Julio César Falcioni · Biography

Julio César Falcioni Capdevila was born on 20 July 1956 in Versalles, a neighbourhood in the west of Buenos Aires, and came through the youth ranks at Vélez Sarsfield, the club of that part of the city. He built his career as a goalkeeper in Argentina and Colombia, where he won five league titles with América de Cali. After retiring he moved into management and won the Argentine Primera División with Banfield in 2009 and with Boca Juniors in 2011. In Argentine football he is known as “el Emperador”.

Early years and debut at Vélez

Falcioni made his Argentine top-flight debut for Vélez Sarsfield in the 1976 Torneo Metropolitano. He was the Liniers club’s first-choice goalkeeper for five seasons, until 1980, and made more than two hundred official appearances in that time. That consistency earned him a move abroad before he turned twenty-five.

A decade at América de Cali

In 1981 he joined América de Cali, the defining spell of his playing career. He kept goal for the Colombian side throughout the decade and played 376 matches, scoring five goals. With América he won five Colombian championships in a row, from 1982 to 1986. In continental competition he lost three consecutive Copa Libertadores finals, in 1985, 1986 and 1987. In the early 1990s he returned to Argentina to play for Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, and he ended his career with Colombia’s Once Caldas and a brief second spell at Vélez.

The Argentina national team

His time with the national team was short. He was capped by Argentina in 1989, under coach Carlos Bilardo, and that same year he was part of the squad at the Copa América in Brazil, where Argentina finished third.

First years as a coach

He began coaching at Vélez, first as caretaker in the late 1990s and then as head coach until 2000. In 2002 he took charge of Olimpo in Bahía Blanca, and in 2003 he arrived at Banfield for the first time, taking them to the 2005 Copa Libertadores, where they reached the quarter-finals. That same year he moved to Independiente and stayed until 2006. Spells at Colón, between 2006 and 2007, and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, in the second half of 2007, followed.

The Banfield title and the Boca years

In March 2009 he returned to Banfield. In December that year the club from Buenos Aires’ southern suburbs won the 2009 Torneo Apertura, the first top-flight title in its history: they lost 2-0 to Boca at La Bombonera on the final matchday but held their lead over Newell’s. On 22 December 2010 he was unveiled as Boca Juniors coach. At Boca he won the 2011 Apertura without losing a match and the 2011-12 Copa Argentina, beating Racing 2-1 in the final on 8 August 2012. That year he also led the team to the Copa Libertadores final, lost to Corinthians: 1-1 in Buenos Aires and 0-2 in São Paulo. He left the club at the end of 2012. He is the only former goalkeeper to have won the Argentine top flight as a coach.

From All Boys to Atlético Tucumán

In 2013 he coached All Boys during the second half of the year, and in 2014 he had his first job outside Argentina, with Universidad Católica in Chile, from May to November. In 2015 he managed Quilmes. Banfield brought him back in March 2016 and he stayed until December 2018, returning again from September 2019 into 2020. In January 2021 he began his second spell at Independiente, which lasted the whole year. In 2022 he coached Colón in the first half of the year and went back to Independiente between August and October. From May 2023 to June 2024 he led his fifth spell at Banfield. After almost two years without a club, in March 2026 he took over at Atlético Tucumán, replacing Hugo Colace, and made his debut on 11 March 2026 with a 1-1 draw against Aldosivi.