Chile hires Eduardo Berizzo as national team coach

AP , Friday 27 May 2022

Chile hired Eduardo Berizzo as national team coach on Thursday as it seeks to recover from another disappointing performance in South American qualifying for the World Cup finals tournament.

Chile
Leonardo Gil of Chile s Colo Colo, right, celebrates scoring his side s third goal against Brazil s Fortaleza during a Copa Libertadores soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP)

 

The Chilean soccer association said the 52-year-old Berizzo's contract will be until the end of the team's 2026 World Cup qualifying. Its president Pablo Milad said in a video that Berizzo was picked because he has knowledge of the country's soccer along with extensive international experience.

``We wish him the best of luck,'' Milad said.

Uruguayan Martin Lasarte was fired in April after Chile failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row. Chile placed seventh in the 10-nation qualifying group but is challenging Ecuador's place at the finals tournament in Qatar later this year over an alleged ineligible player. Paraguay, then led by Berizzo, finished eighth.

Berizzo was an assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at the Chile national team between 2007 and 2011.

Berizzo has also coached Celta de Vigo, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao in Spain.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

Short link: