Daniel Passarella
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. 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.
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Passarella holding the FIFA World Cup Trophy after the 1978 final. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Daniel Alberto Passarella | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 May 1953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Chacabuco, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | Internazionale | 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
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. In 2004, Passarella was named one of the 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé at a FIFA awards ceremony. In 2007, The Times placed him at 36th in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history. In 2017, he was named as the 56th best player by FourFourTwo in their list of the 100 all-time greatest footballers. 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.