New Delhi:
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) have decided to sack coach Jorge Sampaoli after a disastrous World Cup campaign even after coach’s desire to stay in charge of the national team.
According to the latest media reports, a meeting was held between Sampaoli and AFA chiefs Daniel Angelici and Claudio Tapia on Monday at which the 58-year-old coach was cleared that he would dismissed from the role.
Following their elimination at the hands of France, Sampaoli admitted that Argentina had lacked a ‘clear idea’ during the course of the tournament.
“I think that we adapted to necessity, maybe, rather than having a clear idea,” he said.
“We had a clear need, we had to win. That was our main goal, and that was maybe stronger than our football concept.
“We had the best player in the world [Lionel Messi], and we had to try and create collective situations that allowed us to really use that player.
“We tried many different tactics: surrounding him, creating situations for him. We tried to use everything we had to allow him to do what he can do.
“We can analyse the structure and the performance, but I think there has been a development in this team. They fought until the very last minute and almost equalised at the end, and that’s what I really value.”
In other speculations and fresh media reports, Jose Pekerman is set to resign as the coach of the Colombian national team and will take the position of technical director with his native country Argentina.
