Nelson David Vivas (born 18 October 1969) is an Argentine former professional
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 ...
and manager who played as a
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. Vivas featured for clubs
Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...
,
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
,
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
and
River Plate. He also played for the
Argentina national team. Vivas has gone on to manage sides Quilmes,
Estudiantes and
Defensa y Justicia
Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935. .
Club career
Career in Argentina
Vivas was born in
Granadero Baigorria
Granadero Baigorria is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located directly north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area. Its population is about ...
,
Santa Fe, Argentina. He began his professional footballing career with
Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...
. After three years with Quilmes, he then joined
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
. Vivas in all played 98 games and scored three goals for Azul y Oro.
Move to Europe
Vivas then made his move to Europe, joining
FC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
of the Swiss League on loan. He went on to make 10 appearances during his stay at the club.
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 ...
eventually signed him up from
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
for £1,600,000 in August 1998.
Vivas was at first used as backup for established full-backs
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ca ...
and
Nigel Winterburn
Nigel Winterburn (born 11 December 1963) is an English former professional footballer, coach and current television personality for BT Sport.
He played primarily as a left back from 1981 to 2003. He is best known for his role alongside the li ...
while at Arsenal. He started 18 games and played as a
substitute for another 18 matches during his debut season at
Highbury
Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington
in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads.
The manor house was situ ...
. Vivas scored his first and only goal for the Gunners against Derby County in the League Cup.
He had a setback when he missed a penalty in a shootout as Arsenal crashed out of the 1999/2000 League Cup to
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 ...
.
Vivas was loaned out to the
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 ...
outfit
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) ...
halfway through the
1999–00 season. As Arsenal had signed
Oleh Luzhnyi
Oleh Romanovych Luzhnyi ( uk, Олег Романович Лужний; born 5 August 1968) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Club career
Luzhnyi is a product of the Karpaty sports school (coached by Yur ...
and
Sylvinho
Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior (born 12 April 1974), commonly known as Sylvinho (sometimes alternatively spelled Silvinho), is a Brazilian football manager and former player, currently managing Albania.
Formerly a left back, he began his care ...
in the summer of 1999, he went on to mainly appear as a substitute at the club. With him being unable to attain regular playing time, Vivas left Arsenal at the end of the
2000–01 season. Altogether he played 69 games for Arsenal with 40 as a substitute, scoring one goal. Vivas then joined
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
team
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
in a free transfer. At Inter, Vivas found it hard to break into the first team. After two seasons with the
Nerazzurri, he left European football to return to his native Argentina.
Early retirement
He went on to sign up for
River Plate where he spent a solitary season. Vivas then made a return to Quilmes where he brought an end to his playing days in 2005.
Vivas served as
Diego Simeone
Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011.
In his cl ...
's assistant manager at clubs
Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...
, River Plate and
San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
* San Lorenzo Department, Chaco
* Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
.
For the 2013–14 season Vivas once again returned to Quilmes, as manager on this occasion. International headlines were made in October 2013 when Vivas attacked a fan in the stands and subsequently resigned from his post.
International career
As a solid defender, Vivas was always a regular for the
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.
Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...
. He went on to play for La Albiceleste at the
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
and
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
Copa America
Copa or COPA may refer to:
COPA
COPA may refer to:
* Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI
* Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet
* Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...
together with the
1998 World Cup. Vivas played 39 games and scored on one occasion for Argentina altogether.
Career statistics
International
Honours
Player
Arsenal
*
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
River Plate
*
Primera A: 2003
Manager
Argentina Manager of the Year: 2017
References
External links
*
Profileat premierlague.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivas, Nelson
1969 births
Living people
People from Rosario Department
Argentine people of Spanish descent
Association football defenders
Argentine footballers
Quilmes Atlético Club footballers
Boca Juniors footballers
FC Lugano players
Arsenal F.C. players
Inter Milan players
Club Atlético River Plate footballers
La Liga players
RC Celta de Vigo players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
1995 King Fahd Cup players
1997 Copa América players
1999 Copa América players
Swiss Super League players
Premier League players
Serie A players
Argentina international footballers
Argentine expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England
Argentine Primera División players
Defensa y Justicia managers
Estudiantes de La Plata managers
Argentine football managers
Sportspeople from Santa Fe Province