Since guiding Argentina to the World Cup final in Brazil and ulimately deciding to step down, supporters of La Albiceleste have been waiting to see where Alejandro Sabella would pop up to continue his managerial career. Links to jobs in Europe and South America have been common place but it comes as a shock to see the popular 60-year-old named as new Saudi Arabia manager.

Sabella will sign a three-year deal with Saudi Arabia and will be tasked with leading the Green Falcons back to the World Cup having not qualified for the previous two tournaments. The road to Russia has already begun for Saudi Arabia when they recorded a 3-2 win over Palestine but they are now looking to Sabella to bring back some of the success they enjoyed during the 1990s.

After qualifying for USA 1994 and reaching the last 16, Saudi Arabia featured at the next three consecutive tournaments. However, since the 2006 World Cup they have failed to qualify and so Sabella’s task is clear.

Sabella will become the third Argentine to take control of the national side after Jorge Solari in 1994 and Gabriel Calderón in 2004 and certainly they could not have picked a better coach to oversee World Cup qualification.

Sabella’s Argentina cruised through their qualifiers before the World Cup in Brazil and the former Estudiantes boss was widely credited with getting the best from Lionel Messi on the international scene. Although the tournament ended in disappointment, after twenty years of not progressing past the quarter finals, Sabella’s tenureship was seen as a success.

For this reason, many were saddened to see him walk away from the national side but were positive that it would not be long before he was in work again. The 60-year-old coach won the Copa Libertadores with Estudiantes, the biggest prize in South American club football, and came within minutes of winning the ultimate prize in international football. Several managerial opportunities in Europe were linked to Sabella but nothing came to light and so Pachorra now begins the next chapter.

Guiding Saudi Arabia to the World Cup in 2018 would be another incredible achievement but there is a sense that Sabella is deserving of a more high-profile role either at club or international level.