Argentinian managers to the fore in Russia
FIVE of the 32 national teams that are set to take part in the 2018 World Cup are led by Argentinian managers.
No other country will have as many managers in Russia, and the figure matches the record Brazilian managers set at the 2006 World Cup. Is it pure chance or do Argentinian managers have secret tricks that make them particularly valuable today?
“This is a good time for us in general but there is no explanation beyond that,” Ricardo Gareca, one of the five Argentinian managers set to lead teams in Russia 2018, told dpa in an interview.
Beyond Gareca’s Peru, two other South American sides are managed by Argentinians.
Jorge Sampaoli will seek to lead Lionel Messi’s Argentina to another final. And veteran Jose Pekerman, 68, who managed Argentina in Germany 2006, will again be at the helm with Colombia after leading them to the quarterfinals in Brazil 2014.
The other two sides with Argentinian managers are set to clash against each other in Group A: Hector Cuper will be leading Egypt, while Juan Antonio Pizzi manages Saudi Arabia.
Twelve years ago, Brazil had a similar number of World Cup managers: Carlos Alberto Parreira with the Verdeamarela, Luiz Felipe Scolari with Portugal, Zico with Japan, Alexander Guimaraes with Costa Rica and Marcos Paqueta with Saudi Arabia.
Gareca does not think there is a concrete reason for the success of Argentinian managers, beyond their country’s world-famous football culture and the fact that they have almost 2,000 players active in various championships around the world.
“It is circumstantial, it just happend. It is not due to anything in particular. There are very able managers of every nationality. And that includes Argentina,” he said, after leading Peru to their first World Cup in 36 years.
Gareca may not think much of it, but the world’s relative preference for Argentinian managers is not new.
At each of the last two editions of the Copa America, six teams had Argentinian managers, and they obtained excellent results.
In Chile 2015, the four semifinalists (the hosts, who won the tournament under Sampaoli, as well as Argentina, Paraguay and Peru) all had Argentinian managers.
In the United States 2016, the figure was down to three out of four semifinalists (Chile, who again won the tournament, this time under Pizzi, Argentina and Colombia), and only the host team’s former German manager Jurgen Klinsmann prevented another perfect score.
“Football in general is an option to earn a living in Argentina and it is socially ingrained, it is a passion,” explained Gareca, 60, who has led Peru since March 2015.
“It is something that comes from deep down inside us. But that does not mean we are more able than other managers.
“It is just a way of life, it’s a passion, it’s a vocation. There are many factors.”
Pekerman has been in charge of Colombia’s national team for over six years and has led them in 73 games, of which they won 40.
Sampaoli stands before his great opportunity at age 58 but he arrives in Russia with just 10 games under his belt.
In fact, he embarked on the road to the 2018 World Cup as Chile’s manager and only got the chance to coach his own national team towards the end of the South American qualifiers, after Gerardo Martino resigned and Edgardo Bauza was sacked.
Curiously enough, Bauza could have been in Russia too, since he led Saudi Arabia to the tournament. However, he was later dismissed for their poor results in friendlies and replaced by fellow-Argentinian Pizzi, 49, who only joined the Middle Eastern side in late November, just a few days after failing to attain a World Cup berth with Chile.
The first clash of Argentinian managers in Russia 2018 is set to take place on June 25 in Volgograd, when Pizzi’s Saudi team plays Cuper’s Egypt.
Cuper, 62, was active for many years in Europe’s elite championships, with sides like Mallorca, Valencia and Inter Milan.
He is now trying his luck as a national team manager and, after joining Egypt in 2015, took them to the final of the 2016 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as leading them to their first World Cup in 28 years. – dpa