Only a few European managers have been quite successful during their stints
with South American national teams.
The news about Carlo Ancelotti’s rumour to leave Real Madrid and take charge
of the Brazil national team has been in the headlines recently. The Italian
boss has flirted with CBF for a while, and both sides have reportedly reached a verbal agreement, especially after their last meeting last week. The only thing
left is the formal announcement, which might be laid out at the end of the
season.
Should that happen, which is very likely, Don Carlo could be lining up to
make history again in the future. If Selecao manage to win their sixth title in
the 2026 FIFA World Cup under his command, the former AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG
boss will definitely be making a new record as the most successful European
manager taking charge of a South American nation.
Prior to his expected appointment with Brazil, there have been a few other
European bosses with fairly successful stints with the CONMEBOL members. Here
are those distinguished gaffers who took the leap of faith in Latin American
soil and thrived.
Xavier Azkargorta (Bolivia)
He was the gaffer behind Bolivia’s success while qualifying for the 1994
FIFA World Cup. That was the last time they sealed the berth in World Cup
finals and the only time doing so via qualifying rounds, not because of the
other team’s withdrawal or merely invitation, just like in the 1930 and 1950
editions. The Spaniard’s most remarkable results were when they humbled Brazil
and Uruguay 2-0 and 3-1 at the qualifiers, respectively.
Azkargorta was in charge of Erwin Sanchez and Co. from March 1993 to June
1994. It was not his only stint with them. He was named the head coach for the
Bolivia national team again from 2012 to 2014. Unfortunately, he was unable to
replicate his previous success.
The former Espanyol, Sevilla and Real Valladolid boss was also at the helm
of the Chile national team from 1995 to 1996. However, his spell there did not
last long, as he received harsh criticism from the local media, which led to
his early resignation after only leading Ivan Zamorano and Co. at the 1998 FIFA
World Cup qualifier opener versus Venezuela.
Throughout his managerial career, the Basque-born boss who has a degree in
medicine and surgery from the University of Barcelona was only able to lift the
trophies three times. He won the J-League with Yokohama Marinos in 1998 and the
Bolivian domestic league with Bolivar in 2014 and 2015. Sadly, his spells
with La Liga sides were not truly memorable, as he was only able to guide all
of them to finish in the mid-table without clinching a single title.
|
CONMEBOL team |
Notable games |
|
Bolivia (1993-1994) |
vs Mexico 0-0 (Copa America 1993) vs Brazil 2-0 (1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers)
(H) vs Uruguay 3-1 (1994 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers) (H) vs Greece 0-0 (friendly match) vs Switzerland 0-0 (friendly match) |
|
Chile (1995-1996) |
vs Mexico 2-1 (friendly match) vs Northern Ireland 2-1 (friendly match) |
|
Bolivia (2012-2014) |
vs Uruguay 4-1 (2014 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers) (H) vs Argentina 1-1 (2014 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers) (H) |
Dusan Draskovic (Ecuador)
The Montenegro boss was a notable figure in Ecuadorian
football. He was in charge of the Ecuador national team from 1988 to 1994. His
memorable achievement was guiding Eduardo Hutardo and Co to their first
semifinal in Copa America 1993, when they were hosting it.
During the tournament, Draskovic’s side was able to secure
four wins, including Jose Luis Chilavert’s Paraguay in the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, they were beaten by Mexico 2-0 in the final four and suffered
another narrow 1-0 defeat against Colombia in the third-place playoff.
Unfortunately, he was unable to lead them to qualify to FIFA
World Cup final round. The former Vojvodina boss failed to do so in two
qualifying edition, the 1990 and 1994, despite some remarkable results such as
holding Brazil and Uruguay in a goalless draw. Ecuador eventually made their
world cup debut in 2002.
Draskovic also had spells with Bolivia, Sierra Leone
national team, Emelec and Barcelona SC, plus Colombia’s Atletico Junior. Yet,
he had never won a single silverware with his teams.
|
CONMEBOL teams |
Records and Notable results |
|
Ecuador (1988-93) |
42 games (12 win-13 draws-17
losses) vs Uruguay 1-0 (Copa America 1989) vs Argentina 0-0 (Copa America
1989) vs Uruguay 1-1 (Copa America 1991) vs Uruguay 2-1 (Copa America 1993) vs Paraguay 3-0 (Copa America 1993
quarterfinal) vs Brazil 0-0 (1994 World Cup
qualifiers) (H) vs Uruguay 0-0 (1994 World Cup qualifiers)
(A) |
|
Bolivia (1996) |
9 games (1-3-5) |
Cesare Maldini (Paraguay)
The former Gli Azzurri boss was in charge of Paraguay ahead
of the 2002 FIFA World Cup final round. He was appointed in January 2002 but
did not receive a warm welcome at first, especially from the Paraguayan gaffers
as they felt to have been overlooked in favour of not-so-successful foreign
manager. Cesare Maldini’s ultra-defensive tactics relying on the classic
Italian-style defending was harshly criticized too from his days of being at
the helm of Italy national team in 1998 FIFA World Cup.
However, the former AC Milan, Parma and Foggia manager did receive some support from the senior players in the squad, including the legendary Jose Luis Chilavert. Cesare did help them progress to the round of 16
and narrowly missed the chance to advance to the quarterfinal following the
late only goal from Oliver Neuville versus Germany in Japan-Korea 2002.
Overall, the ex-defender during his playing years was only
at the helm of the team in seven games. He eventually left the post after 2002
FIFA World Cup. Paraguay was his last team as a head coach.
|
CONMEBOL teams |
Records and Notable results |
|
Paraguay (2002) |
7 games (2 win-2 draws-3 losses) vs Nigeria 1-1 (friendly match) vs Sweden 2-1 (friendly match) vs Slovenia 3-1 (2002 FIFA World
Cup group stage) |
Jack Greenwell (Peru)
He is the only European
manager who clinched the actual silverware during his spell taking charge of
Peru national team in 1939. At that time, he was also at the helm of local
side, Universitario de Deportes. Greenwell did not only manage to win the
league title with his club but also snatch Copa America title in the same year.
The former Barcelona man in
the 1910s saw instant success as they thumped Uruguay 2-1 in the last round to
decide the champions. In the 1939 edition, Peru took the real advantage while
playing host as the favorites, Brazil and Argentina, plus Colombia and Bolivia
withdrew from the tournament.
The Englishman who once worked as player-coach with the Catalan giant from 1913-1923 plus another brief one in 1931-1933, had a fairly successful stint at the club level. He led Blaugrana to win Copa del Rey twice, plus another one with Espanyol. Greenwell also brought Valencia to the Spanish Cup final in 1934 but suffered a loss to Real Madrid.
|
CONMEBOL teams |
Records and Notable results |
|
Peru (1939) |
8 games (8 win-0 draws-0 losses) vs Uruguay 2-1 (Copa America 1939
final) |
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