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Americans need not apply
Parreira, Queiroz, Milutinovic head list of U.S. coaching candidates
Posted: Wednesday July 01, 1998 08:17 PM
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Sampson (left) the first American-born coach to lead the United States in the World Cup (AP) |
PARIS (AP) -- Carlos Alberto Parreira, Carlos Queiroz and Bora Milutinovic
are at the top of the list to become the next coach of America's soccer
team, U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg said Wednesday.
Rothenberg called Steve Sampson's resignation "appropriate" and said he's
not interested in hiring an American. He had dinner in Paris on Wednesday
night with Milutinovic, the U.S. coach from 1991-95 and the coach of Nigeria in this
year's tournament.
"Bora, Queiroz and Parreira would be the three international coaches who
obviously have the most knowledge of our players, our structure, the
country. There's no question about that," Rothenberg said. "They're on the
list automatically. After that, we start talking with people we know less
about. I think the single most important thing is a record of success."
Rothenberg also said he will not impose any fines against players who
spoke out against Sampson's decisions during the Americans' last-place
finish in the 32-nation field. Last Friday, a day after the
tournament-ending loss to Yugoslavia,
Sampson and general manager Tom King had said fines against the veterans
would be forthcoming.
"We have to look ahead and not behind," Rothenberg said.
Sampson, the first American-born coach to lead the United
States in the World Cup, got the job in 1995 after Rothenberg fired
Milutinovic, and Parreira and Queiroz turned it down.
Rothenberg was unsure whether to keep Sampson on after World Cup
qualifying, waiting until just before the draw to give him a contract
extension through 1998.
"Of course I second-guess myself, but at the time we thought it was the
right decision," Rothenberg said.
The decision to consider Milutinovic is somewhat surprising, given that
Rothenberg made the decision to fire him three years ago.
"He has a unique personality," Rothenberg said. "It's obvious he's a
special coach."
Milutinovic, the only coach to take four nations to the World Cup's
second round, led Mexico during
the 1986 tournament and Costa Rica in 1990. After Rothenberg fired him in
1995, he became Mexico's coach for the second time but was fired after
World Cup qualifying last fall.
Parreira led Brazil to the
1994 World Cup title, then turned down Rothenberg's offer to become coach
of Fenerbahce in Turkey. He then succeeded Queiroz as coach of the New
York-New Jersey MetroStars in Major League Soccer, quitting in December to
become coach of Saudi
Arabia, his fourth World Cup team. The Saudis fired him after an 0-2
start in the tournament.
Queiroz, a former coach of Portugal's national team, has spent most of
1998 as a technical advisor to the USSF and is writing a report on the
state of soccer in the United States. He turned down the U.S. job to sign
with Sporting Lisbon in 1995, then became coach of the MetroStars during
the 1996 only to resign to go to Grampus Eight in Japan.
He agreed last month to take over as coach of the United Arab Emirates,
but also has said he is interested in the U.S. job.
Rothenberg, whose term as USSF president expires August 23, intends to
hire the next coach before he leaves. He also confirmed Sampson is a
candidate to head Project 2010, the USSF's plan to win the World Cup within
12 years.
"Steve has to decide if he wants to be a coach or an administrator in the
next few years," Rothenberg said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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