Former Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza is all set to replace Mahdi Ali as the new coach of the UAE national team
abu dhabi — Former Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza is all set to replace Mahdi Ali as the new coach of the UAE national team.
Bauza is reportedly in Dubai to sign a two-year agreement with the UAE Football Association.
“Edgardo Bauza was confirmed as the new coach of the UAE, after his controversial dismissal of the Argentine national team,” ESPN SportsCenter reported on Sunday.
Argentina Football Association’s new president Claudio Tapia sacked Bauza, 59, in April as the latter could bag only 11 points — three wins, two draws — from eight World Cup qualifiers.
Bauza had a win percentage of 37.5 per cent with the Albiceleste.
Argentina are fifth in the Conmebol World Cup qualifiers. The top four teams in South America earn direct tickets to the World Cup, while the fifth-placed team will have to play a two-legged interconfederation play-off.
The UAE, on the other hand, are currently occupying the fourth place in Group A of the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers. The top two teams in the group will book direct tickets to the 2018 World Cup.
And the third-placed team will take on the third-placed team from Group B in a two-legged playoff in the fourth round to decide who goes into the inter-confederation play-off from Asia.
With nine points from seven games (Japan 16 points, Saudi Ara- bia 16 points and Australia 13 points), the fourth-placed UAE must win their remaining three matches to have a realistic chance of finishing third and go into fourth round playoff.
Now Bauza will be the man to lead the UAE from the touchline as The Whites aim to clinch that crucial third spot in the group.
The Argentinian manager will have the easiest of starts as the UAE’s next match is against the already eliminated Thailand.
The away match on June 13 will enable Bauza to gauge his team before the stern test at home against Saudi Arabia on August 31.
If they win those two matches, then their final group game against Iraq on September 5 could the decider.
Bauza, despite his failure with the star-studded Argentina national team, has a pretty impressive coaching CV having tasted success twice in Copa Libertadores — South America’s answer to Europe’s Champions League.
A powerful defender in his playing days, Bauza played more than 300 matches for Argentinian club Rosario Central. He also played for Independiente in Argentina, Atletico Junior in Colombia and Veracruz in Mexico.
Also, he briefly managed Brazil’s Sao Paulo and Saudi side Al Nassr FC.
Bauza was also instrumental in bringing Lionel Messi out of international retirement after the Barcelona star shocked world by quitting the national team following the 2016 Copa America heartbreak.
Bauza will now look to bring all his experience to the field and earn the goodwill of the players — something Mahdi Ali did remarkably well.
But after having faced sustained pressure to deliver the World Cup dream, Ali faced an acid Test against a formidable Australian team in March.
A 2-0 defeat in that qualifier in Sydney was enough to end what was a highly successful UAE stint for Ali — the man under who the UAE reached the Asian Cup semifinals in 2015.