Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri (born 26 January 1962) 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, rugb ...

who played as

centre-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 ...

. Nicknamed ''El Cabezón'' ("The Big-Headed One"), Ruggeri achieved success at the international level with the Argentina national team, being part of the teams that won the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

, two editions of the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

and the

1992 King Fahd Cup The 1992 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد), named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in O ...

. At the club level, Ruggeri's most successful stint was with Argentine club River Plate, where he won the 1986 Copa Libertadores (also the club's first win in this tournament) the

1986 Copa Interamericana The 1986 Copa Interamericana was the 10th staging of this competition. The final took place between River Plate (Winners of the 1986 Copa Libertadores) and L.D. Alajuelense (winners of the 1986 CONCACAF Champions' Cup) and was staged over two ...

and the 1986 Intercontinental Cup. Known for his rough style of play when marking opposing players and aerial ability, Ruggeri is considered one of the all-time best defenders to come out of Argentina. Following his retirement as a player, Ruggeri turned to managing, where he held posts in Argentina, Mexico and Spain. His last job as a manager was in 2006 with Argentine club

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 ...

. Since then, Ruggeri went on to have a career on Argentine television, as commentator on football shows. He is currently a member of ''90 Minutos de Fútbol'', which airs in Fox Sports Latin America.

Career

Ruggeri started his career at

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 th ...

, playing with

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

, with whom he won a league title in 1981. In 1985, he moved to rivals River Plate, where he won the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, the Intercontinental Cup and another league title in 1986. In 1988, he left for Europe where he played for Spanish clubs Logroñes and

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 ...

, where he won yet another league championship. He also played for Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield, Vélez Sarsfield, A.C. Ancona, Ancona in Italy, Club América, América in Mexico,

and Club Atlético Lanús, Lanús, where he ended his career. During his career he represented his country in three Football World Cup, World Cups, captaining Argentina in the final two games of the 1994 competition, after Diego Maradona was expelled from the tournament. Ruggeri was also a key piece in the Argentina national football team, Argentina teams that won the trophy in 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1986 and lost the final to Germany national football team, West-Germany in 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1990. After losing to Romania national football team, Romania in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1994 tournament, Ruggeri retired from international football having played 97 international games, an Argentine record until it was surpassed by Diego Simeone.

Personal life

Ruggeri's son, Stephan Ruggeri, Stephan, is a professional footballer. Ruggeri himself appeared on the Bailando 2016, 2016 edition of Bailando por un Sueño (Argentine TV series), Bailando por un Sueño with his daughter, Candela Ruggeri, Candela.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors *Argentine Primera División: 1981 Argentine Primera División#Metropolitano championship, 1981 Metropolitano River Plate *Argentine Primera División: 1985–86 Argentine Primera División, 1985–86 *

: 1986 Copa Libertadores, 1986 *Intercontinental Cup (football), Intercontinental Cup: 1986 Intercontinental Cup, 1986 *Copa Interamericana: 1986 Copa Interamericana, 1986 Real Madrid *La Liga: 1989–90 La Liga, 1989–90 América * CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1992 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, 1992 San Lorenzo *Argentine Primera División: 1994–95 Argentine Primera División#Torneo Clausura, 1995 Clausura

International

Argentina *FIFA World Cup: 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1986; runner-up: 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1990 *

: 1991 Copa América, 1991, 1993 Copa América, 1993 *FIFA Confederations Cup: 1992 King Fahd Cup, 1992 *Kirin Cup: 1992

Individual

*South American Team of the Year: 1986, 1991 *Don Balón Award, La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1989 *Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 1991 *South American Footballer of the Year: 1991 *Olimpia Award: 1991 *FIFA XI: 1991FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
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References

External links

Sports Illustrated on Ruggeri

Oscar Ruggeri – Managerial statistics in the Argentine Primera
at Fútbol XXI * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggeri, Oscar Alfredo 1962 births Living people Argentine footballers Boca Juniors footballers Club América footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers A.C. Ancona players Serie A players Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers La Liga players Real Madrid CF players CD Logroñés footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Mexico FIFA World Cup-winning players Argentina international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1987 Copa América players 1989 Copa América players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 Copa América players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1994 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina Argentine football managers San Lorenzo de Almagro managers Club Atlético Independiente managers Club América managers C.D. Guadalajara managers Tecos F.C. managers Elche CF managers Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Argentine people of Italian descent Expatriate football managers in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Spain South American Footballer of the Year winners Copa América-winning players Association football defenders Participants in Argentine reality television series Bailando por un Sueño (Argentine TV series) participants