Rubén Darío Insúa Carballo (born 17 April 1961) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of Barracas Central. Insúa represented the Argentina national team several times. During his playing career, he earned the nickname "el Poeta del Futbol" (the Poet of Football).

Playing career

Insúa was born in Buenos Aires. He played most of his career in the Argentine top league. He was part of the Independiente team that won the 1988–89 Primera title. He also played for Barcelona in Ecuador and Deportivo Cali in Colombia, and had a spell with Spanish side UD Las Palmas.

Style of play

As a player, Insúa was regarded as a swift midfielder with an excellent touch and a penchant for scoring from free kicks. These qualities earned him his nicknames "el Poeta del Gol" (the Goal Poet) and "el Poeta del Futbol" (the Football Poet). Although he was primarily an attacking midfielder, he was also capable of playing as a striker.

Managerial career

Insúa coached for Ecuador's Barcelona to a national title in 1997, and the Copa Libertadores finals in 1998. He coached San Lorenzo de Almagro to the Copa Sudamericana 2002 title. Insúa coached Ecuador's Deportivo Quito to the 2009 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A title. On 1 October 2010, Insúa reached a verbal agreement with Barcelona's president Eduardo Maruri to return and coach the club that won his last national title achievement in 1997. On 25 March 2011, he was fired from Barcelona and replaced with Alex Aguinaga. Insúa was Deportivo Cali's manager since approximately October 2011 until 4 March 2012. He was the head coach of Argentine football club San Lorenzo de Almagro from end of 2023 to April 2024, when he was fired for poor results.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

San Lorenzo Independiente Barcelona Sporting Club

Manager

Barcelona Sporting Club San Lorenzo Deportivo Quito