Santiago Solari

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Family name hatnote Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Santiago Hernán Solari Poggio (born 7 October 1976) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a left midfielder.

He spent the better part of his 16-year professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 177 matches and 17 goals mainly with Real Madrid, but also played in Italy for Inter Milan, winning 13 major titles between both teams.

Solari began working as a coach in 2013, going on to spend several years associated with Real Madrid in different capacities.

Playing career

Club

Early career and River

Born in Rosario, Santa Fe,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Solari played youth football for Newell's Old Boys and Renato Cesarini, after returning from the United States where he attended Richard Stockton College in New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He joined River Plate midway through the 1995–96 season, making his Primera División debut on 12 May.

Solari appeared in 24 league games in his first full campaign, helping River to both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments.<ref name=HONOURS1>Template:Cite web</ref>

Atlético Madrid

Solari moved to Spain late in the 1999 January transfer window, signing with Atlético Madrid. He played his first La Liga game on 7 February, in a 2–1 away loss against Salamanca.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Solari had his best individual season in 1999–2000 when he scored six goals in 34 matches, but the Colchoneros were relegated from the top division.<ref name=ABC>Template:Cite news</ref>

Real Madrid

Subsequently, Solari moved across the city to join Real Madrid, who paid Atlético his buyout clause of 600 million pesetas.<ref name=ABC/> After a poor first season he became a regular, albeit as a substitute; in the final of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, in which he played the full 90 minutes, he was involved in the play that led to Zinedine Zidane's wonder strike against Bayer Leverkusen, in an eventual 2–1 win.<ref name=UCL>Template:Cite web</ref>

Solari's best season with Real was 2003–04, but his five goals from 34 appearances – 15 starts, 1,539 minutes of action – could only help the side to the fourth position in the league. During his five-year spell he also played 49 matches in the Champions League, netting seven times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Inter and later years

Solari signed a three-year contract with Inter Milan in the summer of 2005 for €6 million,<ref>Page 18–19: Attivo: immobilizzazioni immateriali: Acquisti: FC Internazionale Milano SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2006 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA</ref><ref>Page 7: Movimentazione diritti pluriennali alle prestazioni calciatori, FC Internazionale Milano SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2007 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA</ref> being sparingly used during his three-year stint (maximum 21 games in his second season) but winning three consecutive Serie A titles to add to his trophy cabinet, the 2006 edition due to the Calciopoli scandal.<ref name=HONOURS2>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=HONOURS3>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 30 June 2008, Solari's contract with the Nerazzurri expired and he joined San Lorenzo shortly after.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 9 July of the following year, he moved teams and countries again and signed with Atlante from Mexico, again on a free transfer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In early September 2010, the 34-year-old Solari signed with Uruguayan club Peñarol for one year, yet again as a free agent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He retired after only a couple of months.

International

Solari made eleven appearances for the Argentina national team in five years,Template:Clarify but was not selected for any major international tournaments.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Coaching career

Real Madrid

Solari started working as a manager in 2013, first being in charge of Real Madrid's youths.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ahead of the 2016–17 season, he was appointed at the reserves who competed in Segunda División B.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 29 October 2018, Solari was named caretaker manager of the first team after the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui. He assumed the role the next day,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and became the official coach 14 days later because in Spain no club was allowed to have a caretaker for more than two weeks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He won the FIFA Club World Cup during his tenure, extending Real's reign in the competition to three consecutive titles.<ref name=Legend>Template:Cite news</ref>

Solari was sacked on 11 March 2019, following a humiliating elimination from the UEFA Champions League by Ajax.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Club América

On 29 December 2020, Solari was unveiled as the new manager of Club América from Mexico after signing a two-year contract, replacing the fired Miguel Herrera.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He did not obtain his work permit in time, and as a result could not be on the sideline for the team's opening match of the season against Atlético San Luis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He made his Liga MX debut the following week in a 1–0 away defeat to Monterrey,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and earned his first win against Juárez on 26 January.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He led the side to a second-place finish in the general table, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Pachuca.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

América began the Apertura 2021 tournament with four victories and one draw from five matches, taking Solari's total tally with the club to 18 wins from his first 27 games, tying the mark set by Leo Beenhakker during the 1994–95 campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He guided them to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League in late October, losing 1–0 to Monterrey.<ref name=CCL>Template:Cite news</ref> The team finished the Apertura regular phase first in the table with 37 points, though once again falling at the quarter-final stage, being ousted by Club Universidad Nacional 3–1 on aggregate; they had managed to remain unbeaten at home throughout the 2021 calendar year (winning 13 and drawing three).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Solari was dismissed on 2 March 2022, after a poor run of results, departing after eight games in the Grita México Clausura 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Style of play

A dynamic and versatile left-footed winger, with excellent technical ability, Solari was mainly known for his dribbling skills, although he was also an accurate passer and was capable of striking the ball from distance with both feet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Broadcasting

Since 2010, Solari worked as pundit for ESPN.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

File:Football against poverty 2014 - Santiago Solari.jpg

Solari playing in the 2014 Match Against Poverty

Nicknamed Indiecito (Little Indian in Spanish), Solari came from a sporting family: his uncle Jorge, his father Eduardo and two of his four siblings, younger Esteban and David, were also footballers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His younger sister, Liz, worked as an actress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is of Spanish and Italian descent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His uncle Jorge played for several clubs during his career, mostly River Plate, whilst his cousin Natalia married Fernando Redondo who also represented Real Madrid. All but David played for Argentina.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:BDFutbol</ref>Template:Citation needed

Club	Season	League			CupTemplate:Efn		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
River Plate	1996–97	Primera División	24	2	—		1	0	—		25	2
	1997–98		27	6	—		9	1	—		36	7
	1998–99		16	5	—		—		—		16	5
	Total		67	13	—		10	1	—		77	14
Atlético Madrid	1998–99	La Liga	12	1	3	0	1	0	—		16	1
	1999–2000		34	6	4	0	7	0	—		45	6
	Total		46	7	7	0	8	0	0	0	61	7
Real Madrid	2000–01	La Liga	14	1	1	0	10	1	0	0	25	2
	2001–02		28	1	9	0	14	4	2	0	53	5
	2002–03		28	0	3	1	11	0	2	0	44	1
	2003–04		34	5	9	2	9	2	1	0	53	9
	2004–05		27	3	2	2	5	0	—		34	5
	Total		131	10	24	5	57	7	5	0	217	22
Inter Milan	2005–06	Serie A	13	3	7	2	6	0	0	0	26	5
	2006–07		21	1	5	0	4	0	0	0	30	1
	2007–08		5	0	5	1	5	0	0	0	15	1
	Total		39	4	17	3	15	0	0	0	71	7
San Lorenzo	2008–09	Primera División	26	4	—		3	0	—		29	4
Atlante	2009–10	Liga MX	29	4	—		—		5	0	34	4
	2010–11		4	1	—		—		—		4	1
	Total		33	5	—		—		5	0	38	5
Peñarol	2010–11	Primera División	9	0	—		2	0	—		11	0
Career total			351	43	48	8	87	8	10	0	496	59

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref>Template:NFT player</ref>

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	1999	1	0
	2000	1	1
	2001	0	0
	2002	3	0
	2003	4	0
	2004	2	0
Total		11	1

Score and result list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Solari goal.

International goal scored by Santiago Solari

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 December 2000	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	Friendly<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Managerial statistics

Template:Updated<ref>Template:Soccerway coach</ref>

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Template:Abbr
				Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Real Madrid B	Template:Flagicon	19 July 2016	29 October 2018	<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Cite web Template:Cite web</ref>
Real Madrid	Template:Flagicon	30 October 2018	11 March 2019	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
América	Template:Flagicon	29 December 2020	2 March 2022	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Total				—

Honours

Player

River Plate

• Argentine Primera División: Apertura 1996, Clausura 1997, Apertura 1997<ref name=HONOURS1/><ref name=HONOURS3/>
• Supercopa Libertadores: 1997<ref name=HONOURS3/>

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2000–01, 2002–03<ref name=RM>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Supercopa de España: 2001, 2003<ref name=RM/>
• UEFA Champions League: 2001–02<ref name=UCL/><ref name=RM/>
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002<ref name=RM/>
• Intercontinental Cup: 2002<ref name=RM/>

Inter Milan

• Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08<ref name=HONOURS2/><ref name=HONOURS3/>
• Coppa Italia: 2005–06<ref name=HONOURS3/>
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2006<ref name=HONOURS3/>

Manager

Real Madrid

• FIFA Club World Cup: 2018<ref name=Legend/>

América

• CONCACAF Champions League runner-up: 2021<ref name=CCL/>

External links

• Template:BDFA
• Template:BDFutbol player
• Template:BDFutbol manager
• Inter Milan profile
• Template:TuttoCalciatori
• Template:NFT player