Juan Barbas

Juan Alberto Barbas (born 23 August 1959 in San Martín, Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine footballer who played as an attacking or defensive midfielder. He played for a number of clubs in Argentina, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland before turning his hand to management in 2009 with Racing Club de Avellaneda.

Club career
Barbas started his career in 1977 at Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Argentine Primera División. He then went on to play for Real Zaragoza in Spain, U.S. Lecce in Italy, FC Locarno, and FC Sion in Switzerland.

Barbas was a part of the Sion team that won the 1991–1992 Swiss Championship.

After another spell at Locarno, Barbas returned to Argentina where he had a short spell with Club Atlético Huracán before dropping down to the lower leagues to play for Alvarado de Mar del Plata and then All Boys, where he retired in 1997.

International career
Barbas was part of the Argentina Under-20 squad that won the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, he went on to play for Argentina 33 times including appearances at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Style of play
An offensive minded midfielder, with an eye for goal, Barbas's main traits as a footballer were his excellent vision and accurate striking ability from outside the area; he was also a good free kick taker.

Coaching career
On 13 October 2009, Racing Club de Avellaneda officials hired their former player as their caretaker coach, replacing Ricardo Caruso Lombardi.

Club

 * US Lecce
 * Serie B runner-up: 1987–88


 * FC Sion
 * Swiss Super League: 1991–92

International

 * Argentina Under-20
 * FIFA World Youth Championship: 1979

Individual

 * La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1982–83, 1983–84