Ariel Enrique Holan (; born 14 September 1960) is an Argentine professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager of Universidad Católica.

Field hockey career

Holan was born in Lomas de Zamora, in the

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. Despite stating that his childhood passion was football, he started his career playing field hockey for Lomas Athletic Club. He quit his playing career in 1979, while at

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

, following the death of his father. In 1976, aged only 16, Holan took over Lomas' women's B-team, remaining in charge for three years before moving to Club Alemán. After eight years, he was appointed coach of Olivos' women team, being in charge for three seasons. In 1990, Holan was Gustavo Paolucci's assistant at the Argentina women's national team for the year's World Cup. After the end of the tournament, he returned to Lomas, now as coach of the women's main squad. Holan subsequently worked with Banfield, San Fernando and Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires before taking over Uruguay women's national team in 2003. At the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

held in Santo Domingo, his side won the Bronze medal after losing the semifinals to champions Argentina.

Football career

Early career

In 2003, after attending soccer clinics in Pennsylvania and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, Holan was appointed Jorge Burruchaga's assistant at Arsenal de Sarandí. He continued to work with Burrruchaga in the following years, at Estudiantes, Independiente, Banfield and back at Arsenal. In 2011, Holan took over Argentinos Juniors' youth categories. On 26 June 2011, he was named

Matías Almeyda Matías Jesús Almeyda (; born 21 December 1973) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Nicknamed ''El Pelado'' ("bald one") despite his traditionally ...

's assistant at River Plate, and was a part of the club's staff during the promotion back to the top tier. He also worked as Almeyda's assistant at Banfield.

Defensa y Justicia

On 11 June 2015, Holan was named Defensa y Justicia manager, replacing José Oscar Flores. Earning plaudits for the team's performances, he led the club to a

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

qualification (the club's first ever international tournament), but resigned on 14 November 2016.

Independiente

On 29 December 2016, Holan was appointed manager of Independiente, in the place of fired

Gabriel Milito Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a central defender, currently the manager of Argentinos Juniors. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing Zaragoza and Barcel ...

. Roughly one year later, he lifted the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argent ...

after defeating Flamengo at the

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...

. On 20 December 2017, Holan announced that he would not renew his contract with Independiente, which was due to expire in the end of the year. Three days later, however, he signed a new contract until the end of 2018. On 27 June 2018, Holan extended his contract with Independiente until 2021. On 10 July of the following year, he left the club on a mutual agreement.

Universidad Católica

On 16 December 2019, Holan signed a two-year contract with

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División (English: First Division) is the top-tier league of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the ''Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, ANFP''. The league is known as the Campeonato AFP PlanVital ...

side Universidad Católica. He led the side to their Campeonato Nacional accolade in 2020, the club's third consecutive league title, but left the club on 18 February 2021 due to a clause on his contract that allowed him to leave the club at the end of the season.

Santos

On 22 February 2021, Holan was announced as the new head coach of Brazilian club Santos on a three-year contract. On 26 April 2021, it was announced that he resigned from his post, after an incident with supporters and fireworks in front of his residence. He was the Santos manager for only 12 games (four wins, three ties and five losses).

León

On 11 May 2021, Holan was announced as the new head coach of Mexican Club León. On 21 April 2022, it was announced that he would no longer manage the club. During his time in the club he was able to win the Leagues Cup final against Seattle Sounders. He also reached the

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

Apertura 2021 Final, where the team were runner-ups to the championship.

Return to Universidad Católica

On 30 April 2022, Holan resigned from his position to rejoin Universidad Católica, signing a contract until Dec 31st 2023.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Independiente *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Universidad Católica *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links

Football World Rankings profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holan, Ariel 1960 births Living people Argentine people of Czech descent Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province Argentine football managers Defensa y Justicia managers Club Atlético Independiente managers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica managers Santos FC managers Club León managers Argentine Primera División managers Chilean Primera División managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Liga MX managers Argentine expatriate football managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Chile Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Mexico