(Football news) Marcelo Bielsa has become the new coach of the Uruguay national team as Jorge Casales, a member of the executive committee of the Uruguayan soccer association gave out an official statement stating that he will stay till the 2026 World Cup. Bielsa’s first matches will be in June,when they play friendlies against Nicaragua and Cuba as his next assignment will be World Cup qualifying which will begin in September. Bielsa coached Argentina from 1998 to 2004 as he saw his team eliminated in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup but then won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Bielsa coached Chile between 2007 and 2011 then he had spells at Espanyol, Athletic Club, Marseille and Lille. He has been out of a job since February 2022 as Casales revealed that the negotiations with Bielsa took three months. Seven of CONMEBOL’s 10 nations are now coached by an Argentine as the other two Ecuador and Peru are entirely recently coached successfully by Argentines. After the resignations of Gustavo Alfaro and Ricardo Gareca, both of these countries were rumoured to be interested in hiring Bielsa as their permanent manager.
The 67-year-old has felt a long affinity with Uruguay for its culture, its gentility off the field and its commitment towards the game and once they came with an opportunity he was open to the idea. This is job that will not need a translator as the nuances of Bielsa’s Spanish will easily be understood. He was reportedly in negotiation to take the Everton job but he is set to return to South America where he arguably had his best work and where he made his name.
He was not known when he took charge of Argentina in 1998 as the 2002 World Cup was a resounding flop. His team was outstanding in qualification but come the tournament, Argentina were simply not good enough But Bielsa stepped down on a high, as he won Argentina’s first gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
“The only thing missing is the signature,” Casales said of the 39-month deal, with the 67-year-old Bielsa expected in Montevideo within days.
“We are bringing in someone who we know will leave us a legacy that goes beyond the 90 minutes of a match,” Casales said.
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