Facundo Sava (born 7 March 1974) is an
Argentine football manager and former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
forward.
Sava played 17 years of professional football, mainly representing
Gimnasia and
Racing Club in the
Argentine Primera División. Abroad, he had brief spells at
Fulham in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, and
Celta Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...
and
Lorca Deportiva in Spain's
Segunda División in the early 2000s.
In 2012, Sava began managing, leading several clubs in his country's top flight including Racing and Gimnasia, as well as
O'Higgins in the
Chilean Primera División. He won the
Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
with
Patronato
Patronato may refer to:
*Club Atlético Patronato, an Argentine football club
*Patronato real, an arrangement between the Vatican and the Kingdom of Spain
*Barrio Patronato, a ''barrio'' (district) in Santiago, Chile
*Patronato metro station
Pat ...
in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
.
Playing career
Early years and Fulham
Sava started his career at
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 foot ...
in 1993. In 1996, he moved to
Boca Juniors. A year later, he was sold on to
Gimnasia y Esgrima 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 ...
. In 2002, Sava was sold to
Fulham on a four-year deal for
£2 million, having helped his team
come second to
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional
sports club based in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la ...
. He was the one signing made by
Franco Baresi as
sporting director
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
, while manager
Jean Tigana
Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...
was on holiday.
Sava made his debut on 6 July in the
UEFA Intertoto Cup first round away to
FC Haka
FC Haka is a Finnish football club based in the industry town of Valkeakoski. It is currently competing in Finland's premier division of football, Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championshi ...
in Finland, playing 60 minutes before being
substituted for
Barry Hayles
Barrington Edward "Barry" Hayles (born 17 May 1972) is a football player and coach who plays as a striker for Windsor. He began his career in the Spartan League with Willesden Hawkeye before playing for Stevenage Borough, Bristol Rovers, Fu ...
. His
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
debut was on 17 August as the season began with a 4–1 home win over
Bolton Wanderers; he came on for
Louis Saha
Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, h ...
with 12 minutes remaining. In the next game a week later, again from the bench, he equalised in the last minute in a 2–2 draw at
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
.
On 23 November 2002, Sava scored once in each half of a 3–2 win over
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
at
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...
. Three days later, he failed to clear for the first goal and scored an
own goal
An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
for the second, as Fulham lost 2–1 to
Hertha BSC in the fourth round of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
; he was openly criticised by Tigana for his performance. During his time at Fulham, Sava celebrated goals by putting on a mask that he pulled from his sock; he explained that it came from his time at Gimnasia when fans threw masks onto the pitch.
Affected by injury, Sava played only six games in 2003–04, scoring once for
Chris Coleman's team.
[
]
Spain
On 27 August 2004, Sava was loaned to RC Celta de Vigo, newly relegated to the Spanish Segunda División and who had lost star striker Savo Milošević
Savo Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Саво Милошевић, ; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player.
A former forward, he signed for English club Aston Villa after making a name for himself at Partiza ...
. He made his debut on 4 September as a substitute in a 1–0 home win over Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2.
...
. Twenty-two days later, he played the full match and scored his first goal in his fifth game, to open a 1–1 draw at Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...
; he contributed three goals in 26 games, mainly as a substitute, as the team returned to La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
as runners-up to Cádiz CF.
In 2005–06, Sava signed on loan for another team in Spain's second division, Unai Emery
Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Aston Villa.
After a career spent playing mostly in Spain's Segunda División, Emery transitioned into coa ...
's Lorca Deportiva. He contributed seven goals in 38 games to help towards a fifth-place finish; this included two on 20 November in a 4–0 home win over Hércules CF.
Return to Argentina
Sava was one of six Fulham players released in May 2006. He then returned to his country's top flight, at Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club de Avellaneda, officially known as Racing Club or shortened to just Racing, is an Argentine professional sports club based in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered o ...
.
In 2008, he joined Arsenal de Sarandí
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
and, the following season, he helped Quilmes Atlético Club
Quilmes Atlético Club () is an Argentine sports club based in the Quilmes district of Greater Buenos Aires. Established in 1887 (although the date of foundation is still under dispute), Quilmes is the oldest club of Argentina still competing ...
achieve promotion to the Argentine Primera División. However, he did not stay with Quilmes in the Primera, instead returning to his first club, Ferro Carril Oeste, after 14 years. With Ferro, he played 6 games in the 2010–11 season of the Primera B Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 team ...
, before deciding to retire. He played his last game in an away draw against Club Atlético Belgrano
Club Atlético Belgrano (; mostly known simply as Belgrano or Belgrano de Córdoba ) is an Argentine sports club from the city of Córdoba, best known for its football team. In the 2023 season the club will play in the Primera División, the ...
on 11 September 2010.
Coaching career
On 23 April 2012, Sava took his first coaching job as the head coach at San Martín de San Juan
Club Atlético San Martín, mostly known as San Martín de San Juan, is an Argentine football club from the city of San Juan. The team currently plays in the Argentine Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league sy ...
, having previously been the assistant. He made his debut five days later, in a 1–0 home top-flight win over Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba
Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba, known simply as Godoy Cruz, is an Argentine sports club from Godoy Cruz, Mendoza. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine footbal ...
. On 4 September, having lost all five games of the new season, he was sacked.
At the start of 2013, Sava succeeded Nery Pumpido at Unión de Santa Fe
Club Atlético Unión (; mostly known as Unión de Santa Fe ) is a sports club from Santa Fe, the capital city of the Santa Fe Province, in Argentina. The club was founded on April 15, 1907 and plays in the Argentine Primera División.
Althou ...
. He kept his job after relegation, but was dismissed in December as the team fell out of the Nacional B play-off positions.
In May 2014, Sava was appointed by Chilean Primera División club O'Higgins F.C. as the replacement for his compatriot, Eduardo Berizzo. The following January, he was dismissed after a defeat at C.D. Universidad de Concepción.
Sava was hired by his former team Quilmes in July 2015, moving in December to replace Diego Cocca at Racing Club for a 3 million Argentine peso
The peso (established as the ''peso convertible'') is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using peso or dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 ''centavos''. Its ISO 4 ...
fee. He made his debut on 4 February 2016 in his first continental game, a 2–2 draw at Puebla FC
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
in Mexico for the Copa Libertadores qualifying round
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
, eventually being eliminated 2–1 in the last 16 in May by Brazil's Clube Atlético Mineiro. Club president Víctor Blanco confirmed Sava as manager for the rest of the calendar year, but he left and was replaced by Ricardo Zielinski
Ricardo Alberto Zielinski (born 14 October 1959) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of Uruguayan club Nacional.
Career
"El Ruso" started his playing career at San Telmo in 197 ...
before the new season.
In March 2017, Sava was hired for two years at Club Atlético Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre is an Argentine professional football club located in Victoria, Buenos Aires. Tigre currently plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine football league system, having secured promotion as the 2021 Pri ...
. On 3 June, he announced his resignation following a 3–0 home loss to Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield
Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield () is an Argentine sports club based in Liniers, Buenos Aires. Its football team plays in Primera División, the highest level of the Argentine league system. Founded in 1910, the club has spent most of its hist ...
. At the start of the new year, he returned to Gimnasia where he had left as a player 16 years earlier. He left on 21 April, after achieving two wins and three draws from 12 games.
Sava returned to Quilmes in December 2019. In 2021, the team reached the promotion play-off final, losing on penalties to Barracas Central
Club Atlético Barracas Central is an Argentine football club from the district of Barracas, Buenos Aires. Established in 1904, Barracas Central will return to the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine football league system, in the ...
after a goalless draw on 21 December.
In March 2022, Sava returned to the top flight, being hired by Club Atlético Patronato for the rest of the year. He guided the team to the Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
, winning 2–1 at Gimnasia in the last 16, on penalties against River Plate in the quarter-finals, and on the same method against Boca Juniors in the semi-finals, before defeating Talleres de Córdoba
Club Atlético Talleres (; (lit. Workshops Athletic Club) mostly known simply as Talleres (lit. Workshops) or Talleres de Córdoba ) (Córdoba Workshops) is an Argentine sports club from the city of Córdoba. The institution is mostly known fo ...
by a single goal in the final on 31 October. Days later, he announced that he would not renew his contract.
Honours
;Fulham
* UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
;Patronato
*Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
: 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
[
]
References
External links
Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI
Guardian statistics
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sava, Facundo
1974 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province
Argentine footballers
Argentine expatriate footballers
Argentine football managers
Association football forwards
Ferro Carril Oeste footballers
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers
Boca Juniors footballers
Arsenal de Sarandí footballers
Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers
Quilmes Atlético Club footballers
Fulham F.C. players
RC Celta de Vigo players
Lorca Deportiva CF footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Premier League players
Segunda División players
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate football managers in Chile
San Martín de San Juan managers
Unión de Santa Fe managers
O'Higgins F.C. managers
Racing Club de Avellaneda managers
Club Atlético Tigre managers
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata managers
Quilmes Atlético Club managers
Club Atlético Patronato managers
Argentine Primera División managers
Chilean Primera División managers