Solari · Biography

In the summer of 2000 Real Madrid paid Atlético de Madrid the 600 million pesetas of Santiago Solari's release clause, weeks after Atlético had been relegated to the Spanish second division. That cross-city move took the midfielder into a dressing room that won two league titles and a European Cup over the next five years. Santiago Hernán Solari Poggio was born on 7 October 1976 in Rosario, Argentina, and played on the left of midfield. After retiring in 2010 he coached in Real Madrid's academy, took charge of Real Madrid Castilla and the first team, and later managed Club América in Mexico.

A football family from Rosario

Solari grew up surrounded by the game. His father, Eduardo, and his uncle, Jorge «El Indio» Solari, were professional players in the 1960s and 1970s, which earned him the nickname «Indiecito». His brothers Esteban and David also played professionally. He joined the Newell's Old Boys youth system in 1987 and stayed until the mid-1990s, with a break in 1994 at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey. In 1995 he spent a season at Club Renato Cesarini before moving to Buenos Aires.

River Plate and Atlético de Madrid

He made his Argentine Primera División debut for River Plate on 12 May 1996. At River he won three consecutive league titles, the 1996 Apertura, the 1997 Clausura and the 1997 Apertura, along with the 1997 Supercopa Sudamericana. In the January 1999 window he joined Atlético de Madrid and made his La Liga debut on 7 February that year in a 2-1 defeat at Salamanca. In 1999-2000 he scored six goals in 34 matches, but Atlético went down.

Five years at Real Madrid

At Madrid he was a squad player who could cover the left flank and central midfield. He won La Liga in 2000-01 and 2002-03, the Spanish Super Cup in 2001 and 2003, and the UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup in 2002. On 15 May 2002 he played the full 90 minutes of the Champions League final in Glasgow, a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen, and was involved in the move that ended with Zidane's volley. His best scoring season was 2003-04, with five goals in 34 games. He left with 217 appearances and 22 goals in all competitions.

Inter Milan and the final playing years

In the summer of 2005 Inter Milan signed him for six million euros. He never made more than 21 appearances in a season in Italy, but collected three straight Serie A titles (2005-06, awarded after the Calciopoli scandal, 2006-07 and 2007-08), the 2005-06 Coppa Italia and the 2005 and 2006 Italian Super Cups. In 2008 he returned to Argentina as a free agent to play for San Lorenzo. On 9 July 2009 he joined Atlante in Mexico, and in September 2010 Peñarol in Uruguay, where he retired two months later.

Argentina national team

Solari won 11 caps for Argentina between 1999 and 2004 and scored once, on 20 December 2000, in a friendly against Mexico in Los Angeles. He never played at the finals of a major tournament.

From the academy to the Real Madrid dugout

Back at Valdebebas, he won titles with the Under-16 B side in 2013-14, the Under-16 A side in 2014-15 and the Under-19 B side in 2015-16. In 2016 he took over Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División B and led them in 86 matches. On 29 October 2018, after Julen Lopetegui was sacked, he became caretaker of the first team; he made his debut two days later with a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Melilla and was confirmed as head coach on 13 November. On 22 December 2018 in Abu Dhabi he won the FIFA Club World Cup, beating Al Ain 4-1. Elimination by Ajax in the Champions League led to his dismissal on 11 March 2019, with a record of 22 wins, 2 draws and 8 defeats in 32 games. Zinedine Zidane replaced him.

Club América and return to Valdebebas

Club América unveiled him as head coach on 29 December 2020. He lost his Liga MX debut 1-0 at Monterrey and earned his first win against Juárez on 26 January 2021. In October that year América lost the CONCACAF Champions League final 1-0 to Monterrey, and in the 2021 Apertura they topped the overall table before falling to Pumas in the quarter-finals. He was dismissed on 2 March 2022 after 50 matches. In October 2022 he returned to Real Madrid as director of the club's Valdebebas training complex, and in December 2023 the club appointed him director of football.