Gustavo "Gus" Poyet Domínguez is a famous football manager and former player from Uruguay. He was born on November 15, 1967. He is currently the manager of K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Poyet played as a midfielder, which means he played in the middle of the field. He started his career with short times at clubs like Grenoble and River Plate. He then spent seven years playing for Real Zaragoza in Spain. With Zaragoza, he won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1997, Poyet moved to Chelsea in England. He helped Chelsea win the FA Cup and another UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Later, in 2001, he joined Tottenham Hotspur, where he finished his playing career. Gus Poyet was also part of the Uruguay team that won the 1995 Copa América, a big football tournament in South America.

After he stopped playing, Poyet became a coach. He worked as an assistant manager for different teams, including Swindon Town, Leeds United, and Tottenham Hotspur. In 2009, he became the main manager for Brighton & Hove Albion. He led them to win their league and get promoted. He also managed Sunderland in the Premier League, taking them to a cup final. Poyet has managed teams in many different countries, including Greece, Spain, China, France, and Chile. He also managed the Greek national team.

Playing Career
- Club Football
- Playing for Uruguay
Managerial Career
Personal Life
Honours
- Player
- Manager
See also

Playing Career

Club Football

Gus Poyet was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was a midfielder who scored many goals. He started his career playing for Grenoble in France and River Plate in Uruguay.

In 1990, Poyet moved to Real Zaragoza in Spain. He helped them win the Copa del Rey in 1994. A year later, they won the Cup Winners' Cup by beating Arsenal in the final. Poyet played for Zaragoza for a long time, scoring 60 goals in 240 games.

Poyet joined Chelsea in England in 1997 for free. In his first season, he got a serious knee injury, which meant he missed the 1998 Football League Cup Final. But he recovered and played in the Cup Winners' Cup Final, which Chelsea won. The next year, he scored 14 goals, helping Chelsea finish third in the league. He also scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid. In the 1999–2000 season, he scored 18 goals, helping Chelsea win the FA Cup.

In 2001, Poyet moved to Tottenham Hotspur for about £2.2 million. He scored 14 goals in his first season with Spurs. He helped his team reach the League Cup final, but they lost. Injuries affected his time at Tottenham, but he still scored 23 goals in 98 games.

Playing for Uruguay

Poyet also played for the Uruguay national team. His first game was on July 13, 1993, against Peru.

He helped his country win the Copa América in 1995. After this win, he was chosen as the best player in his position at the tournament. In total, he played 26 games for Uruguay and scored three goals.

Managerial Career

Starting as a Coach

In 2006, Gus Poyet became a player and assistant manager at Swindon Town. He then became assistant manager at Leeds United later that year. In 2007, Poyet returned to his old club, Tottenham Hotspur, as a first-team coach. During this time, Tottenham won the League Cup in 2008, beating Chelsea in the final. In October 2008, Poyet left Tottenham along with the manager.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Poyet as Brighton manager in 2011

On November 10, 2009, Poyet became the new manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, a team in English League One. He helped the club avoid being relegated. In the 2010–11 season, Brighton started very well, winning many games. They secured promotion to the Championship (a higher league) after a 4–3 win against Dagenham & Redbridge. Brighton won the League One title on April 16, 2011, with four games left to play. Poyet was named League One Manager of the Year for his great work.

In 2011, Poyet helped Brighton sign new players, including Vicente, a famous player from Spain. Brighton had a great start to the 2011–12 season, and Poyet was named Championship manager of the month. He also signed a new contract to stay with the club until 2016. In March 2012, Poyet won an award for his amazing managerial achievements.

In June 2013, Brighton ended Poyet's contract. He found out about it while working as a TV pundit.

Sunderland

Poyet on the touchline as Sunderland manager away to Chelsea in April 2014

On October 8, 2013, Poyet was announced as the new head coach for Sunderland, a team in the Premier League. He was the first Uruguayan to manage a Premier League team. His first home game was a 2–1 win against their local rivals, Newcastle United.

In his first season, he led Sunderland to the League Cup Final. They reached the final by beating Manchester United in a penalty shootout. On April 19, 2014, Poyet's Sunderland team beat Chelsea 2–1 at Stamford Bridge. This was José Mourinho's first home league defeat as Chelsea manager in the Premier League. Poyet helped Sunderland avoid being relegated from the Premier League that season, which he called "a miracle."

Poyet signed a new contract with Sunderland in May 2014. However, the club decided to end his contract on March 16, 2015. At that time, Sunderland was just one point above the relegation zone.

Other Teams

After Sunderland, Poyet managed AEK Athens in Greece from 2015 to 2016. He then managed Real Betis in Spain in 2016. From 2016 to 2017, he managed Shanghai Shenhua in China. He also managed Bordeaux in France in 2018.

In 2021, Poyet managed Universidad Católica in Chile. He won the Supercopa de Chile with them. From 2022 to 2024, he was the manager of the Greece national team. He helped Greece get promoted in the 2022 UEFA Nations League. In December 2024, Poyet became the manager of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in South Korea.

Personal Life

Gus Poyet is married to Madelon González. They have two sons named Diego and Matias. Diego Poyet also became a professional football player, playing as a midfielder. He played for clubs like Charlton Athletic and West Ham United.

Gus Poyet's father, Washington Poyet, was an Olympic basketball player. His brother, Marcelo, also played basketball professionally. Gus Poyet even brought basketball into Sunderland's training sessions, believing it helped players with football skills like marking.

Honours

Player

Real Zaragoza

Copa del Rey: 1993–94
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1994–95

Chelsea

FA Cup: 1999–2000
FA Charity Shield: 2000
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Tottenham Hotspur

Football League Cup runner-up: 2001–02

Uruguay

Copa América: 1995

Manager

Brighton & Hove Albion

Football League One: 2010–11

Sunderland

Football League Cup runner-up: 2013–14

Universidad Católica

Supercopa de Chile: 2020

Individual

League One Manager of the Year: 2010–11
League One Manager of the Month: September 2010, March 2011
Football League Award for Outstanding Managerial Achievement: 2011

Gus Poyet facts for kids

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