Sergio Apraham Markarián Abrahamián (born 1 November 1944) is a Uruguayan-Argentine former

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 of Armenian descent. In 2015, he was the head coach of the Greece national team.

Early life

Markarián lived in Argentina during most of his childhood and adolescent years, from 7 to 18 years of age. He played football as a left center back defender until he was 17 years of age. Never making it to professional football, he entered into university studies and started working in a large fuel distribution company in Uruguay, eventually reaching the post of general manager. It was the Uruguay loss against Holland in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

which spurred Markarian to realise that coaching football was his vocation. Markarian abandoned his well-paid post as general manager, taking many risks, even when facing criticism from colleagues and friends, in order to dedicate his life to coaching professional football. Markarian lost status and spending power and endured ten difficult years at the beginning of his coaching career. As he stated, "I had to sell my Mercedes Benz and start catching the bus!" Markarián followed his heart and has become a well-respected professional coach. He is recognized for being a great tactician, which earned him the nickname, ''El Mago'' ("The Magician" in Spanish).

Coaching career

Even though he set out with the idea for the improvement of Uruguayan football, he never coached professionally in Uruguay. Markarian started his career in 1974 coaching the Reserves of Club Atlético Bella Vista of Uruguay and went on to coach the first team. Markarian made his professional coaching debut as a coach for the football club,

Olimpia Asunción Club Olimpia is a Paraguayan professional sports club based in the city of Asunción. It promotes the practice of various sports, with most importance given to the football, rugby and basketball sides, football being the most successful. Fou ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in 1983. He won the Paraguayan league with Olimpia the very same year he started coaching in 1983 and then again in 1985. After his four-year stay at Olimpia, he made the move to the Paraguayan club, Sol de America, leading them to win the Torneo Republica and to become the Paraguayan league runner-up in 1989. He then made the move to another Paraguayan giant,

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

, winning the Torneo Republica in 1990. Markarian coached the

U-23 National Team in 1992, winning the South American Pre-Olympic Championships and a spot to compete in the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. From 1993 to 1997, Markarian coached the Peruvian teams,

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes is a Peruvian sports club based in Lima, which has Association football, soccer as its main activity. It also has women's football, volleyball and basketball sections. The football team, popularly known as Universi ...

and

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

winning one Peruvian league title with each of them. Markarian is also recognized for taking

to the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

Final in which

was the runner-up. In 1998, Markarian coached the Greek team, Ionikos, reaching fifth place in the Greek league and qualifying them for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. Markarian became the coach of the Paraguay National team from 1999 through 2001 qualifying Paraguay to the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Korea and Japan. He was fired by the

Paraguayan Football Association The Paraguayan Football Association ( ; APF) (Guarani language, Guarani: ''Paraguái Mangapy Atyguasu''), is the omnibus governing body of football (soccer), football in Paraguay. It organizes the Paraguayan football league system, Paraguayan fo ...

in 2001 prior to the World Cup because he had lost his last two qualifier matches, a 3–1 away loss against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and a 4–0 home loss against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He was to be replaced by the Italian coach,

Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Trie ...

. After coaching the Paraguay National team, Markarian returned to Greece and became the head coach of Panathinaikos in 2001, reaching the quarter-finals in 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 ...

. Markarian resigned his post as head coach in May 2002 only to return in October saying that he "needed time off to collect his thought and relax". The following season, Markarian led them to the quarter-finals of the

but lost to

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

. In June 2004, he was hired by Iraklis Thessaloniki, replacing Mats Jingblad. Having fallen out with star signing

Giuseppe Signori Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thess ...

, he was fired on 20 December that year due to indifferent results. Iraklis were sitting at 11th place in the

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

with 15 points in 12 games at the time of his dismissal. He was succeeded by

Savvas Kofidis Savvas Kofidis (; born 5 February 1961) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation in Greece, and is most famous for his successful partnership with Vasilis ...

. After coaching in Greece since 2002, Markarian returned to

to coach Libertad from 2005 to 2007, winning Paraguayan League titles in 2006 and 2007.http://especiales.latercera.cl/especiales/2009/campeon_uchile/tecnico.html "El Tecnico Sergio Markarian" LaTercera. LaTercera Especiales. Web. 14 November 2010. Markarian was appointed coach of Mexico's

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

in June 2007 and took them to the Apertura final but lost to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

.
"Markarian appointed coach of Mexico's Cruz Azul" ESPN Soccernet, Primera Division de Mexico. 9 June 2007. Web. 14 November 2010. He walked away a year later because of differences he had with the club's board regarding how to reinforce the squad.
"Markarian resigns as coach of Cruz Azul" ESPN Soccernet, Primera Division de Mexico. 7 June 2008. Web. 14 November 2010. He had the option to be the head coach of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

national team, but the

Costa Rican Football Federation The Costa Rican Football Federation (, FCRF), also known as FEDEFUTBOL or FEDEFUT, is the official association football governing body in Costa Rica and is in charge of the Costa Rica national football team and the Costa Rica women's national fo ...

picked Rodrigo Kenton as their head coach. Markarian coached

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

in 2009, winning the Chilean Torneo Apertura- the first title the

had won in the last 5 years- before then terminating his contract due to differences with the club's management only six months into the year.
"Universidad de Chile send Markarian off in style" ESPN Soccernet, Primera Division de Chile. 8 July 2009. Web. 14 November 2010. In July 2010, Markarian was appointed as the new head coach of the Peru national team for the 2011 Copa America and the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

Qualifiers. Markarian succeeded José del Solar who led the Peruvian team in a disastrous campaign, finishing last during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.http://www.conmebol.com/conmebol/mainMedia.html?id=15797&viewpage='full' ,"Sergio Markarian, new coach of Peru" Conmebol. Centro de Noticias. 4 July 2010. Web. 14 November 2010. Under great expectations from the media, Markarian stated in a press conference, "I expect from my heart that this will be my best work in my career as a coach".http://www.conmebol.com/conmebol/mainMedia.html?id=16016&viewpage='full' ,"Sergio Markarian was presented as the new head coach of Peru" Conmebol. Centro de Noticias. 26 July 2010. Web. 14 November 2010. Markarian's objective was to qualify Peru to the 2014 World Cup and recover the luster that Peruvian football once had. This would prove to be a great challenge, as

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

had missed out on all editions of the World Cup since its last appearance in 1982. Nonetheless, Markarian set out to overcome this challenge with the help of his assistants

Pablo Bengoechea Pablo Javier Bengoechea Dutra (born 27 June 1965) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer, who is currently a manager. A midfielder of exquisite technique, he played for several clubs in Uruguay and Spain. He was the captain of the club ...

and Óscar Aguirregaray and Physical Coach Gonzalo Barreiro. In 2010, Markarian was the third best paid coach in South America earning a year.http://archivo.elcomercio.pe/deporte-total/seleccion/sergio-markarian-tercer-tecnico-mejor-pagado-sudamerica-noticia-618046 "Sergio Markarian es el tercer tecnico mejor pagado de Sudamerica" RPP. Futbol Nacional. Web. 14 November 2010. Only

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national football team, Brazil na ...

and

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...

had higher salaries than Markarian at the time. After a 1–0 loss in a friendly game with

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in October, Markarian excluded players Reimond Manco,

Jefferson Farfán Jefferson Agustín Farfán Guadalupe (; born 26 October 1984) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who mainly played as a winger. Commonly known as Farfán or the nickname ''Foquita'' (Spanish for ''Little Seal''), he is known for his s ...

, and John Galliquio from the squad because they reportedly went to a Panama City club despite orders not to go out. He managed Peru in a successful 2011 Copa América campaign with the team finished third after beating

4–1, leaving fans to be enthusiastic about a possible football revival for Peru. However, the 2014 World Cup qualification became another disappointing campaign, with a 2–1 of Peru over his home ancestral team

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

meant that the Peruvians would miss another World Cup. In October 2013, Markarián resigned as head coach of the Peru national team. Peru would eventually qualify for World Cup four years later. On 12 February 2015 Markarian was appointed as the new head coach of the Greece national team. In July 2015, after a 2–1 loss against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

in qualifying for the 2016 European Championship, Markarian resigned.

Honours

Olimpia *

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

: 1983, 1985 Universitario de Deportes *

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

: 1993 Sporting Cristal *

: 1996 *

: runner-up 1997 Libertad *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 2007 Universidad de Chile * Torneo Apertura:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Paraguay U23 *

CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament The CONMEBOL Preolímpico () is an international association football event in the South America region organized by CONMEBOL. It is the qualification tournament for the football tournament at the Olympic Games. In 1960, teams from North and Cen ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Peru *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

: third place 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markarian, Sergio 1944 births Living people Uruguayan people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Sportspeople from Montevideo Uruguayan football managers C.A. Bella Vista managers Danubio F.C. managers River Plate Montevideo managers Club Olimpia managers Club Sol de América managers Cerro Porteño managers Club Universitario de Deportes managers Sporting Cristal managers Ionikos F.C. managers Paraguay national football team managers Panathinaikos F.C. managers Club Libertad managers Cruz Azul managers Club Universidad de Chile managers Peru national football team managers Greece national football team managers Uruguayan Primera División managers Peruvian Primera División managers Paraguayan Primera División managers Super League Greece managers Liga MX managers Chilean Primera División managers 2001 Copa América managers 2011 Copa América managers Uruguayan expatriate football managers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Peru Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Greece Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Expatriate football managers in Paraguay Expatriate football managers in Peru Expatriate football managers in Greece Expatriate football managers in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Chile