 On 9 January 2002, Sampaoli was appointed manager of Peruvian Primera División side Juan Aurich; it was the first professional club in his career.On 24 February, he directed his first professional game against Universitario, where they lost 2–1 after leading the whole game due to a penalty scored by Carlos Flores (66th minute).Sampaoli had a poor spell in Juan Aurich, directing only eight games, five of which the team lost and two where the team tied with Coopsol Trujillo and Alianza Lima.