1983, Brazil in June 1984 and Uruguay in July 1984. Later career The Argentine midfielder then moved to Brazilian Grêmio, where he played from 1985 to 1986. He subsequently returned to Estudiantes, but retired after a short spell in the Mexican league with Irapuato in 1989. Managerial career Early career After retirement, Sabella became a coach, but worked mostly as field assistant for Daniel Passarella. The duo coached the Argentina national team, Italian side Parma, the Uruguay national football team, Mexican Monterrey, and Brazilian Corinthians. In 2006, they were hired back by River Plate, that finished in third place in the Apertura tournament. On 15 March 2009, Sabella became coach of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won the 2009 Copa Libertadores. On 2 February 2011, he announced his resignation. Due to protestations from the team's players and management, he agreed to reconsider his decision, but made it final the following day. He officially resigned on 3 February 2011. Argentina After Argentina's early exit at the 2011 Copa America, Sabella was appointed as the manager of the Argentina national team. Sabella was originally set to be the new coach of UAE League team Al-Jazira Club but backed out of the agreement after the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has shown interest in him. After his appointment in August 2011, Sabella named Lionel Messi as Argentina's new captain. He made his debut in charge of the Argentina in a 1–0 victory against Venezuela at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, India. 2014 World Cup In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Sabella coached Argentina to the final. The last time Argentina had advanced beyond the quarter-finals was when they made the final in 1990 where they lost 1–0 to West Germany. Argentina never trailed during the whole tournament until the final. They won all three of their group games, where Lionel Messi scored all four of his goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina (2–1), Iran (1–0) and Nigeria (3–2). They defeated Switzerland 1–0 in extra time during the Round of 16, and then dispatched Belgium 1–0 in the quarter-finals. Reaching their first semi-final since 1990, Argentina eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw. Argentina finished the tournament as runners-up after losing the final to Germany 1–0 through an extra time goal scored by Mario Gotze. Sabella's substitutions in the final, notably Sergio Agüero for Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio for Gonzalo