Santiago Solari is a formerly known Argentinean footballer and now a coach. He entered the field in the role of a midfielder, demonstrating a high level of play and universalism. In 2002, Solari was recognized as the sexiest soccer player.
Biography: childhood and adolescence
Santiago Hernan Solari Poggio (Santiago Hernn Solari Poggio) was born on October 7, 1976 in the Argentine city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe. His family can safely be called a football. Father, Eduardo Solari, was a legend in the local club Rosario Central. Uncle, Jorge Solari, also a football player, played for the Argentine national team.
After the end of his playing career, his father became a coach. He worked not only in Argentina, but also in Mexico, Colombia, Spain and the States. The family changed registration with him. Santiago and his younger brothers went with his father to all training. Even then, they dreamed of a football career. In an interview, Santiago recalled how he and his brothers were impatiently waiting for the end of the match in some large stadium to run out onto the field and chase the ball. According to him, then it was unlimited happiness for them.
After leaving school, his parents decided to send him to the States to study English. So Solari got to New Jersey, where he began playing for Richard Stockton College. In 1994, he returned to Argentina and was admitted to the Newell's Old Boys Academy. Then he was one of the most powerful clubs in the country. However, he was formally his player. All season Santiago played for the double. A year later, Santiago began to play in his hometown, defending the colors of Renato Cesarini.
In 1995, Solari decided to graduate. He became a student at the National Institute of Physical Education.
Gaming career
In 1996, Solari grew up from the youth team and moved to the famous River Plate, a club from Buenos Aires. At that time, the legendary Enzo Francescoli, known for his graceful ball possession technique, was still playing there. For Solari, in his words, he was "an idol and a god." Santiago made his debut in a game with Deportivo. Then his club won 2-0.
Solari spent three years at River Plate. During this time, he managed to win several trophies, among which:
- Cubor Libertadores;
- "Gold" of the Aperture;
- "Gold" Klausura.
Aperture and Klausura - this is the name in the countries of South America the first and second stage of the football championship, respectively. In fact, the team that won the gold medal becomes the champion.
Santiago scored 13 goals in 67 games at the Libertadores Cup, which is an excellent result for the left midfielder. After that, other clubs became interested in the football player. Among them was the Madrid "Altetico". In 1999, Solari moved from South America to Europe. The transfer amount was 5 million euros.
Santiago spent two seasons at Atlético Madrid. For this club, he scored 7 goals in 61 matches. In the debut season, Solari looked the most vigorous in the team, which over the past nine months has changed three mentors and slipped into the second league. He immediately became a base player. In the first season, he scored just one goal. And in the next - on his account there were already six goals. However, Atletico Madrid still left the Spanish Premier League.
In 2000, Solari moved to Real Madrid, which paid 3.5 million euros for him. In this Spanish club, he spent five seasons, entering the field in 208 matches and scoring 22 goals. However, he was mainly a replacement player. Then the club was fiercely competitive. Ronaldo, Figo, Raul, Zidane, Beckham and Roberto Carlos shone on the field. Despite this, in “Real” Solari fully revealed. His excellent interaction with Roberto Carlos on the left flank more than once brought the balls into the opponents' goal. His teammates noted that he sees the field well and always understands when to connect other players to the attack, and when it is better to hold the ball.
As part of Real Madrid, he won the Champions League in the 2001/2002 season. At the same time, Santiago became an assistant to one of the spectacular goals in the club’s history: he launched an attack, threw the ball to Robert Carlos, who threw it at Zidane, and from the summer he sent him into the opponent’s net. Playing for Real Madrid, Solari also twice became the champion of Spain.
In 2005, Santiago moved to Italy, where he began playing for the local Inter club. In his composition, he three times became the champion of the country. He also won the victory in the Italian Cup.
In 2008, Solari returned to South America. Over the next four seasons, he defended the colors of several clubs, including:
- Argentinean "San Lorenzo";
- Mexican Atlanta;
- Uruguayan Peñarol.
In 2011, Santiago ended his football career.
Coaching career
After completing his playing career, Solari took a timeout that lasted two years. During this time he received the necessary licenses to work as a coach. In 2013, Santiago took the helm of the children's team of Real Madrid. Three years later, he was transferred to Castilla. This is the reserve team of Real Madrid, like the second squad or the youth team. In it, he worked for two seasons.
In the fall of 2018, Solari became the acting head coach of the first team of Real Madrid. He replaced Julen Lopetegui, who was removed from his post for poor performance. In the first four games at Solari, the club won four victories. After such a bright debut, the club management signed a contract with the Argentine until 2021.
In January 2019, Real Madrid, under the leadership of Solari, took third place in the standings. In the Champions League, “creamy” took first place in Group G. The team scored 12 points, twice defeating Czech “Victoria” and Italian “Roma”. At the same time, the team suffered two defeats from Moscow CSKA.
