Daniel Passarella is one of the finest Defenders Argentina has ever seen, especially known for captaining his nation to victory in the 1978 World Cup at home soil. Despite playing as a centre-back, Passarella was brilliant when it came to scoring goals. In fact, he was football's highest-scoring defender at a time, scoring an impressive 134 goals in 451 matches. It was Dutch player Ronald Koeman who eventually went on to break this record.
Let us now look at his years in football, as we roll back the wonderful years of this Argentine legend.
Club career
Born in Buenos Aires, Passarella began his career at Argentine club Sarmiento in 1971. After 2 years, he jumped ship to River Plate. It was during this phase that the player started receiving call ups to the national side. The Argentine went on to spend the next 9 years of his career at River Plate, scoring 90 goals despite being a defender.
It was in the Summer of 1982 that Passarella joined Italian club Fiorentina. The 1985–86 season was particularly memorable for the player, as he scored 11 goals that campaign. This feat was also a record for a defender at the time, later surpassed by Marco Materazzi in the 2000–01 season.
Passarella joined Inter Milan in 1986, where he ended his Italian football career in 1988. This was followed by a homecoming to River plate, where he finished his illustrious career in 1989.
Player impact
Passarella's brilliance as a player saw him earn several nicknames throughout his career, which included the likes of El Gran Capitán and El Kaiser. His leadership ability, passion, and organisational prowess on the field made him a top player. The Argentine defender's ability to join attacks, and finish offensive plays was majorly praised as well. Despite his average height of 1.73 m, he was brilliant in the air and frequently scored headers. In addition to this, Passarella was an expert free-kick and penalty specialist.
International legacy
During his peak years, Passarella was one of the pillars of the Argentine national side. Thus, he captained the team during the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina. He ultimately went on to make history, as the Argentines won the World Cup and Passarella became the first Argentine player to hold the coveted title.
Argentina's captain was also a catalyst in their 1986 World Cup qualification, contributing to the goal which ensured Argentina's qualification in the final minutes of their match against Peru by allowing teammate Ricardo Gareca to score. Ironically though, a case of enterocolitis caused him to miss the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Sadly, he was replaced in the first team by defender José Luis Brown and failed to regain his place after recovering from illness.To make matters worse, Passarella also had a fractious relationship with captain Diego Maradona and coach Carlos Bilardo during the tournament.
He did not play any of the Argentina matches in 1986, not even as a substitute. Thus spelling a sad end to a legendary international career, with Passarella retiring from the national side that year.
The aftermath
Following his playing years, Passarella began his career as a manager, starting with his boyhood club River Plate. He later ended up managing the Argentina national team as well. Although he failed to achieve immense success as a coach, Passarella managed to win a few titles, in particular the Primera División title with River Plate on 3 occasions. For Argentina, his only major honour was winning the Pan American Games. His managerial excellence in 1997 also saw him receive the South American Coach of the Year award. The former Argentina captain will forever remain as one of the finest to have come from his country.
