Gus Poyet

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with short spells at Grenoble and River Plate. He then spent seven years at Real Zaragoza, with whom he won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1997, Poyet moved to Chelsea on a free transfer and helped the club win the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where he saw out the remainder of his career. He was also part of the Uruguay side which won the 1995 Copa América. After his playing career ended, Poyet moved into coaching. He served as assistant manager to Dennis Wise at Swindon Town and Leeds United, and Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur. In November 2009, Poyet was appointed manager of Brighton & Hove Albion and in his first full season led the club to promotion as League One Champions, for which he was named League One Manager of the Year by the LMA. In October 2013, he was hired by Premier League team Sunderland and guided them to the League Cup final in his first season, but was sacked in March 2015 after a poor run of results. He later had spells at Super League Greece side AEK Athens, La Liga club Real Betis, Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua, Bordeaux of Ligue 1, Universidad Católica in Chile and Greece.

In Their Own Story

During pre-season 2011, Poyet twice broke the club's record transfer-fee in signing Will Buckley and Craig Mackail-Smith, and also brought in former Spain and Valencia playmaker Vicente on a free transfer. After an unbeaten start to the 2011–12 season, Poyet was named as Championship manager of the month for August 2011. Poyet shortly after signed a new and improved five-year contract to remain at the club until 2016. In March 2012, Poyet won the Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award at the Football League Awards ceremony, beating Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman and former Huddersfield Town boss Lee Clark. On 23 June 2013, Brighton released an official statement declaring that Poyet had been informed that 'his employment has been terminated with immediate effect', following a disciplinary process. Poyet said that he was only made aware of his sacking when a member of the BBC production staff handed him a printout of the club statement, whilst working as a pundit for BBC Three's coverage of the Spain vs. Nigeria group game in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Reader's Guide

Poyet's managerial career includes leading Brighton & Hove Albion to the League One title in the 2010–11 season, securing automatic promotion to the Championship. He did not participate in any play-off final with Brighton.

Did You Know?

• Poyet won the League One title with Brighton in 2011, not via the play-offs.
• He was named LMA League One Manager of the Year for the 2010–11 season.
• Poyet led Sunderland to the League Cup final in his first season as head coach.