TNT Sports
Olmos sacked
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Published 22/04/2005 at 21:31 GMT+1
Chile coach Juvenal Olmos has been fired after a telephone row with the head of the country's football federation. "I always said the coach would stay until the day he disrespected us (the directors)," Reinaldo Sanchez, president of the National Association for Professional Football, said on Friday.
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He added: "I believe that now he has done so."
Olmos said in a radio interview: "For the first time in my life, I've been kicked out of my job."
"I didn't like it because it was disrespectful...they told me by telephone and then hung up."
Sanchez said in the resort city of Vina del Mar that he called Olmos on Thursday and the pair had been in a heated discussion. "The situation is untenable," said Sanchez.
The 42-old-year Olmos has been at loggerheads with directors of the ANFP, which effectively runs the game in Chile, on several occasions since taking over at the start of 2003.
Chile have failed to win any of their last seven World Cup qualifiers and their poor results have also increased the pressure on the coach.
They are eighth in the ten-nation South American group with 14 points from 13 games. The top four teams qualify for next year's tournament in Germany and the fifth plays off against the winners of the Oceania region for another place.
FINAL STRAW
The final straw appeared to be a disagreement over the venue for a meeting this week.
Sanchez scheduled it for Vina del Mar but Olmos said it would be more logical to hold it in Santiago.
Olmos was picked after an excellent season with Universidad Catolica in 2002 but won only three out of 16 competitive internationals in charge of Chile.
He spent most of his playing career with Catolica but also had stints at Antofagasta and O'Higgins in his homeland, Waregem in Belgium and Irapuato in Mexico.
His coaching career began at the start of 1999 when he took over at second division Union Espanola.
He won promotion in his first year in charge and led them to fourth place in the first divIsion one year later. He moved to Catolica the start of 2001.
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