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2 Final Chances? Martino’s Argentina Job on Line at Copa America and Olympics
- Updated: June 3, 2016
It has been 12 years since a Copa America and Olympic Games took place in the same year. In 2004, Argentina grabbed a gold medal in Athens and finished runners-up in the South American competition. It is not overly pessimistic to believe a similar result is necessary to keep Gerardo Martino in the hot seat.
“If you do not win the Copa, you cannot come out untouched,” he admitted to La Nacion shortly after the team touched down on U.S. soil. “It happened to us last year and it was a massacre.
“Why is it going to be different now? In a World Cup, you play seven matches. In a Copa America, six. These players have played 13 matches but who is going to take notice of that, nobody sees the road you take to the two finals you then went on to lose.”
That is a harsh evaluation but accurate nonetheless. After two failed attempts at silverware, the expectations are sky-high on Argentina and their coach in particular.
The period between World Cups is always a fraught moment for Argentina coaches. Since 2004, no man has managed to see the nation through from one tournament to the next. Marcelo Bielsa, who delivered Olympic gold in Greece, was the last man to take Argentina a full cycle, from the end of 1998 to the 2002 World Cup and beyond.
While Martino still has some breathing space in the job, there is no doubt he faces a crucial winter to deliver results. On Monday, his team kicks off its Copa campaign against Chile, the same opponents that held a lacklustre Argentina to a draw in Santiago last year and made the difference from the penalty spot to claim their first title.
In the intervening year, the Albiceleste have made a spluttering start to the World Cup qualifiers. Three consecutive victories have helped drag the team back into contention for Russia 2018 after a painful home defeat to Ecuador and two underwhelming draws.
Another failure to win silverware in 2016 would stretch the senior side’s trophy drought to 25 years by the time the next World Cup comes around, and a disappointing result at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro would further calls to bring a new face onto the bench as the qualifying tournament enters its decisive stages.
SAMPAOLI RUMOURED AS POSSIBLE NEXT ARGENTINA COACH: Pressure on Tata …
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