Simoes to coach Costa Rica
Published:Thursday | September 17, 2009 | 1:27 PM
Former Reggae Boyz senior football coach, Brazilian Rene Simoes will be in charge of Costa Rica for their remaining World Cup qualifying matches.
Simoes will take over next week from Rodrigo Kenton, who was fired following three straight losses in qualifying.
The 56-year-old Simoes is best known for leading Jamaica to their first and only World Cup appearance in 1998. He also coached the Brazilian women’s team that won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
He ended his stint with Jamaica in 2000 but returned for a second stint in December 2007. But after nine month with the squad he was fired following a 2-0 loss to Honduras in a World Cup qualifier at San Pedro Sula.
Costa Rica, which once led the North and Central American and Caribbean region, are fourth with 12 points following losses to Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador.
The United States lead with 16 points, one ahead of Mexico and three in front of Honduras.
The top three teams qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa and the Number 4 team faces a playoff with the fifth-place team in South America.
Costa Rica have two qualifiers left, hosting Trinidad and Tobago on October 10, then closing four days later in the United States.