Best CONCACAF Coaches

Discussion in 'CONCACAF' started by aguimarães, Sep 5, 2007.

  1. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    Bruce Arena


    Best ever coach in American history, and one of the CONCACAF´s greatest. As a player(Goalkeeper) he was drafted by the New York Cosmos(Pele´s team) though never played, and was capped for the US in 1973 against Israel.

    Started his coaching carreer at U. Virginia in 1985, where he stayed for 18 years, and while there, developed Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, John Harkes, and Jeff Agoos, where he won 5 national championships with a 295-58-32 record.

    He then coached the U-23 national team at the 1996 Olimpics(finishing 1-1-1,) while coaching simultanousely D.C. United to the 1996 US Open Cup Championship, won back to back MLS titles(1996-1997,) an MLS silver in 1998, won both the CONCACAF Champions´ Cup and Interamerican Cup the same year. Would also be the MLS All-Star coach two years in running.

    Started his tenure as USMNT coach by beating Germany twice(3-0 the first time) in a one year period, would win two Gold Cups(2002 and 2005, 3rd in 2003) and would outcoach Oliviera and Aguirre to beat Mexico and Portugal, and take the US to the Quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.

    He would screw himself by poor preparation for the 2006 World Cup(losing warmups to Morocco, 4-1 to Germany) and being completely outcoached by Czech coach Bruckner, then making some major tactical errors against both Italy and Ghana

    Ended up back in the MLS with the Red Bulls.

    Javier Aguirre


    One of Mexico´s best ever coaches. As a player(defender), played for Club America and Chivas(I can´t believe that happened back then:D) and CA Osasuna, and played on Mexico´s best ever team in the 1986 World Cup.

    As a coach, he would coach Atlante and Pachuca(who he won the FMF with in 1999), take the Mexican national team to the second round of 2002(completely dominating and winning its tough group over Italy, Croatia, and Ecuador), before being outcoached by Bruce Arena in the second round. Would then go on to coach his former team Osasuna and go onto big team Atletico Madrid in Spain. A rare CONCACAF coach that would succeed in one of Europe´s top leagues(Arena turned down offers from Euro-clubs.)

    Ramón Maradiaga


    Central America´s best ever coach. As a player(midfielder) he would take Honduras to their only ever appearence to the World Cup in 1982(where they were impressive, drawing with host Spain, who needed a cheap penalty to tie them).

    As a coach, he coached CD Victoria in Honduras before assembling what was probably the best-ever CONCACAF team not to qualify for the World Cup in 2000-2001. They would(memoriably) thrash Mexico 3-1 at home, and the USA 3-2 in Washington, D.C., earn a semi-final finish in the Copa America with an impressive 2-0 win against Brazil, and fell just short of WC 2002.

    He then went on to Guatemala, where he would assemble the best ever Guatemalan national team, finally getting them organized and into the final Hex, but they failed to make WC 2006. The Guatemalan media would get angry with him when he claimed he did everything he could but that the players just weren´t good enough. He returned to Deportivo Motagua in the Honduran first division afterwards.

    I´m no expert on coaches, so if anyone wants to add...
     
  2. sidspaceman

    sidspaceman Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 20, 2002
    AMÉRICA DE CALI
    Club:
    America de Cali
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    What European offers did Arena turn down?
     
  3. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    Nothing remotely resembling Atletico Madrid, but he did get a few after 2002, some papers in the US reported it after Korea/Japan.


    http://www.metrofanatic.com/story.jsp?ID=3691
    The only thing online. 6th Paragraph second sentence.

    He did not get any major European offers.
     
  4. sidspaceman

    sidspaceman Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 20, 2002
    AMÉRICA DE CALI
    Club:
    America de Cali
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    I never read anything about him getting any offers. I know that he talked about coaching in England but obviously nothing ever come of that.
     
  5. MoRado

    MoRado New Member

    Feb 6, 2004
    San José. Costa Rica
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    why is medford not in that list? :D
     
  6. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    He deserves honorable mention for what he did with Saprissa, but our Gold Cup squad was the ugliest Tico team I´ve ever seen in my life. I wait ´till South Africa 2010 before judging him though...
     
  7. MoRado

    MoRado New Member

    Feb 6, 2004
    San José. Costa Rica
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    WHAT? I didnt saw that the first time I read it! I totally disagree there, Guimaraes >>> Maradiaga
     
  8. manudo1987

    manudo1987 New Member

    Jan 22, 2007
    Heredia,Costa Rica
    I have to disagree here, Maradiaga best central american coach ever...:confused::eek:
    Marvin Rodriguez, the one who qualified CR for Italy 1990 is way better than him, one of the most succesful coaches in clubs and NT's
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Rodríguez
     
  9. El_tri321mex

    El_tri321mex Member

    Oct 20, 2006
    berkeley
    Think Maradiaga does indeed deserve a mention.
     
  10. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    Guimaraes may have been better in 2002, but he was probably the worst coach in the WC last year, and only Wanchope saved the Sele from being a complete disaster. He left out Bolaños until it was far too late, left out Sunsing entirely, and did a terrible job of motivating his players in Guanacaste(and brought his buddies as usual.) Milutinovic(or Maradiaga) would have probably gotten us out of that group. I´d be quicker to give it to Medford for the big things he did in the CRL and WCC with Saprissa(he´d definately make #4), and after having an excellent playing carreer, but I have to wait and see what he gets done with the Sele, so far I´m not impressed. I do think Marvin Rodriguez deserves honorable mention along with Medford, but I was too young to remember much about him.

    To me a great coach is someone who can overachieve with his players and squeeze every inch of talent out of them. Bruce Arena has done that with every team he´s coached, as have Aguirre and Maradiaga. The only reason I don´t consider Aguirre better than Arena would be the second-round match in Korea 2002. Mexico was one of the best teams in the world that year(dominating their group while the US barely scraped through) and had far more talent in its lineup, and still lost to the US(even though the players were highly motivated.) The problem clearly lied with the coaching and tactics.

    When Mexico had a European coach(Milutinovic) that didn´t have them playing as pretty but had all the details tightened up, the US and just about everyone else had a much harder time with them than they do now. And I doubt any other Central American coaches will be able to get as much out of Honduras or Guatemala as Maradiaga did. But like I said I´m not big into coaches, keep adding.
     
  11. Hecho en Chivas

    Hecho en Chivas Member+

    Apr 22, 2004
    Chulajuana
    Club:
    CD Chivas de Guadalajara
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    Manuel Lapuente

    i can't believe he's not on that so called list

    League Titles with Necaxa and America

    Gold Cup and Confederations Cup Titles

    3rd Place in Copa America '99

    and who can forget the 1998 World Cup?! without a doubt, Lapuente's team offered us great, unforgettable game
     
  12. Miss Webous

    Miss Webous Member

    Oct 3, 2005
    Club:
    Cruz Azul Hidalgo
  13. FenoFutbol

    FenoFutbol Red Card

    Dec 12, 2005
    Aguilucho Villa
    Ojitos Meza. After another ccc coach wins another south american tournament, then we have a contender.

    Bruce Arena? nah, never won anything. college doesnt count. only professional tittles.

    Maradiaga should be mentioned, so does Pipo Rodriguez.
     
  14. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    Gethomas3? MetroChile? Anything to add:confused:
     
  15. Crazy_Yank

    Crazy_Yank Member

    Jan 8, 2001
    Matamoros, Mexico
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    I know English isn't your first language, but did you actually read and understand Arena's bio? He's won 1 US Open Cup, 2 MLS Cups, 1 Concacaf Champions Cup, and 1 InterAmerican Cup. That's 5 professional titles. You consistently show a stunning lack of football knowledge about anything other than Magico.
     
  16. aguimarães

    aguimarães Member

    Apr 19, 2006
    Club:
    LD Alajuelense
    Also, beating big Brazilian team Vasco de Gama when MLS was still a babay was an enormous achievement. Not only that, he did it(and all of his other impressive wins) with attractive football. The first team to beat Bruce´s United for the MLS was negative Bob Bradley with the Fire(the ugliest MLS final I can remember.)

    The Confederations Cup was a major achievement, he belongs there too.
     
  17. MoRado

    MoRado New Member

    Feb 6, 2004
    San José. Costa Rica
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    Manuel Lapuente should be in the top 5, i agree
     
  18. Guatefc

    Guatefc New Member

    Jun 1, 2005
    Washington DC
    Nat'l Team:
    Guatemala
    won with Dc United 3 LEAGUE titles, beat vasco de gama for the Inter-america cup way back won a CCC ( BTW CCC = concacaf champions cup, you are using the acronym wrong on these boards, )


    a gold cup , 2002 WC top 8

    he did pretty well
     
  19. gethomas3

    gethomas3 Red Card

    Aug 3, 2007
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    In my honest opinion, these are the best coaches ever in CONCACAF (NOTE: They don't have to come from the continent. They just have to have coached a national team from CONCACAF).

    1- Bora Milutinovic
    He coached host Mexico during Mexico 1986 where he lead Mexico to a great run (a direct contrast of Mexico 1970 as too many refereeing decisions went in favor of the Mexicans) until they lost to West Germany in the quater-finals on penalties 1-4. They were the one of the few teams to go out of the tournament without losing a match.

    He also coached Costa Rica where, against all odds, they survived a group with Brazil and two European teams in Italy 1990 (a European Cup) to go to the second round. With him, Costa Rica has become (and is still to this date) the only CONCACAF team to beat and eliminate a European team, let alone two, in a European World Cup. Costa Rica's end was brought by Czechoslovakia as the Ticos lost 1-4.

    His last CONCACAF team in a world cup was the United States when the Americans were host of 1994. He managed to send a team with no profesional league to the second round after a huge win over Colombia. In the second round, the Americans fell 0-1 to Brazil.

    2- Robert Millar
    The second most successful coach in CONCACAF, he led the a all-amateur United States to the highest world cup position by a CONCACAF team as they went to reach the semifinals of Uruguay 1930. Under his watch, Bert Patenaude became the first player to score a hat trick in a world cup match. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950.

    3- Javier Aguirre
    He saved Mexico from a disastrous exit from the World Cup qualifiers and managed to revamp a team to the point where they could take just about anyone. The "El magnifico" 1-1 draw with Italy in 2002 further proved his credentials. However, his side's embarrasing exit out of the world cup by the Americans is, unfortunately, most remembered in his reign as coach.


    Honorable Mentions (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):
    Alexander Guimaraes (Costa Rica-2002, 2006)
    Ignacio Tréllez (Mexico-1962, 1966)
    Bruce Arena (United States-2002, 2006)
    José de la Paz Herrera (Honduras-1982)
     
  20. MalboroDude

    MalboroDude Member+

    May 31, 2006
    LookingToProperlyIntroduceMyselfToAnIcelandicGirl
    Club:
    CD Chivas de Guadalajara
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    :rolleyes:

    No mames guey!

    Don't exaggerate that. I don't even recall talking or hearing about the way we left that wc. it was just a damn game. Just like we ended up losing to Agrentina in 06, and we are not like "oh ******** those argentinians, we will never forget this!! never!!

    Damn gringos always masturbating to that coz there ain't nothing else.

    :rolleyes:
     
  21. gethomas3

    gethomas3 Red Card

    Aug 3, 2007
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    Im not a gringo, hijo de la ********. soy tico. i cada vez que hablo con un mejicano aqui en califonrina del futbol, siempren hablan de esa derota.
     
  22. MalboroDude

    MalboroDude Member+

    May 31, 2006
    LookingToProperlyIntroduceMyselfToAnIcelandicGirl
    Club:
    CD Chivas de Guadalajara
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    Por eso empeze con "no mames guey" por que se que hablas espanol pendejo!!

    Muchos Mexicanos que viven en los Estados Unidos no tienen mucho de que hablar y hablan siempre de lo mismo, por los mismos problemas que viven diariamente con la sociedad estadounidense. La rivalidad existe casi excusivamente en los Estados Unidos, por la misma rivalidad social entre Mexicanos/latinos y los Estadounidenses.

    Yo siendo Mexicano, en Mexico, nunca he escuchado a alguien hablar de ese partido y no pensamos de los Estadounidenses como nuestro super rival. Los gringos o latinos de Estados Unidos solo ven a los paises como rivales.

    Y ni pareces tan tico. Mezclas ingles con espanol, escribes Mexicano con "j", destrosaste la palabra "California" y no sabes escribir la palabra "derrota"

    PS. Interesting how I didn't call you a Gringo in my previous post, yet you come out all angry, perhaps because you are lacking an identity?
     
  23. MoRado

    MoRado New Member

    Feb 6, 2004
    San José. Costa Rica
    Club:
    Deportivo Saprissa
    Nat'l Team:
    Costa Rica
    C´mon kidz be nice with each other.... ok? OK?
     
  24. Panfilo

    Panfilo Member+

    May 9, 2003
    INLAND EMPIRE
    Club:
    Club América
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    Miguel Mejia Baron

    Led the best Mexico team I have ever seen 1993-1994.

    Won the Gold Cup by literally beating the sh*t out of every team.

    Took Mexico to the final of the Copa America in 93. Where they outplayed Argentina in the game but were let down by inexperience. And a Batistuta that was on fire.

    Qualified Mexico to the world cup after the rebuilding process of the 90 debacle.

    Got out of the group of death in World cup 94 in first place. Ahead of Italy, Norway and Ireland.

    Lost in PKs to eventual semi- finalists Bulgaria.
     
  25. El_tri321mex

    El_tri321mex Member

    Oct 20, 2006
    berkeley
    Of course! How can we forget him .
     

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