(CNN Spanish) – “The cockroach is a genius and has overcome everything. The Argentine footballer and the coach are the same, they adapt and overcome all adversity, which is why they are in great demand,” Roberto “El Mariscal” Perfumo, former defender of the Argentine national team, reflected on one occasion.
This Wednesday, when the Uruguayan Football Association presents Marcelo Bielsa as its new technical director, the remark will once again make sense, given that there will be seven Argentine coaches who will continue to manage South American teams, out of a total of 10. That includes the Confederation of South American Football (CONMEBOL) .
They are: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Gustavo Costas (Bolivia), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Paraguay), Eduardo Berizzo (Chile), Fernando Batista (Venezuela) and Nestor Lorenzo (Colombia), as well as Bielsa.
Irrespective of nationality, these coaches combine the attacking football they play with the legacy they have absorbed from the football of their own country, although they display different working systems, strategies and playing tactics. They are not the first Argentines to lead national teams from other countries, some have won, others have lost or had bad luck.
“They are looking for us because we are fans of tactics,” said Gustavo Alfaro, another Argentine coach who led the Ecuadorian team until 2023. The guy from Santa Fe delved into this concept: “We have different ideological schools that have nurtured and shaped us.” He was referring to the contribution of many highly regarded coaches who have the rich history of Argentine football. Although two champions distinguished themselves at the helm: Cesar Luis Menotti and Carlos Bilardo.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, these two old schools lived immersed in constant controversy and tension both inside and outside the country. Flaco Menotti heralds a football that is more aesthetic, creative and spontaneous. And El Narigón Bilardo is identified with a more tactical, strategic and thoughtful game, though many of its critics called it “results-oriented”. Menotti’s instinct and Bilardo’s toughness allowed them to be world champions. From these aspects, among others, Argentine football was sponsored.
Lionel Scaloni (45 years old) in Argentina
Lionel Scaloni.
The third crown of the Besilesti had a great architect in Scaloni. He was a coach who suggested an attacking game, with players on the right foot, and surprised with his tactical changes and the position of the interpreters.
“The players know that we can change at any time and that we are not one-dimensional,” said the young coach, who took over in 2018. He won the 2022 Coach of the Year award, presented by the International Football Association Board (FIFA).
Marcelo Bielsa (67 years old) in Uruguay
By taking charge of the Uruguay team, El Loco Bielsa is leading his third foray into a national team. He did it first in the Argentine national team (1998-2004), and then with the captaincy of the Chilean national team (2007-2011), where he left a lasting mark.
Their teams are attacking, dynamic and put a lot of pressure on their opponents.
He said, “I always tell the boys that football is movement, an exodus. You should always run.”
El Loco is a genre in itself in the global football ecosystem. He is demanding to the point of exhaustion, a voracious analyst and with preaching teachings for all times.
“If I had to choose,” he said, “I would say I feel more comfortable with order than with spontaneity.”
Fernando Batista (52 years old) in Venezuela
The coach of the Venezuelan soccer team, Argentine Fernando Batista, gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Caracas on March 30, 2023 (Image: Yuri Cortez/AFP)
Bocha Batista took over in 2023 as coach of Vinotinto, after arriving in 2021 as Néstor Pékerman’s assistant. This is the first challenge for Fernando Batista in charge of a larger team. Between 2018 and 2021 he captained Argentina’s U-20 and U-23 teams. Their teams have a tactical arrangement, short between the lines, with an offensive career and in trouble having unbalanced players.
Nestor Lorenzo, 57, in Colombia
Colombia men’s national soccer coach Nestor Lorenzo before the international friendly match between Japan and Colombia at Yodoko Sakura Stadium on March 28, 2023 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo credit: Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
He took office in June 2022 as Chief Coffee Officer. He previously worked in the senior national teams with José Pekerman as a technical assistant in two stints: in the Colombian national team between 2012 and 2019 and in the Argentine national team from 2004 to 2006.
Regarding his playing style, he said: “The systems are flexible, but starting from 4-3-3 is a way to occupy spaces on the field well, and then it can be diversified or made more flexible according to the game.”
Eduardo Berizzo (53 years old) in Chile
In May 2022, he coaches the Chilean national team. Between 2007 and 2010, his first move was in La Roja, when he was Bielsa’s field assistant. He was the Paraguay national team captain between 2019 and 2021.
Toto Berizzo preaches the philosophy of the game that he absorbed as a Bielsa box: “Take control of the ball, attack deeply, with plenty of movement, maintain a high tempo of play and defend ourselves with a great deal of order”, the main motto he preaches.
Gustavo Costas (60 years old) in Bolivia
Former Argentine soccer player and head coach of the Bolivian national team Gustavo Costas (L) holds the Bolivia jersey as Bolivian Football Federation President Fernando Costa looks on during his presentation in La Paz, on August 19, 2022 (Credit: Aizar Raldes / AFP)
Since 2022, Gustavo Costas has been in charge of the Bolivian national team. It’s the first time he’s taken it out in his career.
Regarding his idea of the game, he affirmed: “I am not married to any system. I want them to be intense, to press, and to know how to handle the ball.”
Guillermo Barros Chilotto (50 years old) in Paraguay
Image copyright Norberto Duarte/AFP, Paraguay’s soccer team coach, speaks during a press conference on November 11, 2022 in Luque, Paraguay, ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Peru and Colombia.
Since 2021, Gill has led the red and white team, being the first challenge as a senior team coach.
“We love the pressure up front, and people are always up front and open,” he admits.
The influences of Carlos Grigole, in Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, where he began his career, as well as Carlos Bianchi, in his glorious phase at Boca Juniors, were fundamental – among others – in his directing method.
Scaloni effect
The wonderful Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca, who led the Peruvian team to the World Cup – Russia 2018, as a driver, after 36 years without achieving it, focused on “the fact of emerging as world champions with Scaloni”. He added that this “makes the Argentine coach even more valuable”.
“It is very difficult to have a great novel about football, because football is really a novel,” said Mexican writer Juan Veloro.
Even though they’re not on the field, the Technicians have a major protagonist in that narrative, up until the game arrives. As Marcelo Bielsa says: “The coach must have a unique appearance and the footballer must not feel equal.”
Qualification for the World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in 2026 in Canada, the United States and Mexico, is, at the moment, the main challenge facing these Argentine coaches. Time will tell if their valuable credentials live up to the high status they harbor.
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