Carlos Timoteo Griguol (4 September 1934 – 6 May 2021) was an Argentine football coach and player, who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Life

His playing career was spent with

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...

. As a coach, after winning the championship with Rosario Central in 1973. He had three spells and a successful career in the Rosario's club. In the 1980s he soared to the top ranks of Argentine football by guiding

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...

to two championships, in 1982 and 1984, featuring players such as

Adolfino Cañete Adolfino Cañete Azcurra (born 13 September 1956) is a retired professional Paraguayan footballer. He was part of the 1986 Paraguay national team that played in the World Cup that year at Mexico. Cañete was credited with three assists during ...

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big ...

, Gerónimo Saccardi, Juan Domingo Rocchia, Julio Cesar Jiménez,

Oscar Garré Oscar Alfredo Garré (born 9 December 1956) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Garré played most of his career (1974–88 and 1989–94) as a defender for Ferro Carril Oeste, and was part of the te ...

and Alberto Márcico. During his Ferrocarril Oeste days, Griguol would videotape the basketball team, and basketball coach Leon Najnudel would return the favor. His conservative style made Griguol a non-contender for the job of national coach. He did get a chance to coach River Plate in the mid-1980s, but despite winning the

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana ( en, Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition contested between a representative from North America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACA ...

in 1987 he was swiftly dismissed when results were not forthcoming and the team's style did not please the fans. In the 1990s, Griguol took

Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

under his wing, propelling it to its best harvest ever: two second-place finishes. He would return to Gimnasia twice. He has also worked in Spain as the manager of

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. His trademark was a most unusual token of encouragement: he would slap each player in the face before the team entered the pitch. TV cameras caught this ritual more than once. Timoteo was known mostly by his middle name, or as ''el viejo'' ("the old man").

Death

Griguol was hospitalized in late April 2021, after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which derived in pulmonary complications. He also had

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He died at Sanatorio Los Arcos in Buenos Aires on 6 May 2021, at the age of 86.

References

External links

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Ferro Carril Oeste biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griguol, Carlos Timoteo 1936 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Club Atlético Atlanta footballers Rosario Central footballers Argentine football managers Ferro Carril Oeste managers Club Atlético River Plate managers Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata managers Real Betis managers Rosario Central managers Tecos F.C. managers Argentine expatriate football managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate football managers in Spain Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina