Héctor Raúl Cúper (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeɣtoɾ ˈkupeɾ]; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team.

Cúper's great-grandfather was an Englishman whose surname was Cooper, who migrated to Santa Fe Province in Argentina and married an indigenous woman.

[citation needed] In the summer of 1997, he was hired by Mallorca, and in the very first season he drove the modest club to the final of the Copa del Rey, which he would lose against Barcelona, but won the 1998 Supercopa de España against the same opponent.

[5] That season Mallorca also recorded their best-ever La Liga finish of 3rd, allowing the team to play in the UEFA Champions League.

[8] At Valencia, he won another Supercopa de España but lost the final of the Champions League two consecutive times; in 2000 against Real Madrid, and in 2001 against Bayern Munich on penalty shoot-out.

[10] In his first season, the club started the final day on 5 May 2002 in pole position for a first Scudetto since 1989, but lost to Lazio and handed the title to rivals Juventus, retreating to the 3rd place.

[17] On 11 March 2008, he was unveiled as the new boss of relegation-battling Serie A team Parma, replacing Domenico Di Carlo at the helm of the Gialloblù.

He was then sacked two months later before the final game of the season after winning only two in 10 matches as manager, this eventually leading to Parma's relegation to Serie B.

[21] In the 2010–11 season, Cúper lead Aris in its first participation in the Round of 32 of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, taking the club to second place in Group B with 10 points, after two surprise wins against Atlético Madrid.

[31] On 1 August 2018, Cúper became head coach of the Uzbekistan national team, signing a contract that would take him through to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

[38] He managed to recruit three of his countrymen with Syrian descent, Ezequiel Ham, Ibrahim Hesar and Jalil Elías, ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar.

[39] In February 2024, he extended his contract with the national team, committing to stay on board for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.