. ^ Chiesa, Carlo F. (22 August 1999). "We are the champions – I 150 fuoriclasse che hanno fatto la storia del calcio" [The 150 champions that made football's history]. Calcio 2000 (in Italian). p. 128.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference World Soccer Players of the Century was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference IFFHS Dream Team was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The World's most successful Top Division Goal Scorers of all time among defensive players". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Top 50 Hardest Footballers". empireonline.com. The Times. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  8. ^ Yorkhin, Michael (25 July 2017). "FourFourTwo's 100 Greatest Footballers EVER: 60 to 51". FourFourtwo. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  9. ^ Duncan Mackay. "Passarella becomes new River Plate President after controversial election – Inside World Football". insideworldfootball.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2014.