Osvaldo Cesar Ardiles was born near C rdoba in 1952 and played a pivotal role in Argentina's World Cup victory in 1978, part of 63 caps he won for his country. That famous ticker-tape win in Buenos Aires attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur manager Keith Burkinshaw, who brought Ossie and Ricardo Villa over to England in a e750,000 transfer that made headlines around the world. Ossie became an instant hit in English football, scoring 25 goals in 311 appearances in ten years at Spurs. He moved into management with Swindon Town and took the Wiltshire side via the playoffs into the top flight of English football for the first time, only to have promotion snatched away. Further spells followed at Newcastle, West Brom (with whom he also won promotion) and then back to Tottenham where, despite an exhilarating attacking line-up, results did not go Ossie's way. Ossie has since managed clubs in Mexico, Japan, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Israel and Paraguay. When not managing, he divides his time between Hertfordshire and the south of Spain.
A refreshing break from the norm... impressionistic and honest -- Jonathan Wilson FourFourTwo 20090901 Ossie's story is one of variety and intrigue and is told with a balance of humour, charm and passion Football Punk A chess-playing strategist, he tells the story the way he played: articulate and perceptive, he probes around the matter at hand and provides a killer comment when it counts... suitably idiosyncratic... rich in intrigue, drama and a fair splash of superstar glamour... This is a football story to its core -- Adam Powley When Saturday Comes 20091213