International Football
OBITUARY: ANOTHER ARGENTINA WORLD CUP WINNER DIES
Argentinian football is mourning the passing of 1978 World Cup-winning striker Leopoldo Luque at the age of 71.
Luque had been hospitalised at the Clínica de Cuyo in Mendoza before Christmas and struggled to recover from COVID-19.
Hospital sources said he had suffered a fatal heart attack and had a history of cardiac trouble.
His former striking partner Mario Kempes led tributes describing Luque as “a great soccer player, a great friend and companion”.
Kempes added: “Rest in Peace and fly high friend!”
Kempes posted a picture of the pair taken last year when they were together in Mendoza.
Osvaldo Ardiles, a midfielder in the 1978 team, insisted Luque had been an “instrumental figure of our triumph in the World Cup of 78”.
“Nobody suffered more to achieve it,” continued Ardiles.
“It was a great honour to have him as a companion.
“Impossible to have someone better by your side.”
Argentinian newspaper La Nacion described Luque as “a luminous human being and an extraordinary footballer”.
The greatest moments of his football career came at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but were tinged with tragedy when his brother Oscar died in a road accident during the tournament.
Luque scored Argentina’s first goal of the tournament in a 2-1 win against Hungary and four days later, his memorable long-range effort proved the winner against France.
It was described in the French paper L’Équipe as “a shot from a cannon from 20 metres” and lauded as one of the goals of the tournament.
It made sure of Argentina’s qualification for the second phase.
Later in the match, Luque dislocated an elbow but that evening came the news of the tragedy involving his brother.
Luque was allowed home to mourn and did not play in the next two matches, though the team carried a banner saying “Leopoldo we are waiting for you”.
He returned to the side for their second-poll-phase match against Brazil, a brutal 0-0 draw which left Luque nursing a black eye.
In their last second-round match, Argentina needed to beat Peru by four clear goals to reach the World Cup final.
Luque scored the fourth goal himself and Argentina eventually won 6-0 on an emotional night.
He also played the full 120 minutes in the World Cup final victory over The Netherlands.
In club football, Luque won five titles with River Plate and later went into coaching in Mendoza.
Luque was capped 43 times for Argentina, including a memorable appearance alongside Diego Maradona at Hampden Park in Glasgow in 1979 when both players were on the scoresheet against Scotland.
Maradona, often considered the greatest football player of all time, missed out on selection for the 1978 FIFA World aged 17, and died in November aged 60.
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International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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