Aníbal Ruiz

Who is Aníbal Ruiz?

Aníbal "Maño" Ruiz Leites, born 30 December 1942 in Salto, Uruguay, is a football coach. His last club charging was Universidad San Martín in Peru. His best coaching efforts include winning the Supercopa Sudamericana with Olimpia Asunción in 1991 and leading the Paraguayan national football team to the 2006 World Cup. "Maňo" is well known for his defensive and ordered style of coaching that led him to the South American Coach of the Year award in 2005.

In 2006, Ruiz led Paraguay to its worst performance in a World Cup tournament by losing two games in the group stage, something that never happened in Paraguay's previous six presentations. He was heavily criticized by the press and fans because of his extremely defensive tactics used during the tournament, despite having young talent in offensive players such as Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Valdez, Julio Dos Santos and Nelson Cuevas. Another point of criticism was his decision to bring several veteran players to anchor the team's defense.

He took over the 'CD Veracruz Tiburones' of Veracruz of the Mexican first division in 2007.