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Osvaldo César Ardiles (Ossie) (born August 3,
1952 in Córdoba, Argentina) is a football
(soccer)|football coach (sport)|coach  and former
midfielder who won the Football World Cup
1978|1978 World Cup as part of the Argentina
national football team|Argentina's national team.

A competitive and skilled midfielder, he became a
cult hero, along with compatriot Ricardo Villa and
Glenn Hoddle, in England as a player for Tottenham
Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur. As manager of
Tottenham in the mid-90s, he played several
matches using five forwards, a formation that
hadn't been used in English football since the
1950s, because of its perceived weakness
defensively.

==Management career==

In July 1989, Osvaldo Ardiles moved into football
management with Second Division Swindon Town
F.C.|Swindon Town as successor to Lou Macari. His
first season as manager looked to have been a
success when he guided the club to victory in the
playoff final - but promotion was withdrawn after
the club admitted financial irregularities. Former
manager Lou Macari and team captain Colin
Calderwood were cleared of any involvement in the
crisis, but accountant Vince Farrar and chairman
Brian Hillier were both found guilty of fraud at
Winchester Crown Court. Farrar was put on
probation while Hillier was jailed for six months.

Swindon's playing fortunes dipped during the
1990-91 season and they narrowly avoided
relegation. Before the season was over, Ardiles
quit to take charge at Second Division rivals
Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United but was
sacked within 12 months with the club near the
foot of the division.

Ardiles was not out of work for long. In June 1992
he replaced Bobby Gould as manager of West
Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion, who had
just missed out on the Third Division playoffs in
1991-92. At the end of the 1992-93 season, Ardiles
guided Albion to victory over Port Vale F.C|Port
Vale in the Division Two playoff final. Shortly
afterwards he walked out of the Hawthorns to
return his former club Tottenham as manager, but
his management spell was nowhere near as
successful as his spell as a player. Tottenham
finished 15th in the Premiership and despite the
expensive acquisition of Jurgen Klinsmann, Ilie
Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Popescu in the 1994 close
season, Ardiles was sacked in October 1994 with
Tottenham battling relegation. They had just been
punished for financial regularities committed
during the late 1980's: with a 1-year FA Cup ban,
£600,000 fine and 12 league points deducted. The
punishment was later amended to a £1.5million
fine and 6 points deducted but the FA Cup ban and
points deduction were later quashed.

From 2003 to 2005 Ardiles coached J.
League|Japanese Tokyo Verdy 1969, with whom he won
the 2004 Emperor's Cup. But in July 2005 was fired
due to the poor performance of the team, who
finished penultimate.

==Career chronology==

*1969/1973 (National) Instituto (Cba)
*1974 (National) Belgrano (Cba)
*1975/78 Huracán
*1978/82 Tottenham Hotspur (England)
*1982/83 Paris Saint Germain (France)
*1983/88 Tottenham Hotspur (England)
*1988/89 Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers
(England)
*1989/91 Swindon Town F.C.(England) (as player
manager).
*1991/92 Newcastle United (England) as a manager.
*1992/93 West Bromwich Albion F.C. (England) as
manager during their promotion from the Second
Division (English Football)|Second Division
*1993/94 Tottenham Hotspur as manager.
*1995 Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara (Mexico) as
a manager.
*1996/1998 Japan|Japanese J-League team Shimizu
S-Pulse as manager leading them to victory in the
Nabisco Cup in 1996.
*1999 Dinamo Zagreb
*2000/2001 J-League team Yokohama F. Marinos as
manager, leading the team to the J-League
first-stage title
*2001 Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia as manager.
*2002/2003 Racing Club de Avellaneda|Racing Club
(Argentina)
*2003/2005 J-League team Tokyo Verdy 1969

==Honours==

*He won 63 caps for Argentina national football
team|Argentina's national team, including the
victorious Football World Cup 1978|World Cup
winning squad of 1978.
*Osvaldo Ardiles won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982
and the UEFA Cup with Tottenham Hotspurs as a
player.
*Promoted Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town to old
Division One (now Premier League) in 1990 as
manager although the team were relegated for
financial irregularities.
*Promoted West Bromwich Albion to Division One as
manager in 1993.
*Won Nabisco Cup with Shimizu S-Pulse as manager
in 1996.
*Won Tokai Cup with Shimizu S-Pulse as manager in
1996 and 1998.
*Champion J-League First Stage with Yokohama F.
Marinos in 2000 as manager.
*Emperor's Cup Winner 2004/2005 with Tokyo Verdy
1969 as manager.


A cousin of Ardiles, First Lieutenant José
Ardiles, died during the Malvinas War when his
Argentine Air Force IAI Dagger fighter was downed
by British forces. 1st. Lt. Ardiles was promoted
post-mortem to the rank of Captain.