Héctor Cúper
Héctor Raúl Cúper (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeɣtoɾ ˈkupeɾ]; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who is currently head coach of the Syria national team.
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Cúper as Egypt manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Héctor Raúl Cúper | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 November 1955 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santa Fe, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Syria (manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Independiente Rivadavia | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1978–1988 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 424 | (24) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1992 | Huracán | 132 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 567 | (34) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Argentina | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Huracán | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Lanús | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Mallorca | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Valencia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Inter Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Mallorca | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Real Betis | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Parma | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Georgia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Aris Thessaloniki | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Racing Santander | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Orduspor | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Al Wasl | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Egypt | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Uzbekistan | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | DR Congo | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Syria | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where he played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big head").
He made his managerial breakthrough at Mallorca, reaching the Copa del Rey final in 1998 and the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup a year later, as well as a best-ever third-place finish. In two years at Valencia, he reached the UEFA Champions League final twice, earning a move to Italy's Internazionale in 2001.
Cúper also managed Betis and Racing Santander in La Liga, and Parma in Serie A. He later coached the national teams of Georgia, Egypt, Uzbekistan and DR Congo, taking the second of those countries to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final and a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.