After 15 years without directing, Daniel Alberto Passarella could return to the role of technical director and nothing less than the head of a South American national team. As it transpired in the last few hours, the former president of River Plate presented a project detailing how and with whom he will seek to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The information was published by journalist Alex Cabo, who had access to documents currently in the possession of the leaders of the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF). They are the ones who have among their candidates the former captain of the Argentine national team, whose project aims to turn the Bolivian team into a continental power.
Passarella has not directed since 2007, when he served as coach of the Millionaire. He then focused on his political career within the club he presided over between 2009 and 2013, with the team's recalled relegation in 2011 to the National Primera B. Since then he has stayed away from professional football, but now he could return.
In the published documents it is revealed that he would be accompanied by Guillermo Cinquetti, a former physical trainer of Miguel Ángel Russo for more than 18 years. In addition, he would arrive with a medical team that includes a physiotherapist, sports psychologist and nutritionist.
His main objective would be to qualify Bolivia for the 2026 World Cup, a competition for which Conmebol will have five direct tickets and one for the repechage, since that tournament will have 48 participants, 12 more than the one in Qatar 2022. In addition, Passarella would seek to reach the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa America and boost the youth teams.
Despite his long inactivity, the Kaiser knows what it is like to lead a national team, since he was in charge of Argentina between 1994 and 1998, and also had a brief visit to the Uruguayan team between 1998 and 2001. One of his most famous phrases was spoken just when he was Albiceleste coach and in 1996 he lost 2-0 against Ecuador at the height of Quito: “The ball does not double”, he argued regarding the impossibility of scoring a goal that day. It will be necessary to see how it challenges physics in La Paz.
Bolivia finished ninth in the qualifiers heading to Qatar with just 15 points in 18 games. The last time he won an official away match was in 1993 against Venezuela 7-1, in the feat that ended with the team qualified for the United States World Cup. In the group stage of that tournament he scored just one point by equalizing with South Korea without goals and losing 1-0 to Germany and 3-1 to Spain.
On the other hand, Passarella is not the only Argentine in the portfolio to take over a South American team. In addition to José Pekerman in Venezuela, Gustavo Alfaro in Ecuador and Ricardo Gareca in Peru, Colombia is excited about hire Marcelo Bielsa, after the departure of Reinaldo Rueda.
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