Gus Poyet

Poyet, a holder of the UEFA Pro Licence, is  much-travelled footballer and manager playing in four countries and coaching in five.  The Uruguayan's most recent role was as coach of Bordeaux. Poyet began his coaching career in July 2006 as assistant manager of Swindon Town working with ex-Chelsea team mate, Dennis Wise. Both Poyet and Wise then linked up at Leeds United before he rejoined his former club Tottenham Hotspur under Juande Ramos. During his time at White Hart Lane, Tottenham won the 2008 Carling Cup, beating Chelsea 2-1 after extra time at Wembley. Poyet and Spurs then parted company in October 2008. With Brighton experiencing relegation worries prior to his appointment, he immediately enjoyed success in the role by securing Brighton's League One status. The following season (2010/11) both Poyet and Brighton would experience quite a remarkable campaign, as he guided the club to the Championship. He did so with five games remaining after a fantastic run of games where The Seagulls won eight in a row in March alone. After securing promotion with a home win over Dagenham, Brighton then clinched the League One title. This success ensured that Poyet has achieved promotion and a league title in his first full season as a manger. He was recognised by his peers as the managers of League One voted him as their manager of the year. In 2011/12, Poyet won the Football Manager Outstanding Managerial Achievement Award at the Football League Awards. Gus and Brighton also enjoyed an excellent first season in the Championship with a 10th place finish. Later in 2012/13, he guided Brighton to the play-offs after they ended in 4th place in the Championship. This was the club's highest league finish since 1983 - ie in 30 years. Poyet enjoyed immediate success following his appointment at Sunderland as he not only went onto secure their Barclays Premier League status, but he also guided the Club to the League Cup final for the first time since 1985. This marked their first appearance at the new Wembley. He subsequently worked in Greece, with AEK Athens, Spain with Real Betis, China with Shanghai Shenhua and France with Bordeaux. As a player, Poyet represented Grenoble, River Plate Uruguay, Real Zaragoza, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. He also earned 26 caps for Uruguay. During his playing career, he also earned some notable honours which include the FA Cup, UEFA Cup, European Super Cup with Chelsea, the Copa América with Uruguay and the Spanish Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Real Zaragoza.