TNT Sports
Bolivia coach quits
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Published 07/04/2004 at 09:46 GMT+1
Bolivia coach Nelson Acosta resigned on Tuesday after an unhappy nine months in which he repeatedly criticised the standard of soccer in the Andean nation. Acosta, who was born in Uruguay and holds Chilean citizenship, quit one week after a 2-0 home defea
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The loss left his side bottom of the South American World Cup qualifying group with three points from five games.
The defeat was a bitter blow for Bolivia, whose chances of qualifying depend heavily on the team making the most of the high altitude of La Paz, which is 3,600 metres above sea level.
"Nelson Acosta's Bolivian cycle is over," Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) director Alberto Lozada told reporters at a Santa Cruz hotel.
"The negotiations were long but at last there's been an agreement to end his contract."
FBF officials in La Paz said that Acosta's contract had stipulated an $80,000 payoff if the coach was fired, which they said the federation could not afford. They said he had eventually agreed to accept $25,000.
TRAINING CAMPS
Acosta, who led Chile to the 1998 World Cup in France, frequently clashed with club directors who refused to release players for Bolivia training camps.
He complained that domestic football was played at walking pace and was uncompetitive. He attracted further criticism when he barred midfielder Julio Cesar Baldivieso for indiscipline.
Acosta's problems were compounded when burglars broke into his house in October and made off with two laptop computers which contained all his tactical plans for the World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Venezuela. Bolivia lost both games.
It was all a far cry from his arrival.
"It's the first time that a coach with the standard and class of Nelson Acosta will come to direct the Bolivian team," FBF president Walter Castedo said last July.
"His project fills me with optimism...we've done the right thing by choosing him."
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