Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at

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 assoc ...

, where he played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big head"). He made his managerial breakthrough at

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, reaching the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

final in 1998 and the final of the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

a year later, as well as a best-ever third-place finish. In two years at

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, he reached the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

final twice, earning a move to Italy's Internazionale in 2001. Cúper also managed Betis and Racing Santander in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

. He later coached the national teams of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, taking the second of those countries to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final and a place at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

Personal life

Cúper's great-grandfather was an Englishman whose surname was Cooper, who migrated to

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

in Argentina and married an indigenous woman. However, the majority of his heritage is Italian. He was born in Chábas, a small settlement in Santa Fe. His mother died at the age of 20, months after the birth of his younger brother, and he was raised by his grandmother.

Playing career

As with most aspiring footballers in Chábas in the 1960s, Cúper moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

to pursue his career. He took leave from his job at a bank to search for a team in the capital city, eventually being signed by

. While at the club, he won the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

in 1982 and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Managerial career

Early career

Cúper started his coaching career with Huracán, a year and a half after his retirement. He led the club to the 2nd place in the Clausura 1994 tournament, eventually losing the last match against the rivals for the title Independiente. In 1995 he moved to

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

, where he won his first trophy as manager, the Copa CONMEBOL. In the summer of 1997, he was hired by

, and in the very first season he drove the modest club to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the

, which he would lose against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, but won the

1998 Supercopa de España The 1998 Supercopa de España was a Football in Spain, Spanish association football, football competition, played over two legs on 18 August and 22 August 1998. It was contested by Mallorca, who were Spanish Cup runners-up in 1997–98 Copa del Rey ...

against the same opponent. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

the team reached the final of the

, where they lost to

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

. That

Mallorca also recorded their best-ever La Liga finish of 3rd, allowing the team to play in the

Valencia

In March 1999,

manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Serie A club AS Roma, Roma but will leave on 30 June 2025, followin ...

stated that he wanted Cúper to be his successor when he left at the end of the season; Cúper turned down a new contract at Mallorca and left in June. At Valencia, he won another

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

but lost the final of the Champions League two consecutive times; in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, and in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

against Bayern Munich on

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Internazionale

On 22 June 2001, Cúper was hired by Italian club Internazionale, replacing

Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazion ...

. In his first season, the club started the final day on 5 May 2002 in pole position for a first '' Scudetto'' since 1989, but lost to

and handed the title to rivals

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, retreating to the 3rd place. In the 2002–03 season, Cúper's team ended up at 2nd place in

and lost in the semi-finals of

to city rivals

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

, despite both teams playing their home games at the San Siro. He was fired from the club on 19 October 2003, after six matches of the 2003–04 season, when the team was in 8th place.

Mallorca return, Betis, Parma

On 2 November 2004 Cúper returned to Mallorca after the sacking of Benito Floro, with the team 19th after 10 matches. He saved the team from relegation on the last day, and made several signings, but resigned on 14 February 2006 with the team last following a nine-game winless run. On 16 July 2007, Cúper was revealed as the new manager of

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

on a one-year deal. He was sacked on 2 December with the team 19th after losing at home to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

. On 11 March 2008, he was unveiled as the new boss of relegation-battling Serie A team

, replacing Domenico Di Carlo at the helm of the ''Gialloblù''. He was then sacked two months later before the final game of the season after winning only two in 10 matches as manager, this eventually leading to Parma's relegation to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

2008–2013

In August 2008, Cúper became the head coach of the Georgia national team. He agreed to step down in November 2009 before the expiration of his contract, having taken just three points and no wins in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 3 November 2009, Cúper agreed to continue his managerial career with Greek club

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

until the end of the 2009–10 season. On 15 December, he extended his contract with Aris until June 2011. On 24 April Cúper lost another final, this time in the

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

against Panathinaikos. In the 2010–11 season, Cúper lead Aris in its first participation in the Round of 32 of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, taking the club to second place in Group B with 10 points, after two surprise wins against

. On 18 January 2011 after some bad results in Greece, Cúper decided to step down from his managerial position. On 29 June 2011, Cúper returned to La Liga with Racing Santander, signing for one season. However, after five months he left the last-placed team by mutual agreement with the board. Cúper signed a contract with

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side Orduspor on 19 December 2011, but left by mutual consent on 13 April 2013. On 14 November 2013, Cúper was announced as new head coach of the UAE League side Al Wasl. He was sacked on 4 March 2014 due to poor results.

Return to international football

Egypt

On 2 March 2015, the

Egyptian Football Association The Egyptian Football Association () is the governing body of association football in Egypt. A member of FIFA since 1923 and a founding member of the CAF, the EFA has jurisdiction over the Egyptian football league system and is responsible for ...

appointed Cúper as the new manager of their national football team. At the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, he led the team to the final, which they lost 2–1 to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. He led Egypt to the

, their first appearance in the tournament since 1990, after defeating Congo by 2–1. His contract was due to expire at the end of the tournament, and negotiations were postponed until its conclusion. Following defeats in Egypt's three group games at the tournament, it was announced that Cúper's contract would not be renewed.

Uzbekistan

On 1 August 2018, Cúper became head coach of the Uzbekistan national team, signing a contract that would take him through to the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. He was sacked in September 2019 after a shock 2–0 loss away to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in the first qualifying game for that tournament.

DR Congo

On 13 May 2021, Cúper was appointed manager of the

. He lost 1–0 away to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in a friendly on his debut on 5 June. In March 2022, his team missed out on the

after a 5–2 aggregate playoff loss to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He was dismissed on 9 June 2022, having lost to

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in the first 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Syria

On 2 February 2023, Cúper became the head coach of the Syria national team on a contract of undisclosed length. He managed to recruit three of his countrymen with Syrian descent, Ezequiel Ham, Ibrahim Hesar and Jalil Elías, ahead of the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

held in Qatar. Under Cúper, Syria qualified to the knockout phase of the Asian tournament as one of the best third-placed teams following a 1–0 victory over

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, the first time ever Syria managed to do so after six previous participations ended in the group stages. In February 2024, he extended his contract with the national team, committing to stay on board for the duration of the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

. However, following two away defeats, 1–0 to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and 5–0 to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, during the 2026 World Cup qualification, resulting in Syria's failure to qualify for the World Cup, Cúper resigned from his position as head coach of Syria.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Ferro Carril Oeste * Primera División: 1982 Nacional, 1984 Nacional Huracán *

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (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 38 team ...

: 1989–90

Manager

Huracán * Primera División runner-up: 1994 Clausura Lanús * Copa CONMEBOL:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Mallorca *

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

runner-up: 1997–98 *

runner-up: 1998–99 Valencia *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01 Aris FC Thessaloniki *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

runner-up: 2009–10 Egypt *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual * La Liga Coach of the Year – Don Balón Award: 1999 * UEFA Club Coach of the Year: 2000 * Globe Soccer Awards best Best Arab National Team Coach: 2017 * CAF Coach of the Year: 2017

References

External links