Héctor Cúper

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Héctor Cúper
Personal information
Full name	Héctor Raúl Cúper
Date of birth	November 16, 1955 (1955-11-16) (age 52)
Place of birth	Chabás, Santa Fe Province, Argentina
Playing position	Manager (former centre back)
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1976-1977 1977-1978 1978-1988 1988-1992	Ferro Carril Oeste Independiente Rivadavia Ferro Carril Oeste Huracán
National team
1984-1986	Argentina	5 (0)
Teams managed
1993-1995 1995-1997 1997-1999 1999-2001 2001-2003 2004-2006 2007 2008	Huracán Lanús Mallorca Valencia Internazionale Mallorca Real Betis Parma
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 14, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Héctor Raúl Cúper (born November 16, 1955 in Chabás, Santa Fe Province, Argentina) is a former football defender and currently unemployed after being sacked by Parma on May 12, 2008.

Cúper started playing professionally in 1976 for Ferro Carril Oeste, club for which he would play most of his career. In 1977 he played for Independiente Rivadavia, but returned to Ferro the next season. With Ferro he obtained the first division Nacional 1982 and Nacional 1984. He also played for the Argentina national football team, but didn't participate in the World Cup. In 1988 he transferred to Club Atlético Huracán, were he played until his retirement in 1992.

Cúper started his coaching career in Huracán, a year and a half after his retirement. After three years he moved to Club Atlético Lanús, and two years later he made the jump to Europe. In 1997 he was hired by RCD Mallorca, and in the very first season he drove the modest club to the final of the Copa del Rey, which he would lose against FC Barcelona. The following season the team reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup losing to S.S. Lazio. However, in the same season the team had its revenge against Barcelona, winning the Supercopa de España in 1998. That season also meant the best historical position at the end of the league with a 3rd place, allowing the team to play in the UEFA Champions League.

Cúper moved to the Valencia CF in 1999, where he maintained his bad luck in finals, losing the final of the Champions League two consecutive times; in 2000 against Real Madrid, and in 2001 with FC Bayern Munich by penalty kicks.

In 2001 Cúper was hired by Italian club Inter Milan, where he reached the third and second place of the championship in successive seasons. His poor luck with champions league continued when his team lost the semifinals of UEFA Champions League 2002-03 to city rivals A.C. Milan on away goals rule. Continuing his bad luck run in "finals", Inter Milan under his command infamously lost what could have been Inter's first scudetto since 1989 on the 5th of May 2002 to Lazio 4-2 and handed the scudetto over to fierce rivals Juventus on the last day of the Italian league. He was fired from the club after six matches in 2003, when the team was in the 8th position.

After a year off work, due to a contractual argument with Inter, Cúper managed Mallorca again during the 2004/05 season, when the team was already in a relegation position after 10 matches, saving the team from relegation in the last match of the season. Suffering bad results in spite of his many signings, Cúper decided to leave the team in February 2006, with the team at the bottom of the division.

He started the 2007–08 season at the helm of Real Betis, but was sacked on December 2, 2007 following his side's loss against Atlético Madrid. On March 11, 2008 he was unveiled as new boss of relegation-battling Serie A team Parma, replacing Domenico Di Carlo at the helm of the gialloblù. He was then sacked 2 months later before the final game of the season after winning only 2 in 10 matches as manager, this eventually leading to Parma's relegation to Serie B.

[edit] External links

• Cuper's playing career at BDFA (Spanish)

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Recently signed for Olympiacos FC in a four year contract