View source for Osvaldo Zubeldía

{{Short description|Argentine footballer and coach}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Osvaldo Zubeldía
| image = Zubeldia 1968.jpg
| image_size =200px
| caption = Zubeldía in 1968
| fullname = Osvaldo Juan Zubeldía 
| height = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|6|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Junín, Buenos Aires|Junín]], Argentina     
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|1|17|1927|6|24|df=yes}}
| currentclub = 
| clubnumber = 
| position = [[Striker (association football)|Striker]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = 
 | years1 = 1949–1955  
| years2 = 1956–1957  
| years3 = 1958–1959  
| years4 = 1960  
 | clubs1 = [[Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield|Vélez Sársfield]]  
| clubs2 = [[Boca Juniors]]  
| clubs3 = [[Club Atlético Atlanta|Atlanta]]  
| clubs4 = [[Club Atlético Banfield|Banfield]] 
 | caps1 = ?   
| caps2 = 38   
| caps3 = ?   
| caps4 = ?   
| goals1 = ?  
| goals2 = 10  
| goals3 = 6  
| goals4 = ? 
 | nationalyears1 = 
 | nationalteam1 = [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]]
 | nationalcaps1 = 
| nationalgoals1 = 
 |  manageryears1 = 1961–1963 
| manageryears2 = 1965 
| manageryears3 = 1965–1970 
| manageryears4 = 1974 
| manageryears5 = 1975 
| manageryears6 = 1976–1982
 |  managerclubs1 = [[Club Atlético Atlanta|Atlanta]] 
| managerclubs2 = [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] 
| managerclubs3 = [[Estudiantes de La Plata]] 
| managerclubs4 = [[Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro|San Lorenzo]] 
| managerclubs5 = [[Racing Club de Avellaneda|Racing Club]] 
| managerclubs6 = [[Atlético Nacional]]
| pcupdate = 5 September 2007
}}
'''Osvaldo Juan Zubeldía''' (24 June 1927 – 17 January 1982) was an Argentine [[Association football|football]] player and coach.

==Playing career==

Zubeldía had a respectable playing career with [[Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield|Vélez Sársfield]], [[Boca Juniors]], [[Club Atlético Atlanta|Atlanta]] and [[Club Atlético Banfield|Banfield]] and the [[Argentina national football team]]. He was known as an intelligent player who was always well positioned on the field. His legacy, however, would come from his career as a manager.

==Managerial career==
===Early career===

His managing career started at [[Club Atlético Atlanta|Atlanta]] between 1961 and 1963, he led the team to two respectable finishes in the league. He then had an unsuccessful stint on the managing team of the [[Argentina national football team|Argentina national team]] in 1965.

===Estudiantes===
[[Image:Osvaldo-zubeldía-estudiantes.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Zubeldía instructing his Estudiantes players]]
His managerial career took off with [[Estudiantes de La Plata]]. He was hired by the club in 1965 to help the team stave off relegation; he combined many prospects from Estudiantes' ''la tercera que mata'' ("the killer juveniles") with a small number of outside talent, and built one of the most successful teams in the history of Argentine football.

The first championship of the so-called "Golden Era" came in 1967, when Estudiantes became the first "small" team to win an Argentine championship. The team came back from three goals down to beat [[Club Atlético Platense|Platense]] in the semifinal 4–3, then took the crown with a convincing 3–0 victory over [[Racing Club de Avellaneda|Racing Club]].

Estudiantes then took second place in the ''Nacional'' championship, qualifying for the 1968 [[Copa Libertadores]], which Estudiantes won after defeating [[Brazil]]ian side [[Palmeiras]].

In that year's [[European/South American Cup|Intercontinental Cup]], Estudiantes defeated [[Bobby Charlton]]'s [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] 1–0 in [[Buenos Aires]], and achieved a 1–1 tie at [[Old Trafford (football)|Old Trafford]] on 16 October 1968. The Intercontinental title remains the highest achievement in Estudiantes' history.

The team would go on to win the [[Copa Libertadores]] twice more, in 1969 against [[Club Nacional de Football|Nacional]] from [[Uruguay]] and in 1970 against [[C.A. Peñarol|Peñarol]] also from Uruguay.

Estudiantes lost their [[European/South American Cup|Intercontinental Cup]] finals to [[A.C. Milan]] and [[Feyenoord]], respectively, but they did win the less prestigious [[Copa Interamericana]] in 1969.

===1974–1982===
In 1974, Zubeldía coached the [[San Lorenzo de Almagro]] team that won the ''Nacional'' title. He also won two [[Fútbol Profesional Colombiano|Colombian League]] titles with [[Atlético Nacional]] in 1976 and 1981.

On 17 January 1982 Zubeldía died of a [[heart attack]] in [[Medellín]], [[Colombia]] at the age of 54, while setting a bet on a horse race.

==Legacy==
Zubeldía's legacy was carried to fruition by the key tactical player of his Estudiantes, [[Carlos Bilardo]], who went on to become one of the most successful coaches in Argentine history. Bilardo dedicated to his mentor both the 1982 ''Metropolitano'' title won by Estudiantes and the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]] title won by Argentina.

==External links==
*{{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20090719105017/http://www.pincha-campeon.com.ar/historia-estudiantes-de-la-plata/don-osvaldo-zubeldia.htm Estudiantes profile]
*{{in lang|es}} [https://d-coleccion.blogspot.com/2009/06/una-sentencia-cumplida-dejo-nacional.html The glory in Atletico Nacional, 1981]

{{Commons category|Osvaldo Zubeldía}}

{{Intercontinental Cup winning managers}}
{{Copa Libertadores winning managers}}
{{Argentine Primera División winning managers}}
{{Categoría Primera A winning managers}}
{{Argentina national football team managers}}
{{Estudiantes de La Plata managers}}
{{Huracán managers}}
{{San Lorenzo de Almagro managers}}
{{Racing Club managers}}
{{Atlético Nacional managers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubeldia, Osvaldo Juan}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Footballers from Junín, Buenos Aires]]
[[Category:Argentine people of Basque descent]]
[[Category:Argentine men's footballers]]
[[Category:Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers]]
[[Category:Boca Juniors footballers]]
[[Category:Club Atlético Atlanta footballers]]
[[Category:Club Atlético Banfield footballers]]
[[Category:Argentine Primera División players]]
[[Category:Argentine football managers]]
[[Category:Argentina national football team managers]]
[[Category:Estudiantes de La Plata managers]]
[[Category:Club Atlético Huracán managers]]
[[Category:San Lorenzo de Almagro managers]]
[[Category:Atlético Nacional managers]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Copa Libertadores–winning managers]]
[[Category:Categoría Primera A managers]]
[[Category:20th-century Argentine sportsmen]]