Know the Candidates - Carlos Bianchi

By: Jeremy | October 25th, 2008

El Virrey turned down the position twice in the past. Know he wants it. As a player he was as prolific a scorer as Maradonna. Possibly the best player to come from Velez-Sarsfield, scoring 206 goals in 324 games in two different spells. He led the French Ligue 1 in scoring five times with two different teams, 1974 and 1976-1979. He also led Argentina three times while winning his only title as a player with Velez Sarsfield.

As a coach, Bianchi enjoyed even more success. Three times he won the Argentine league with Velez, as well as the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinal Cup, now known as the World Club Cup Championship. That’s a lifetime for most coaches.

But Bianchi’s best days were still ahead of him. With Boca Juniors he won four domestic titles, three Copa Libertadores and two Intercontinental Cups (World Club Cup Championships).

This man just knows how to win. Period. His critics biggest knock is that he never replicated his success in Europe, but look at the clubs he was with. He spent 4 years at Stade de Reims long after their glory days. I don’t know much about his stay with AS Roma, but felt like his run at Atletico Madrid was ended unduly soon.

He has the knack for finding the right players to do the grunt work. Real team players who do all the little things that a team needs to win titles. That allows his stars to really shine. One of Basile’s mistakes was playing everyone and not asking some of the stars to play a defined, lesser role. I don’t expect that Bianchi will do that. Each player will know exactly what is expected of him and those who don’t fulfill will be replaced.

He is my choice, by a lot, to lead the Selection to South Africa. It’s been a long time since Argentina won a World Cup. Top to bottom they are as talented as any team in the world right now (ok they need a world class keeper). Brazil is a shambles (as much as any Brazil team can be) and no European team is head and shoulders above the crowd. My point is, this is their World Cup. Don’t screw it up, Grondona. Make the right pick.