Juan Manuel Llop (born 1 June 1963 in Arroyo Dulce, Santa Fe) is an Argentine

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 and former 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 ...

. Before taking up management Llop had a 15-year career as a football player, he made appearances for several clubs, most notably for

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 ...

under coaches

José Yudica José Antonio Yudica (February 26, 1936 – August 23, 2021) was an Argentine football player and manager. Yudica had limited success as a player, winning only two titles during his brief spell at Deportivo Cali. After retirement as a player he ...

and

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

during the club's golden era (1987–1992), winning 3 Argentine titles.

Titles as a player

Managerial career

Llop became manager of

in 2001, but his reign only lasted 19 games before he was replaced. He then honed his skills as a manager in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, coaching

Tacuary Tacuary Football Club is a Paraguayan First Division football team, based in the neighborhood of Jara, Asunción. The club was founded in 1923. Tacuary qualified for the Copa Libertadores tournament twice (in 2005 and 2007) and the Copa Su ...

and Libertad until he returned to Argentina to take over

Godoy Cruz de Mendoza 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 foot ...

, an insignificant provincial team struggling in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The turnaround at the club was remarkable, they won 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 tea ...

title and promotion to the Primera División in his first full season as their manager. Godoy Cruz found themselves in the Primera for the first time in their history, making them the first team from

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

ever to play in the Argentine first division league (other than the brief relocation to Mendoza of

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...

in the 1990s). Godoy Cruz were relegated at the end of the 2006-2007 season despite a strong 10th-place finish. In 2007 Llop was signed as the new manager of

Club Atlético Banfield Club Atlético Banfield is an Argentine sports club based in the Banfield district of Greater Buenos Aires. It was founded on 21 January 1896, by the British–origin inhabitants of that city (mostly English, and some Scots and Irish). The club ...

in the Primera Division, he was replaced by Miguel Jerez in 2008. After that, he replaced Miguel Micó as manager for

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 ...

. The team finished last in the tournament but saved itself from relegation by beating

Belgrano de Córdoba Belgrano may refer to: People * Joaquín Belgrano (1773–1848), an Argentine patriot * José Denis Belgrano (1844–1917), Spanish painter * Joseph Belgrano (1762–1823), Argentine military officer and politician, brother of Manuel * Manuel Bel ...

in Promoción. In 2009, he was sacked by Racing following a 2-0 defeat in the

Avellaneda derby The Avellaneda derby ( es, Clásico de Avellaneda) is the second-most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Independiente and Racing Club. It is the second-most important local derby, behind the '' Superclásico'' cont ...

References

External links

Argentine Primera managerial statistics

Juan Manuel Llop
at Soccerway
Juan Manuel Llop
at Footballdatabase {{DEFAULTSORT:Llop, Juan Manuel 1963 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Province Argentine men's footballers Newell's Old Boys footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Quilmes Atlético Club footballers San Martín de Tucumán footballers Argentine Primera División players Argentine football managers Newell's Old Boys managers Tacuary managers Club Libertad managers Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba managers Club Atlético Banfield managers Racing Club de Avellaneda managers Atlético de Rafaela managers Club Atlético Platense managers Barcelona S.C. managers Santiago Wanderers managers Club Atlético Huracán managers C.D. Jorge Wilstermann managers Expatriate football managers in Chile Expatriate football managers in Ecuador Expatriate football managers in Paraguay Estudiantes de Río Cuarto footballers Men's association football defenders Oriente Petrolero managers Carlos A. Mannucci managers