Blasts from the past – the Asian Cup’s veteran coaches

Abu Dhabi (AFP) – Ahead of the Asian Cup’s opening game on Saturday, here are five well-travelled coaches looking to add to their list of honours:  

– Hector Cuper, Uzbekistan –

Cuper is now in the 15th job of a coaching career that has spanned 25 years. The Argentine’s long CV includes spells as boss of Valencia (1999-2001) and Inter Milan (2001-2003), although trophy-wise he has only two Spanish Super Cups — with Valencia and Mallorca — to show for it. Cuper inspired Egypt to the final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but his reputation took a hit after his side lost all three of their group games at the World Cup in Russia. In mitigation, star forward Mohamed Salah was never fully fit. Now 63, Cuper subsequently left the Egypt post and has had an unremarkable start in charge of Uzbekistan, winning two matches, losing two and drawing two.    

– Sven-Goran Eriksson, Philippines –

Much-travelled, often maligned but always affable, the globe-trotting 70-year-old Swede’s latest outpost is a tropical archipelago that came calling after former England captain Terry Butcher walked out. Eriksson’s storied career has seen him manage some of Europe’s top clubs including Benfica, Roma, Lazio and Manchester City, as well as the national teams of Mexico, Ivory Coast and England — guiding the Three Lions to two World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006. Eriksson began his reign with the Azkals by reaching the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup, where they were edged 2-1 by Vietnam. He will face a much tougher task just to emerge from Group C in the UAE, where the Philippines will tackle favourites South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan.

– Marcello Lippi, China –

The celebrated Italian led his country to World Cup glory in 2006, but he will need a miracle to lift the Asian Cup with China. The 70-year-old, reportedly one of the best-paid coaches in world football, looks set to leave his post after the tournament. Lippi has a mixed record since taking over the Chinese national side in October 2016. The team enjoyed an initial bounce, but their hopes of reaching last year’s World Cup were already all but over. It has been a difficult past 12 months, with China failing to score regularly under Lippi and winning just once in their last seven matches. In their final warm-up games, held in Qatar last month, China lost to Iraq and were held by Jordan.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2RsLL9L