Thursday, October 16, 2008

Just in case BASILE is shown the door...

...we at Mundo Albiceleste would like to see who would you like to take Coco's place in case he gets the boot or he resigns.

I know it is early. I know we still don't know if BASILE will actually leave, but what do we have to lose?


The worst that will come from this little exercise is a good exchange of opinions between us and to discover who is Mundo Albiceleste's fans favourite.

Let's throw some candidates on the table:

(in no particular order but here are some managers I think have a chance to take command of the Albiceleste, the reasons why they could be considered for the job and also some of the things that could play against them)

Sergio BATISTA

Pros:

  • Won the Olympic Gold. His team sometimes played brilliantly. Managed to have RIQUELME to co-exist with MESSI and both played key roles in Beijing.
  • Knows the players and they like him.
  • Has the backing of Diego MARADONA himself, who said in a recent interview that he would eventually join BATISTA's staff playing a unique role in which he'll be in constant touch with the players to advice them on things and to be some sort of link between the manager and the players.
  • GRONDONA said he is inclined to give the World Champions of 86 a chance to manage the national team in the future. Has the time arrived? Is BATISTA the chosen one from that group of players?

Cons:

  • Not a lot of experience as a manager.
  • Never been tested at the senior level (apart from some not-very-successful spells in the domestic league with Argentinos Juniors, Talleres and Nueva Chicago).

Américo Rubén "Tolo" GALLEGO

Pros:

  • Has won the domestic league 4 times and did it with three different teams. Two with River Plate, one with Independiente and one with Newell's Old Boys.
  • Likes his team to play offensive and attractive football while he keeps a balanced midfield and a tight defense.
  • Has also won the Mexican domestic title with Toluca in 2005.
  • Has played in our national team and has also been PASSARELLA's assistant in France 1998 (Argentina lost to Netherlands in the Quarterfinals).
  • He is liked by the players, the media and the public in general.

Cons:

  • Has not played in 86 and GRONDONA is believed to be inclined for the manager that played in the World Cup in Mexico.
  • I'm not sure whether MARADONA will be so keen on having him on board and we all know how powerful Diego's opinion can be.
Diego SIMEONE

Pros:
  • He is a living icon of the Albiceleste with more than 100 caps.
  • Started his career as a manager only 2 years ago and he has already won domestic titles with Estudiantes (Apertura 2006) and with River (Clausura 2008).
  • Will know how to deal with egos in the dressing room.
  • Leaves and breaths football. He is obsessed about football, has a great knowledge and can be on top of things.
Cons:
  • He is probably too young (38) to manage the national team (only 3 years older than Javier ZANETTI, to put an example).
  • Can have an approach a little too defensive for our national team.
  • Will not have the consensus of the players, public opinion and the media.
Ramon DIAZ

Pros:
  • Won 5 league titles with River and 1 with San Lorenzo, plus the Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Sudamericana with River Plate.
  • Offensive style.
  • Great reader of the game. His substitutions are often the key for his teams to change the fate of the game.
  • Plays the media game to perfection (a little bit like MOURINHO) and takes the pressure away from his players by absorbing it.
Cons:
  • Has not played in 86.
  • He is MARADONA's old foe.
  • Can be controversial and a lot of people don't like him.
  • Is known to have feuds with players and his disciplinary measures can be harsh and put him in a bad position in front of the team.
Carlos BIANCHI

Pros:
  • The great contemporary Argentine manager. Have won everything at Velez Sarsfield and Boca. 7 domestic leagues (3 with Velez, 4 with Boca), 4 Copa Libertadores (1 with Velez, 3 with Boca), 3 Intercontinental Cups (the current FIFA Club World Cup) (1 with Velez, 2 with Boca).
  • Defense is his strength. Will make it difficult for any team to score on his side.
  • Will have the backing of the public opinion and a huge part of the media.
Cons:
  • He once said he'll never manage Argentina while GRONDONA is still head of the AFA. Thing can change, but after a statement like that...
  • He had some terrible experiences in Europe. Failures at Roma and Atletico Madrid raise the question whether he can be good at the international stage with Argentina.
  • Can come across as arrogant.
  • Sometimes his teams are boring as hell. He gets the job done, but not in a very "Argentine way", if there is such a thing.
Also in the radar:

Miguel Angel RUSSO
(top of the league with San Lorenzo and winner of the Clausura 2005 with Velez and the Libertadores 2007 with Boca). I can't think of many other suitable candidates for the job.

Who gets your vote and why?

Do you have another manager you think that could do the job?

Discuss...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

In my opinion i think Gallego is interesting. Winning the league with three diffrent teams is very very impressive. We need a manager who is that clever that he can win the mind game against the other managers. The sharpest national managers out there are Capello for england, Hiddink Russia, Lippi Italy. Against Chile you could see how Bielsa completly outsmarted Basile. He knew exactly how to play.

I believe you should add Pekerman to the list and possibly Cuper. ´But if i really had to choose my choice would be Bielsa een thou that is not possible.

Seba said...

Joe...the reason why I left both, PEKERMAN and BIELSA out of that list is because they have resigned before.

BIELSA would still be our manager if he decided to continue when he resigned in the middle of the WC Qualifiers for Germany 2006.

PEKERMAN was offered the chance to continue after that World Cup and he turned it down.

CUPER? I don't think he is among the candidates the AFA is considering.

Anonymous said...

I'd pick Guus Hiddink over any of those coaches, if he can take so so teams to the limit just guess think what he can do with Argentina? Buy out his contract from the Russians and send him over here!

Jack!

Anonymous said...

But to the honest,I would rather take a coach that gets the players respect rather then a friend. BATISTA is a front runner but who knows, will he be like Pekerman? Lets wait and see who takes over this team. I hope its not El Cholo or Maradona, I got a cold sweat up my spine when I think about that.

Jack!

Seba said...

Sometimes we, Argentines, like to think about ourselves as open-minded multi-cultural people. And sometimes we are right.

When it comes to football managers for our national team, we are just the opposite.

I don't think I (or my grandchildren) will live to see the day when Argentina gets a foreign manager.

Mark my words on that and stop dreaming of HIDDINK or you-name-it.

Anonymous said...

At least Batista is now the inferim coach of NT in the match against Scotland. Let's see what he's gonna provide for us.

johnny said...

I would like to see Batista, Ramon Diaz or Russo. Though I doubt Diaz has a shot really. I'm guessing it will be Batista or Russo, and I like Russo. He did a great job at Boca and is clearly doing a bang up job with San Lorenzo now.