Jorge Valdano was born in Santa Fe in 1955. He played football for Argentina and was also a coach. When Argentina won the World Cup in 1986, Valdano played Centre Forward. When he was 16, he joined Newell's Old Boys Sports Club in Argentina and played for the first team when he was 18. He was an outstanding fast player who was skillful with both feet. The Manager of Spanish team Deportivo Alavés saw how skilled Valdano was and signed him up for his team in 1975.
Valdano had four good seasons with Deportivo Alavés and then signed for Zaragoza. He went on from there to Real Madrid. He won four titles with Real Madrid including two UEFA Cups. Valdano’s entire career as a football manager has been in Spain. He managed Tenerife, Real Madrid and Valencia. From 2000 to 2004 and then again in 2011, he was Director General of Real Madrid, when Florentino Pérez was chairman of Real Madrid for the second time. Since Valdano left Real Madrid, he has written football columns for various media and worked as a football commentator on La Sexta.
He is the author of several books, including Valdano, sueños de fútbol, Cuentos de fútbol, Apuntes del balón and his most recent work, Los 11 poderes del líder.