Carlos Bilardo Argentine footballer and football coach. Date of Birth: 16.03.1939 Country: Argentina

Biography of Carlos Bilardo

Carlos Salvador Bilardo is an Argentine football player and football coach. He was born in Buenos Aires to a family of Sicilian immigrants. Growing up, Carlos had to juggle football with his studies and work. During school holidays, he would wake up before dawn to deliver goods to the Buenos Aires market. Despite playing in the youth teams of San Lorenzo, Carlos never gave up on his dream of becoming a doctor.

In 1959, Bilardo was called up to the Argentine youth team, with whom he won the Pan American Games. He also participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. In 1961, Bilardo joined the second division club "Deportivo Espanol", where he became the top scorer but later switched to the defensive midfielder position. In 1965, Carlos Bilardo moved to "Estudiantes" where he played as an experienced central midfielder in a young team, and also acted as the coach's advocate on the field. During his four years with the team, they won three Copa Libertadores titles and the Intercontinental Cup.

After completing medical school at the University of Buenos Aires, Bilardo retired from playing and became the coach of "Estudiantes". Alongside his coaching work, he spent time with his wife and daughter, helped his father in the furniture business, and even found time to study colorectal cancer and practice as a gynecologist. However, in 1976, Bilardo decided to stop practicing medicine, realizing that research and practice required full-time commitment, which he couldn't provide.

After brief stints at Colombian club "Deportivo Cali" and Argentine club "San Lorenzo", Bilardo took charge of the Colombian national team. However, after failing to qualify for the 1982 World Cup finals, he was fired and returned to "Estudiantes". Bilardo dedicated the victory in the 1982 Metropolitano tournament (as well as the victory with Argentina in 1986) to his coaching mentor Osvaldo Zubeldía, who passed away earlier that year.

Bilardo's successful work at the club in La Plata attracted the attention of the Argentine Football Association, and in 1983 he was appointed head coach of the Argentine national team. The first major tournament for his team, the 1983 Copa America, was a failure as Argentina failed to advance from the group stage despite defeating Brazil twice.

At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Bilardo built a team around the young Diego Maradona and, thanks in large part to Maradona's outstanding performances, Argentina won their second World Cup title in history. Bilardo later wrote a book about this triumph titled "How We Won". According to Maradona, Bilardo had no credit for Argentina's victory.

Bilardo also led the team to the next World Cup in Italy, where Argentina reached the final but lost in a hard-fought and dramatic match against the German national team, who avenged their defeat in the previous World Cup.

After the World Cup, Bilardo resigned and turned to teaching and journalism. In 1992, he returned to coaching, this time leading the Spanish club "Sevilla" where Diego Maradona was playing at the time, and three years later he reunited with Maradona at "Boca Juniors".

In 1999, Bilardo became the head coach of the Libyan national team but worked there for less than a year as the team failed to qualify for the 2000 African Cup of Nations.

In 2003, the winner of the 1986 World Cup returned to coaching, this time at his beloved "Estudiantes". Although he did not achieve great results, Carlos Bilardo laid the foundation for a team that became the country's champion under the guidance of Diego Simeone three years later.

Bilardo went to the 2006 World Cup as a television commentator. After the tournament, his name was mentioned as a candidate for the position of head coach of the national team following Jose Pekerman's resignation, but the Argentine Football Association appointed Alfio Basile as the coach, who had replaced Bilardo in that position twelve years earlier.

In 2007, Bilardo was appointed Minister of Sports for the Buenos Aires province. On October 28, 2008, Carlos Bilardo was appointed General Manager of the Argentine national team, assisting the new head coach, Diego Maradona.