Brazilian Rene Simoes Named Costa Rica's
Coach
Brazilian Rene Simoes will coach Costa
Rica's "sele" (national soccer team)
in the last leg of World Cup qualifying.
Simoes was appointed on Wednesday, a day
after Rodrigo Kenton was fired following
three straight losses in qualifying.
Simoes resigned last month after only two
weeks as coach of second-division Portuguesa
in Brazil, after saying armed men threatened
the players in the locker room after a loss.
He also coached Jamaica at the 1998 World
Cup and Brazil's women's team.
Costa Rica, which once led the North and
Central American and Caribbean region, is
fourth with 12 points following losses to
Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador. The United
States leads with 16 points, one ahead of
Mexico and three in front of Honduras.
The top three teams qualify and the No. 4
team faces a playoff with the fifth-place
team in South America.
Costa Rica has two qualifiers left, hosting
Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10, then closing
four days later in the United States.
Simoes said he believes Costa Rica still has
a good chance of qualifying.
"A team that has 12 points in five games has
to be strong," he said. "South Africa 2010
is possible because Costa Rica has a strong
team."
He expressed his "great admiration for the
team and the country" and asked fans to be
patient with his Spanish. |
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