Juan Eduardo Esnáider Belén (; born 5 March 1973) is an Argentine 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 le ...

who played as a striker, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. Having spent most of his career in Spain, he was known as a powerful player with an excellent aerial game. He started at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in that country, having little impact with its first team and going on to represent another four clubs (mostly

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

), amassing

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's ...

totals of 197 matches and 74 goals. Other than in his own country, he also competed professionally in Italy (

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

), Portugal and France. In 2011, Esnáider started working as a coach.

Club career

Born in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

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 ...

, Esnáider began his footballing career with

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 ...

, and made his professional debut against

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 histo ...

on 2 September 1990. After only six games, he was bought by

, and still managed two first-team appearances during the 1990–91 season, also going on to score nearly 20 goals for the reserves in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

. However, Esnáider never really settled in the main squad, and moved on loan to

for 1993–94 (with the latter having the option to buy at the end of the campaign). He quickly developed into one of European football's most in-form strikers and, already property of the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese side, helped them to the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, scoring in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Arsenal 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 mostly ...

and being the tournament's second-best scorer behind

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

(he also added 16 in

). Real Madrid paid Zaragoza more than double they had received in July 1995, but Esnáider only netted once during another disappointing season. Signed by

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

for 1996–97 – immediately after an historic

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

– he again displayed his best football, with 21 goals in all competitions. Esnáider joined

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

-based

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

after being released by Atlético, and produced another good individual season with 13 successful strikes in the league. In January 1999, he was signed by

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnelli ...

for an estimated fee of £4,5 million, as an intended replacement for

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...

who had just been sidelined with a serious knee injury, but was unable to settle at the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

-based team. In late December 2000 he returned to Zaragoza and, with 11 goals in just 17 matches, helped the side avoid relegation (that included two on 14 April 2001 in a 4–4 tie at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

), adding his second

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

in the process. Subsequently, Esnáider's career remained low-profile, with spells at

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

(arriving the season after countryman

Juan Antonio Pizzi Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja (, ; born 7 June 1968) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker, currently manager of UAE Pro League club Al-Wasl. He spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, mainly at Tenerife, helping to th ...

, who also left unsettled after a few months), Cadetes de San Martín,

Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez, Buenos Aires, Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city ...

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...

and

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 ...

, before retiring at

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

in Argentina. He obtained his coaching degree in 2008 and, in April of the following year, became

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

's assistant to former Real Madrid teammate Míchel, who was replacing

Víctor Muñoz Víctor Muñoz Manrique (born 15 March 1957), known simply as Víctor in his playing days, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a manager. An all-around midfield unit, he was best known for his great physical strengt ...

after a string of bad results; he occupied the position until December 2010. On 8 April 2013, after one full season in

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

with Zaragoza's B team, Esnáider was appointed at

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

until June after the sacking of Rafael Berges. He won only two of nine games during his spell, as the team went on rank 14th in the second tier. Esnáider returned to Getafe on 12 April 2016 following the dismissal of

Fran Escribá Francisco 'Fran' Escribá Segura (born 3 May 1965) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a left winger. He is the current manager of Real Zaragoza. Club career Born in Valencia, Escribá played youth football with Valen ...

, but now as head coach. His first match in the Spanish top flight – as a manager – took place four days later, in a 5–1 home loss to former club Real Madrid.

International career

Esnáider represented

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on three occasions, his debut coming in 1995. Previously, he appeared with the under-20s at the

1991 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship was the eighth staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship, an international football competition organized by FIFA for men's youth national teams, and the eighth since it was established in 1977 as the FIFA ...

held in Portugal.

Temperament

During his first spell at Zaragoza and while at Atlético Madrid, Esnáider was considered by many as one of the most promising strikers in European football. However, this was often overshadowed by his misconduct and foul play in many matches: After missing a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in Atlético's match against

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

, in the 1996–97 edition of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, he made a ferocious two-footed tackle at

Richard Witschge Richard Peter Witschge (born 20 September 1969) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known for his technique and passing ability. In an 18-year professional career he played mainly for Ajax, but also represented, among ...

, but was lucky to receive only a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

. Minutes later, he was enraged when he was substituted by coach

Radomir Antić Radomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Радомир Антић, ; 22 November 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Serbian professional football manager and player. Following a 17-year playing career as a defender, most of which he spent playing at Partizan, wit ...

, shouting out

profanities Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, ru ...

; the next day, he was transferlisted by illusive chairman

Jesús Gil Gregorio Jesús Gil y Gil (12 March 1933 – 14 May 2004) was a Spanish businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Marbella between 1991 and 2002, and presided for a 16-year tenure as president of the football club Atlético de Madrid ...

. In 2000–01's dying stages, as Zaragoza fought to retain their top-division status, Esnáider brutally assaulted a

RC Celta de 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), ...

player with his

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

(with the consequent dismissal), allegedly after being told by the club he would be deemed surplus to requirements for the following season. The player denied, however, this as the main reason for the incident. At the 1991 World Youth Championships, Esnáider was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for headbutting referee

Guy Goethals Guy Goethals (born 26 December 1952) is a Belgian retired football referee. Career Goethals was born in Brussels. He refereed two matches in the UEFA European Football Championship in 1992 and 1996.UEFA"Italy 0-0 Germany" 19 June 1996. Retr ...

and calling him a "son of a whore". He was banned from international football for a year, and Argentina were disqualified from the following edition of the tournament.

Personal life

Esnáider's son, also named

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, was also a footballer and a forward. He too represented Zaragoza. On

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

2012, Esnáider lost a 17-year-old son to illness. His surname was a Spanish spelling of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Schneider, which meant "tailor", and he was of

Volga German The Volga Germans (german: Wolgadeutsche, ), russian: поволжские немцы, povolzhskiye nemtsy) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov a ...

and Spanish descent.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Real Madrid *

: 1992–93 Zaragoza *Copa del Rey: 1993–94, 2000–01 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1994–95 Juventus *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

River Plate *

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

: 2002 Clausura

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esnaider, Juan 1973 births Living people Argentine people of Volga German descent Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent Sportspeople from Mar del Plata Argentine footballers Association football forwards Argentine Primera División players Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Cadetes de San Martín players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Newell's Old Boys footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Real Madrid CF players Real Zaragoza players Atlético Madrid footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Real Murcia players Serie A players Juventus F.C. players Primeira Liga players FC Porto players Ligue 1 players AC Ajaccio players Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Córdoba CF managers Getafe CF managers J2 League managers JEF United Chiba managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in Japan Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Japan