BUENOS AIRES, Nov 13 - Former Mexico coach Ricardo
La Volpe quit as manager of Velez Sarsfield on Tuesday, two days
after a 4-0 defeat by Boca Juniors.
"I resigned because after the game against Boca, a decision
had to be made and I took it," the gruff former Argentina
goalkeeper told reporters.
"Velez is a great institution in every sense, its directors,
its players, its squad, its kit man," he said. "I thank the
players for their support."
The resignation completed an unhappy homecoming for La
Volpe, who last year resigned after only four months at Boca
after they lost the league title to Estudiantes in dramatic
circumstances.
On Sunday, La Volpe was jeered and insulted by Boca fans who
still have not forgiven him for the team's failure to win what
would have been the club's third successive title.
Needing to take one point from their last two games, Boca
lost them both before going down to Estudiantes in a playoff.
La Volpe immediately resigned as Boca coach and was then
appointed by Velez in a straight swap with Velez's Miguel Angel
Russo, who took over at Boca.
La Volpe, reserve goalkeeper in Argentina's 1978 World Cup
team, finished his playing career in Mexico, where he stayed on
and turned to coaching.
After coaching at several top clubs, he was appointed Mexico
coach following the 2002 World Cup and led them to the last 16
in last year's finals in Germany where they lost to Argentina.
During that period, La Volpe repeatedly clashed with the
Mexican media and was the victim of bitter attacks from former
Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez.
An ever-controversial figure, he was reprimanded for smoking
on the touchline during the Confederations Cup in 2005 and cut a
distinctive figure with his combination of jacket, jeans and
bright ties.
He stoked further criticism by leaving out the gifted but
volatile Cuauhtemoc Blanco out of the World Cup squad.
(Reporting by Luis Ampuero, writing by Brian Homewood,
editing by Trevor Huggins)