Héctor Cúper

Argentine football manager (born 1955)

Héctor Raúl Cúper (ˈeɣtoɾ ˈkupeɾ; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who is currently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, where he played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big head"). He made his managerial breakthrough at Mallorca, reaching the Copa del Rey final in 1998 and the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup a year later, as well as a best ever third place finish. In two years at Valencia, he reached the UEFA Champions League final twice, earning a move to Italy's Internazionale in 2001. Cúper also managed Betis and Racing Santander in La Liga, and Parma in Serie A. He later coached the national teams of Georgia, Egypt, Uzbekistan and DR Congo, taking the second of those countries to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final and a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Cúper's great grandfather was an Englishman whose surname was Cooper, who migrated to Santa Fe Province 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. The following season the team reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Lazio at Villa Park. That season Mallorca also recorded their best ever La Liga finish of 3rd, allowing the team to play in the UEFA Champions League.

In March 1999, Valencia manager Claudio Ranieri 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 but lost the final of the Champions League two consecutive times; in 2000 against Real Madrid, and in 2001 against Bayern Munich on penalty shoot out.

On 22 June 2001, Cúper was hired by Italian club Internazionale, replacing Marco Tardelli. 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 Lazio and handed the title to rivals Juventus, retreating to the 3rd place. In the 2002–03 season, Cúper's team ended up at 2nd place in Serie A and lost in the semi finals of UEFA Champions League to city rivals AC Milan on the away goals rule, 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.

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 on a one year deal. He was sacked on 2 December with the team 19th after losing at home to Atlético Madrid. On 11 March 2008, he was unveiled as the new boss of relegation battling Serie A team Parma, 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.

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 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 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 Atlético Madrid. 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 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.

On 2 March 2015, the Egyptian Football Association 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. He led Egypt to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 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.

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. He was sacked in September 2019 after a shock 2–0 loss away to Palestine in the first qualifying game for that tournament.

On 13 May 2021, Cúper was appointed manager of the DR Congo. He lost 1–0 away to Tunisia in a friendly on his debut on 5 June. In March, his team missed out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup after a 5–2 aggregate playoff loss to Morocco. He was dismissed on 9 June 2022, having lost to Gabon and Sudan in the first 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

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 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, 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.