Juan Antonio Pizzi

Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja (born 7 June 1968) is a retired Argentine-born Spanish professional footballer who played as a striker, and a current coach.

He spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, namely at the service of Tenerife, helping to the side's consolidation in La Liga, and amassing top division totals of 221 games and 92 goals over the course of eight seasons - he also played for Valencia and Barcelona.

Pizzi represented the Spanish national team for four years, appearing with it in one World Cup and one European Championship. After retiring, he embarked in a managerial career.

Club career

Born in Santa Fe, Pizzi started his professional career with Rosario Central, before transferring to Mexico's Deportivo Toluca. After only one season he moved to CD Tenerife, with great individual success (30 goals in his first two seasons combined), while also helping the Canary Islands outfit qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year.

This performances prompted interest from fellow La Liga club Valencia CF. Highly unsettled, Pizzi returned after only one season to Tenerife. In the second season in his second spell, he fired the club into another UEFA Cup qualification, topping the goal charts at 31, in 41 contests, also good enough for the European Golden Boot.

After that, Pizzi transferred to FC Barcelona. Never an undisputed starter (barred by Ronaldo, Sonny Anderson and the versatile Luis Enrique during his two-season stint), he managed to net 11 goals in the league alone,...
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