Luis Oscar Fulloné Arce, better known as Oscar Fulloné (4 April 1939 – 22 May 2017) was 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 ...

coach and player. He played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club (association football), football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their ...

and

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

before moving to England to play for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in 1967. Known as Oscar Arce during his time in England he remained in the country following his retirement from playing and was a coach for both

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He became manager of Swiss side

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

in 1980 before going on to become one of the most successful African club managers.

Playing career

Fulloné started his career with Estudiantes in Argentina,

in Colombia and

in Spain. In 1968, he joined

of England alongside his younger brother, Hector Fulloné Arce. It was reported at the time that "Oscar Arce is a wizard of ball control who was so determined to play for Aston Willa that he completed a two-year residential qualification in this country". Together they played in

The Central League The Central League is one of the two baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Central League may also refer to: Association football (soccer) leagues * Central League (England) - an association football league in Engla ...

for the reserve team during the 1968–69 season. Neither brother played for the first team. In October 1969, Fulloné underwent successful surgery to have cartilage removed from his left leg. Fulloné was released from his contract and Hector returned to Argentina.

Coaching and managerial career

After retiring as a player, Fulloné became a football coach. He was appointed as youth team manager at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in September 1977, reportedly turning down the opportunity to manage

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

at the

1977 CONCACAF Championship The 1977 CONCACAF Championship, the seventh edition of the CONCACAF Championship, was held in Mexico from 8 to 23 October. Mexico national football team, Mexico, as the host nation, easily secured a third title and a place in 1978 FIFA World Cup, ...

. He was on the staff at

between 1978 and 1979 when the club tried to sign Argentine international

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

but ultimately ended up signing Alejandro Sabella instead. Fulloné was also involved in the transfer of Argentine

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

winners

Ricardo Villa Ricardo Julio Villa (; born 18 August 1952), more commonly known as Ricky Villa, is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder. He was famous for his time playing football from 1970 to 1989. Career Villa was born in Roque ...

and

Osvaldo Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player. A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddl ...

to Spurs. Fulloné's managerial career began in Switzerland where he served as manager of Swiss side

between 1980 and 1981. Since then he spent most of his career managing African teams, winning league titles in Ivory Coast, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. He won the African Champions League twice in consecutive years with different clubs in ASEC and Raja Casablanca. He would go on to win the African Cup Winners' Cup with Wydad Casablanca in 2002. He was nominated by CAF for Africa-based coach of the year but lost out to Bruno Metsu. Fulloné also had a brief spell as manager of the Burkina Faso national team between September 2001 and January 2002 but left the position ahead of the

2002 African Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Ca ...

due to the illness of his wife who was hospitalised in Paris, France.

Death

He died in May 2017, at the age of 78, in Morocco.

References

External links