Sampaoli aims for second Copa Sul-Americana title at Atlético-MG | OneFootball

In a career marked by chaos, Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli found a refuge at Atlético Mineiro. In the last decade, it is the only club where the intrepid manager, who seeks his redemption in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, managed to win a title.

A fan of Spanish rock, with tattooed arms and convinced that offensive play is the key to success, the 65-year-old coach has only one trophy in 10 years: the 2020 Campeonato Mineiro.

At other clubs, his performance was marked by scandals both on and off the field, mainly due to his strong temperament. With the vivid memory of that victory with Mineiro, Sampaoli returned in September to the club from Belo Horizonte, which will play the Sudamericana against Lanús.

Photo by LUIS ROBAYO / AFP

“The Galo fan feels very much like I do,” he said in a mix of Spanish and Portuguese during his presentation.

Restless on the sidelines, where he gestures and paces back and forth, the Argentine will have at the Defensores del Chaco stadium, in Asunción, the opportunity to shake off the weight of his recent disappointments with his national team and with clubs from Spain, Brazil, and France.

Like Nietzsche

If he wins the duel against the rival from Buenos Aires province, it will be Sampaoli’s second Sudamericana, after the one he won with Universidad de Chile in 2011. After that title, he was chosen to lead the Chilean national team, with which he won the 2015 Copa América.

But although the style of this follower of Marcelo Bielsa began to echo in the region and in Europe thanks to these successes, his luck diminished in the last decade.

From Sevilla, his first stop in the Old Continent, he suddenly left in 2017 to try to win the 2018 World Cup with Argentina and Lionel Messi. The Spanish club considered it a “lack of respect” that the Albiceleste hired him while he still had a valid contract.

Sampaoli Photo: Roman Kruchinin/AFP

His gamble went wrong, as the World Cup dream resulted in a resounding failure for which he is considered the main person responsible. Even so, his theatrical style of living the games and his offensive vocation convinced more clubs. Sampaoli himself acknowledges that his way of acting is a demonstration of his “anxiety.”

“I need to be thinking in motion because it’s already a personal issue, I analyze better while walking and moving,” he said in 2021. “I think Nietzsche also thought while walking,” he said, referencing the German philosopher.

After his stint with Argentina, he arrived at Santos and left in 2019 after a falling out with his boss; then he resigned from Olympique de Marseille in 2022, irritated by the lack of signings; and returned to Sevilla only to leave through the back door for the second time in 2023.

‘Everyone loves him’

At Flamengo, the most popular club in Brazil, he was fired that same year after several controversial episodes, such as fighting with the acclaimed Arturo Vidal. Upon leaving Mengão, the Chilean midfielder referred to Sampaoli as a “loser who doesn’t value the players.”

Finally, at French club Stade Rennes, he managed only 10 matches between 2024 and 2025 before being dismissed for his poor performance. With this stormy track record, Mineiro welcomed him back. Upon his return, Sampaoli assured that he was arriving “with more experience to deal with the players.”

“The fans wanted him, he wanted it,” “he really likes the team,” said Rubens Menin, Galo’s main shareholder, at the time.

Photo: Pedro Souza / Atlético

Forward Hulk, a Mineiro idol, acknowledged in an interview with Globo Esporte: “Here everyone loves him as a coach.” Very populist, Sampaoli confessed his love for the Mineiro fans, with whom he shares the same “feeling,” and promised to “take the lead from the first kick” to achieve victory.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.