José Omar Pastoriza

José Omar Pastoriza (23 May 1942 – 2 August 2004) was a football midfielder for Independiente, AS Monaco, and the Argentina national football team, as well as manager for many teams including the Venezuela national team.

El Pato ("The Duck") Pastoriza was born in Rosario, and started his career in Rosario Central, but gained renown with Colón de Santa Fe. He moved to Racing Club, but was transferred to rival Independiente after 53 matches due to a poor team performance and the precarious economic situation. He stayed 6 years with Independiente, winning 3 first division tournaments and a Copa Libertadores. In 1971, he was awarded the Olimpia de Oro, which is given to the Argentine footballer of the year.

After the 1972 season he transferred to French AS Monaco, where he retired as a player.

Having good relations with players, El Pato Patoriza coached the a number of clubs in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Spain, as well as the national teams of El Salvador and Venezuela. Pastoriza began his managerial career in 1976 with Independiente, the club where he won another three national leagues, another Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1984. He also worked as the manager of Talleres de Córdoba on many occasions. He had a single stint as manager of several Argentine clubs such as Racing Club, Boca Juniors and Argentinos Juniors. Pastoriza's first foreign appointment was in 1982, at the Colombian Club Deportivo Los Millonarios. He was manager of Brazilian team Fluminense (1985) before returning to Argentina.

In 1992, he worked as manager of the Spanish Atlético Madrid, and in 1994 he worked with Bolivian Club Bolívar. Pastoriza served as the coach of the El Salvador national football team between 1995 and 1996 and as the coach of Venezuela between 1998 and 2000.

In 2004, he died in Buenos Aires during his fifth stint as manager of Independiente. He had a heart attack at his apartment, and the emergency doctors could not save him. Pastoriza had a history of health problems, but kept smoking anyway. The funeral was performed at the Independiente headquarters.

Jairo Castillo, player of Independiente, was repeatedly booked by the referee in later games for removing his shirt to reveal tributes to Pastoriza. As a result, it was decided to add Pastoriza's nickname "Pato" to the official Independiente kit in 2004.

Club

International

Player

Independiente

• Argentine Primera División (3): Nacional 1967, Metropolitano 1970, Metropolitano 1971
• Copa Libertadores (1): 1972

Individual

• Footballer of the Year of Argentina (1): 1971

Manager

Independiente

• Argentine Primera División (3): Nacional 1977, Nacional 1978, Metropolitano 1983
• Copa Libertadores (1): 1984
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1984