{{Short description|Argentine footballer and manager}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{family name hatnote|La Volpe|Guarchoni|lang=Spanish}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Ricardo La Volpe | image = RicardoLavolpe.jpg | image_size = 200 | caption = La Volpe as Monterrey manager in 2008 | full_name = Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|2|6|df=y}} | birth_place = Buenos Aires, Argentina | height = {{height|m=1.88}} | currentclub = | position = Goalkeeper | years1 = 1971–1973 | years2 = 1975–1979 | years3 = 1979–1982 | years4 = 1982–1983 | clubs1 = Banfield | clubs2 = San Lorenzo | clubs3 = Atlante | clubs4 = Oaxtepec | caps1 = 108 | caps2 = 112 | caps3 = | goals1 = 0 | goals2 = 0 | goals3 = | nationalyears1 = 1975–1978 | nationalteam1 = Argentina | nationalcaps1 = 8 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | manageryears1 = 1983–1984 | manageryears2 = 1988–1989 | manageryears3 = 1989 | manageryears4 = 1990–1991 | manageryears5 = 1991–1996 | manageryears6 = 1996 | manageryears7 = 1997–2001 | manageryears8 = 2001–2002 | manageryears9 = 2002–2006 | manageryears10 = 2006–2007 | manageryears11 = 2007–2008 | manageryears12 = 2008 | manageryears13 = 2009–2010 | manageryears14 = 2010–2011 | manageryears15 = 2011 | manageryears16 = 2012–2013 | manageryears17 = 2014 | manageryears18 = 2015–2016 | manageryears19 = 2016–2017 | manageryears20 = 2018 | manageryears21 = 2019 | managerclubs1 = Oaxtepec | managerclubs2 = Atlante | managerclubs3 = Guadalajara | managerclubs4 = Querétaro | managerclubs5 = Atlante | managerclubs6 = América | managerclubs7 = Atlas | managerclubs8 = Toluca | managerclubs9 = Mexico | managerclubs10 = Boca Juniors | managerclubs11 = Vélez Sársfield | managerclubs12 = Monterrey | managerclubs13 = Atlas | managerclubs14 = Costa Rica | managerclubs15 = Banfield | managerclubs16 = Atlante | managerclubs17 = Guadalajara | managerclubs18 = Chiapas | managerclubs19 = América | managerclubs20 = Pyramids | managerclubs21 = Toluca | manageryears22 = 2024 | managerclubs22 = Muchachos FC (AKL) | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's football}} {{medalCountry|{{fb|Argentina}}}} <small>(as a player)</small> {{MedalCompetition|FIFA World Cup}} {{Medal|W|1978 Argentina|}} {{medalCountry|{{fb|Mexico}}}} <small>(as manager)</small> {{MedalCompetition|CONCACAF Gold Cup}} {{Medal|W|2003 United States–Mexico|}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}} {{MedalBronze|2003 Santo Domingo|Team}} }}
'''Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni''' ({{IPA|es|ˈrikaɾðo la ˈβolpe}}; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico.
As a coach, La Volpe was in charge of both the Mexico and Costa Rica national teams, coaching the former at the 2006 World Cup. As club manager at Atlante, the league title was won in the 1992–93 season.
On 22 April 2020, in an interview with David Faitelson, he announced his retirement from management.
== Playing career == [[File:La volpe sanlorenzo.jpg|thumb|upright|left|La Volpe with San Lorenzo in 1978]] In Argentina, La Volpe played for Banfield and San Lorenzo. In Mexico he played for Atlante and Oaxtepec.
La Volpe made eight appearances with Argentina throughout his career. He was the reserve goalkeeper when they won the 1978 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
== Managerial career == === Early career === Ricardo La Volpe began his career as a coach in the Mexican league in 1989, managing several teams such as Oaxtepec, Puebla, Atlante, Guadalajara, Querétaro, América, Atlas, Toluca, and Monterrey. Despite mixed results, La Volpe earned a reputation for his offensive style of football. He led Atlante to the 1992–1993 season championship and reached the league final with Atlas in 1999.
=== Mexico national team === In 2002, La Volpe was named coach of the Mexico national team. He led the team to win the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He qualified for the 2006 World Cup, as well as finishing in fourth place at the 2005 Confederations Cup, most notably defeating eventual champions Brazil in the group stage. With La Volpe at the helm, Mexico reached fourth place in the FIFA World rankings.
Also, under his leadership at the 2004 Copa América, Mexico managed to defeat Argentina for the first time in years but lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals. Mexico also lost in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals to Colombia. Mexico was also eliminated at the 2004 Olympic Games after losing to South Korea in the group stage.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Mexico finished second in their group, qualifying for the Round of 16 before going out 1–2 in extra time to Argentina. The Guardian named him ''Best Coach of the World Cup'' for his attitude.<ref name=Guardian1816453>{{cite web|title=Best and Wurst |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/jul/09/worldcup2006.sport16 |work=The Guardian |access-date=8 July 2006}}</ref>
=== Boca Juniors === After leaving the Mexico national team, he met with Boca Juniors officials on 24 July 2006. After several weeks of negotiation, it was agreed on 22 August that La Volpe would take over as Boca manager on 15 September, replacing Alfio Basile, who had been selected to manage the Argentina national team.
La Volpe had a bumpy start with Boca Juniors, including a 3–1 loss against arch-rivals River Plate on 8 October. On 12 October, Boca lost 3–1 to Uruguayan club Nacional on penalty kicks in the Copa Sudamericana, and so were out of the competition. Boca failed three times to claim the Apertura Championship in the final weeks of the season and then lost a playoff against Estudiantes. Keeping his word that he would quit if he lost, La Volpe resigned after the match. Later that year, he became the new Vélez Sársfield manager but did not stay in the job long. After watching his team suffer bruising defeats by River Plate and Boca Juniors in the Apertura 2007, and his team in 10th place, he resigned as coach.
=== Return to Mexico === In 2008, Ricardo La Volpe returned to Mexico as Monterrey's manager. After several days of speculation, the club's official website finally announced that it was replacing former manager Isaac Mizrahi. He had a bumpy start and didn't win until his fifth match. Monterrey finished the season in 8th place and had the league's leading goal scorer, Humberto Suazo. Monterrey's league would end in the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Santos Laguna after an aggregate score of 3–3. Fans of Monterrey spoke highly of La Volpe for helping the team reach the playoffs again after two dismal seasons of not qualifying, including a last-place finish during the last tournament. In the Apertura 2008, the team would have a pretty good start, but ultimately fell apart towards the end of the tournament, placing Monterrey in the bottom of the table, hence not qualifying to the playoffs. After the disappointing tournament, the team did not offer the money La Volpe was looking for, and he decided to leave the team.
=== Return to Atlas === On 28 January 2009, La Volpe signed once again with Atlas. Fans of the team had been yearning for him to return to the squad, in which many said he had the most success. The tournament was unsuccessful, with the team failing to qualify for the playoffs and finishing 13th. On 18 November, the Argentine coach quit Atlas due to poor results and was replaced by Carlos Ischia.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120904194212/http://www.milenio.com/node/323705 Sale Ricardo Lavolpe del Atlas | Milenio.com]</ref><ref>[http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8687285 Elogios a Ischia | Milenio.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724145221/http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8687285 |date=2011-07-24 }}</ref>
=== Costa Rica === On 9 September 2010, the former Atlas coach became the new manager of Costa Rica, replacing interim coach Rónald González. The Argentine had initially been signed until July 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=La Volpe al mando de la Tricolor|url=http://fedefutbol.org/2010/09/09/la-volpe-al-mando-de-la-tricolor/|publisher=fedefutbol.org|access-date=26 September 2010|archive-date=23 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523070711/http://fedefutbol.org/2010/09/09/la-volpe-al-mando-de-la-tricolor|url-status=dead}}</ref> however, poor performance during the 2011 Gold Cup and 2011 Copa América, ended his contract prematurely on 11 August 2011.
=== Guadalajara ===
La Volpe was named Guadalajara manager after a 4–0 loss against América with just four games to go in the tournament. After a win against Pachuca on his debut, he finished the league with a draw and 2 losses. However, on 30 April 2014, La Volpe was fired by Vergara after a female staff member alleged improper behavior by La Volpe toward her, resulting in a lawsuit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://televisadeportes.esmas.com/futbol/futbolmexico/equipos/guadalajara/715235/corren-volpe/|title = TUDN | Sitio Oficial}}</ref>
=== América === Following the sacking of Club América's manager Ignacio Ambríz, La Volpe was announced as manager on 22 September 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ricardo La Volpe confirmed as new coach of Club America|date=22 September 2016|url=http://www.espnfc.us/mexican-liga-mx/story/2956721/ricardo-la-volpe-confirmed-as-new-coach-of-club-america|publisher=ESPN FC|access-date=22 September 2016}}</ref> Just two days after becoming manager, they defeated Universidad Nacional, 2–1.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ricardo La Volpe era at America starts on right foot with win over Pumas |url=http://www.espnfc.us/mexican-liga-mx/22/blog/post/2958810/ricardo-la-volpe-era-at-club-america-starts-on-right-foot-with-win-over-pumas |publisher=ESPN FC |access-date=25 September 2016}}</ref> He led América towards a strong final stretch at the end of 2016, culminating with a fourth-place finish at the FIFA Club World Cup<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://laaficion.milenio.com/america/mundial_de_clubes-club_america-tercer_lugar-atletico_nacional-fifa-milenio-la_aficion_0_867513458.html|title = América es cuarto lugar en el Mundial de Clubes| date=18 December 2016 }}</ref> and finishing runners-up in the Apertura championship match against Tigres UANL.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.espn.com.mx/futbol/cronica?juegoId=468819| title = En agónico partido, Tigres vence a América en penales| date = 26 December 2016}}</ref>
Although contributing by debuting major prospects such as Diego Lainez and Edson Álvarez, La Volpe and America decided to part ways after a lackluster Clausura 2017 where America failed to qualify to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://laaficion.milenio.com/america/ricardo_la_volpe-america-pachuca-liguilla-tecnico-renuncia-milenio-la_aficion_0_952104896.html|title = Ricardo la Volpe se va del América| date=5 July 2017 }}</ref>
== Reception == === Influence === [[File:Ricardo LaVolpe.JPG|thumb|upright|La Volpe as manager for Mexico amidst the 2006 World Cup]] La Volpe's philosophy, style of play, and attitude referred to as ''"Lavolpismo,"'' has played a considerable role in the evolution of tactics and strategy in Mexican league football. Coaches who have studied under and continue to use a modified version of his style of play and philosophy are referred to as ''"Lavolpistas"''. Notable managers directly influenced by La Volpe include Miguel Herrera, José Guadalupe Cruz, Rubén Omar Romano, Hernan Cristante, Jose Saturnino Cardozo and Sergio Bueno.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ricardo La Volpe a safe choice for Club America |url=http://www.goal.com/s/en-us/news/114/mexico/2016/09/23/27799162/ricardo-la-volpe-a-safe-choice-for-club-america |website=Goal.com |access-date=23 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elgrafico.com/futbol/De-seleccionador-mexicano-a-youtuber-el-nuevo-pasatiempo-de-Ricardo-La-Volpe--20171227-0011.html|title=De seleccionador mexicano a "youtuber": El nuevo pasatiempo de Ricardo la Volpe}}</ref>
=== Criticism === During Mexico's first group-stage match in the 2006 World Cup against Iran, La Volpe was seen chain-smoking in the dugout, leading to an official warning from FIFA that he was not allowed to smoke in the competition area. La Volpe responded by telling FIFA's executives that he would "rather give up football than smoking", although he later consented.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.midfielddynamo.com/gaffers/gaffers_smoking.htm|title=Smoking Gaffers - Midfield Dynamo}}</ref>
He has also had clashes with the press. During a press conference at the 2006 World Cup, La Volpe told a journalist: "¡Fuera de mi vista! No saben nada. No me rompan los huevos, idiotas." ["Get out of my face! You know nothing. Don't bust my balls, you idiots."]<ref name=Guardian1816453 />
He has odd superstitions some which include wearing a lucky tie, performing "oriental" rituals and avoiding shaking the opposing manager's hand prior to or after the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.record.com.mx/empelotados/desde-una-corbata-hasta-un-ataud-las-cabalas-de-la-volpe|title=Desde una corbata hasta un ataúd, las cábalas de la Volpe|date=14 March 2016}}</ref>
== Honours == === Player === '''Banfield''' *Primera B Metropolitana: 1973
'''Argentina''' *FIFA World Cup: 1978
=== Manager === '''Atlante''' *Primera División de México: 1992–93
'''Mexico''' *CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2003
'''Mexico U23''' *CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship: 2004
'''Individual''' *Primera División de México Best Manager:1992–93
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} *{{FIFA player|69693}} *{{NFT}}
{{Navboxes | title = Awards | bg = gold | fg = navy | list = {{Liga MX winning managers}} {{CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup winning managers}} }} {{Navboxes |title= International tournaments |list1= {{Argentina squad 1978 FIFA World Cup}} {{Mexico squad 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup}} {{Mexico squad 2004 Copa América}} {{Mexico men's football squad 2004 Summer Olympics}} {{Mexico squad 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup}} {{Mexico squad 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup}} {{Mexico squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}} {{Costa Rica squad 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup}} {{Costa Rica squad 2011 Copa América}} }} {{Navboxes |title= Managerial positions |list1= {{Querétaro F.C. managers}} {{Club América managers}} {{Atlas F.C. managers}} {{Mexico national football team managers}} {{Boca Juniors managers}} {{Vélez Sársfield managers}} {{C.F. Monterrey managers}} {{Costa Rica national football team managers}} {{Club Atlético Banfield managers}} {{Club Deportivo Guadalajara managers}} {{Chiapas F.C. managers}} {{Pyramids FC managers}} {{Deportivo Toluca managers}} }} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Volpe, Ricardo}} Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Footballers from Buenos Aires Category:Argentine people of Italian descent Category:Sportspeople of Italian descent Category:Argentine men's footballers Category:Argentina men's international footballers Category:1978 FIFA World Cup players Category:FIFA World Cup–winning players Category:Club Atlético Banfield footballers Category:San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Category:Atlante F.C. footballers Category:C.F. Oaxtepec footballers Category:Argentine expatriate men's footballers Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Category:Men's association football goalkeepers Category:Argentine football managers Category:Mexican football managers Category:Club Puebla managers Category:Atlante F.C. managers Category:C.D. Guadalajara managers Category:Club América managers Category:Atlas F.C. managers Category:Deportivo Toluca F.C. managers Category:Boca Juniors managers Category:Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield managers Category:C.F. Monterrey managers Category:Querétaro F.C. managers Category:Jaguares F.C. managers Category:Mexico national football team managers Category:Costa Rica national football team managers Category:CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning managers Category:2004 Copa América managers Category:2005 FIFA Confederations Cup managers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup managers Category:2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers Category:2011 Copa América managers Category:Argentine emigrants to Mexico Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Category:Argentine Primera División players Category:Liga MX players Category:Expatriate football managers in Mexico Category:Liga MX managers Category:Pyramids FC managers Category:20th-century Argentine sportsmen