What went wrong for El Patón? Why the AFA mess made it doomed from the start, why Bauza’s decisions made it worse & why the AFA still don’t have a clear plan
From being the only man available at a tough time to a refusal to accept footballing reality with Argentina, the short reign of Edgardo Bauza was a troubled one
After only eight months and eight matches in charge the axe has finally fallen on Edgardo Bauza, bringing an end to a messy few weeks of speculation and leaving Argentina in the market for a third coach since the 2014 World Cup.
The writing has been on the wall for Bauza since last month’s unconvincing victory over Chile and his bizarre post-match comments (perhaps even earlier) but Monday’s confirmation that the 59-year-old was out came as little surprise after a World Cup qualifying campaign that has lurched to crisis, leaving La Albiceleste contemplating missing out on Russia 2018.
A record of three wins, two draws and three defeats – the worst win percentage from an Argentina manager since 1974 – a failure to address key deficiencies and a disjointed, unimaginative style that has shown no sign of improvement, hardly make Bauza a blameless victim in all this but perhaps El Paton’s tenure was doomed to fail from the start.
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