Matías Almeyda · Biography

Matías Jesús Almeyda made his debut in the Argentine top flight on 21 February 1992, playing for River Plate in a 2-1 win over Unión de Santa Fe, coming on for Leonardo Astrada. Born on 21 December 1973 in Azul, in Buenos Aires province, he played as a central midfielder in Argentina, Spain, Italy and Norway, appeared at two World Cups for Argentina and, as a coach, led River Plate, Banfield, Chivas Guadalajara, San Jose Earthquakes, AEK Athens, Sevilla FC and Monterrey.

Early years and first titles at River Plate

Almeyda joined River from the interior of Buenos Aires province and was part of the first team from 1991 to 1996. He was a ball-winning midfielder who covered a lot of ground and tackled hard, and he gradually earned a place in a squad used to competing for trophies. In that spell he won the Apertura tournaments of 1991, 1993 and 1994, and he finished his first stint at the club with the 1996 Copa Libertadores.

Sevilla, Lazio and Italian football

In 1996 he moved to Europe to join Sevilla FC, where he spent the 1996-97 season. A year later he left for Lazio, the club where he had his most successful years. With the Roman side he won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1998, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999, the UEFA Super Cup the same year and the 1999-2000 Serie A title. In 2000 he signed for Parma, winning the 2001-02 Coppa Italia. He then played for Inter Milan from 2002 to 2004 and for Brescia in 2004-05.

Retirement, comeback and farewell as a player

After a short spell at Quilmes, he announced his retirement in July 2005, citing exhaustion. In March 2007 he returned to play for Lyn in Oslo, but made only four appearances before stopping again. In 2009 he played for Club Atlético Fénix, and in August that year he went back to River Plate, then going through a difficult period. He made 30 league appearances in the 2010-11 season and retired on 22 June 2011. In total he played 397 club matches and scored 11 goals.

Argentina national team

With Argentina’s Olympic side he won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games. His senior debut came on 24 April 1996 against Bolivia at the Monumental, in a 1998 World Cup qualifier that Argentina won 3-1. He played at the 1998 World Cup in France, where Argentina went out in the quarter-finals, and at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, where they were eliminated in the group stage. His only international goal came on 26 July 2000, in a 3-1 defeat to Brazil.

First coaching jobs: River and Banfield

Five days after retiring, on 27 June 2011, he took charge of River Plate, which had just been relegated to the Primera B Nacional. He led the team back to the top flight in 2012 and was dismissed on 28 November that year. His next job was at Banfield, also in the second tier: he secured promotion on 15 May 2014 and won the Primera B Nacional title on 31 May. He left the club on 3 August 2015.

Chivas Guadalajara and the Mexican years

In 2015 he took over Guadalajara. With the Mexican club he won the Copa MX in the Apertura 2015, the Supercopa MX in July 2016 and the Copa MX in the Clausura 2017. In that same tournament he won the Liga MX Clausura 2017, beating Tigres UANL 4-3 on aggregate in the final. On 25 April 2018 he added the CONCACAF Champions League, and he left the club in June that year.

United States, Greece, Sevilla and Monterrey

On 8 October 2018 he was appointed head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS, a post he left by mutual agreement in April 2022. On 20 May 2022 he joined AEK Athens, winning the Super League and the Greek Cup in 2022-23, the club’s first double since 1978. His departure was announced in May 2025. On 16 June 2025 Sevilla FC named him head coach, almost three decades after he had played there. The club dismissed him on 23 March 2026, after a 2-0 defeat to Valencia, with a record of 32 official matches. On 21 May 2026 Monterrey announced him as first-team head coach.