Alan Gardner and agencies, guardian.co.uk, Friday October 17 2008 09.13 BST
Alfio Basile leaves his team third in their qualifying group. Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP
The Argentina coach Alfio Basile has quit following his side's humbling at the hands of Chile on Wednesday. Basile had been in the position since 2006, in his second stint as the national coach.
Argentina currently sit third in the Conmebol qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup, behind Paraguay and Brazil, but ahead of fourth-placed Chile only on goal difference. The 1-0 defeat in Santiago was masterminded by former national coach Marcelo Bielsa, and prompted Basile to inform the Argentina Football Association (AFA) of his desire to step down with immediate effect.
"Basile spoke to the AFA president [Julio Grondona] and quit for personal reasons," spokesman Ernesto Cherquis was reported by Reuters as saying. "The national team's committee tried to persuade him to postpone his decision but Basile was very decided, very determined ... and against a man who has made up his mind and has Basile's dignity, we were swimming against the tide. The resignation has been accepted. He had pain in his heart."
Having taken over following José Pekerman's failure at the 2006 World Cup, Basile led Argentina to the final of the 2007 Copa America, only to suffer a 3-0 at the hands of Brazil as the nation's long wait for an international trophy continued.
The World Cup qualifying campaign began with three wins from their first four games, but things began to go wrong this year with a run of six successive draws, four in the qualifiers and two in friendlies. The team appeared to have weathered the storm with a 2-1 qualifying win over Uruguay on Saturday. However, local media reported that Basile appeared shocked by the angry reaction to the defeat against Chile, as Argentina were outclassed by their opponents.
Basile leaves with 10 games of the 18-match qualifying campaign played. The top four teams qualify directly for South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth-placed team from the North and Central American Concacaf region.
Alfio Basile leaves his team third in their qualifying group. Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP
The Argentina coach Alfio Basile has quit following his side's humbling at the hands of Chile on Wednesday. Basile had been in the position since 2006, in his second stint as the national coach.
Argentina currently sit third in the Conmebol qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup, behind Paraguay and Brazil, but ahead of fourth-placed Chile only on goal difference. The 1-0 defeat in Santiago was masterminded by former national coach Marcelo Bielsa, and prompted Basile to inform the Argentina Football Association (AFA) of his desire to step down with immediate effect.
"Basile spoke to the AFA president [Julio Grondona] and quit for personal reasons," spokesman Ernesto Cherquis was reported by Reuters as saying. "The national team's committee tried to persuade him to postpone his decision but Basile was very decided, very determined ... and against a man who has made up his mind and has Basile's dignity, we were swimming against the tide. The resignation has been accepted. He had pain in his heart."
Having taken over following José Pekerman's failure at the 2006 World Cup, Basile led Argentina to the final of the 2007 Copa America, only to suffer a 3-0 at the hands of Brazil as the nation's long wait for an international trophy continued.
The World Cup qualifying campaign began with three wins from their first four games, but things began to go wrong this year with a run of six successive draws, four in the qualifiers and two in friendlies. The team appeared to have weathered the storm with a 2-1 qualifying win over Uruguay on Saturday. However, local media reported that Basile appeared shocked by the angry reaction to the defeat against Chile, as Argentina were outclassed by their opponents.
Basile leaves with 10 games of the 18-match qualifying campaign played. The top four teams qualify directly for South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth-placed team from the North and Central American Concacaf region.
I usually throw a few rotten apples at them when I discover them.
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