Omar Zarif (born 9 February 1978) is an Argentine professional

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 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 ...

and former player.

Playing career

Zarif started his playing career in 1998 with

Dock Sud Dock Sud is a town of Avellaneda Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires. The area is characterized by its predominantly working-class background, with many of its inhabita ...

in the regionalised 4th division. The club were relegated and Zarif continued playing for them in the regionalised

5th division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) *5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Moto ...

. In 2002, he was signed by El Porvenir of the National 2nd division, he then had spells with other 2nd division teams; Los Andes,

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.

and Nueva Chicago. In 2006, he was part of the Nueva Chicago team that won promotion to the

Argentine Primera Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

. The club was relegated at the end of the 2006–2007 season, but Zarif was signed by newly promoted

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in ...

keeping his place in the top division of Argentine football. For the 2008–09 season Zarif signed for Rosario Central, and in 2009 he joined newly promoted Chacarita Juniors. For the 2010–11 season, Zarif returned to Rosario Central, this time to play 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 ...

Managerial career

Zarif played under

Matias Almeyda Matias is a form of the given name Matthew. In German-speaking Europe it is most often written as Matthias. It appears in this form in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Alternate spellings are: Mathias, Mattias, Mattis, Mats and Matti. Matia ...

at Banfield, helping the club earn promotion to Argentina's top league during the 2013–14 season. Midway through Banfield's 2015 season, he switched from playing to coaching and remained on Almeyda's staff when Almeyda became manager of Chivas later in the year. Omar Zarif joined San Jose as an assistant coach under Almeyda ahead of the 2019 MLS season.

References

External links

Argentine Primera statistics

Football-Lineups player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarif, Omar 1978 births Living people Footballers from Avellaneda Argentine people of Arab descent Argentine men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Club Atlético Los Andes footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Club Atlético Nueva Chicago footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Rosario Central footballers Chacarita Juniors footballers Club Atlético Banfield footballers Argentine Primera División players San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Sportspeople of Syrian descent AEK Athens F.C. non-playing staff