Jorge Sampaoli quits Chile post
Wednesday 20 January 2016 10:19, UK
Jorge Sampaoli has stepped down as Chile coach after reaching an agreement with the South American nation's football federation.
The well-respected Argentinean guided Chile to their first ever Copa America success just six months ago and was nominated for the FIFA Coach of the Year award in 2015.
However, in recent weeks he has been in dispute with Arturo Salah, the recently-elected president of the Football Federation of Chile (ANFP).
Sampaoli claimed he no longer felt respected in Chile and expressed his disappointment that details of his contract had been exposed in the media.
And the 55-year-old has now reached a deal with the ANFP, who say he will forgo bonus money he was due for the Copa triumph and pay a sum of money to the federation against his next contract in football.
Swansea are reported to have already made contact while Chelsea have also been linked with a move for Sampaoli who has also been linked with clubs in Italy.
A statement from the Chilean FA read: "With this step, the board of the ANFP has achieved the goal of resolving the current situation affecting the national team, avoiding uncertainty involving potential lengthy court actions."
And Salah added: "Now we will dedicate ourselves to this priority, to do everything possible to qualify for the World Cup in Russia in 2018."
Speculation will now switch as to Sampaoli's next job and he is the bookmaker's favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Current Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink will be in charge until the end of the season, following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho, but Sampaoli has been mentioned as a possible candidate to take charge for the 2016/17 campaign.
As for the vacant Chile position, Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, a Chilean national, told Radio Cooperativa he is not in the running.
"I hope to remain with competitive teams in Europe," said Pellegrini. "I am not thinking about returning to Chile at least for the next three or four years.
"There is no chance I would coach over the next couple of years. Arturo has my full support for all that is needed but being in charge of the national team is not something I would like to do at this time."
