Background and career
Osvaldo César "Ossie" Ardiles (born 3 August 1952) is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player.
A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddle and compatriot Ricardo Villa, as a player for Tottenham Hotspur. He left England for a period on loan as a result of the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982, thus missing most of the 1982–83 English season. He won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team.
After retirement, Ardiles began his management career in England, coaching Swindon Town, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, before returning to Tottenham to become the first Premier League manager from Argentina. As manager of Tottenham Hotspur in the mid-1990s, he played several matches utilizing a formation that had five forwards, a formation that had not been used in English football since the 1900s.
During his career, Ardiles has also coached in Mexico, Croatia, Japan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Israel, Paraguay and his native Argentina. In Ireland, he is a pundit for RTÉ Sport.
