Meet the 7 Argentine coaches Training National Teams in Copa America 2024

Copa America 2024 kicked off on June 21, 2024, and will run until July 14, 2024, in the United States. Argentina began the tournament with a 2-0 win over Canada in Group A. The Tango team entered the competition as the defending champions.

In addition to their success in the tournament, Argentina has a reputation for producing top-notch coaches who have spread across the globe with different soccer cultures. Most of the national teams participating in Copa America 2024 have Argentine coaches. In total, there are seven Argentine coaches training national teams in Copa America 2024.

Who are they? Here's our take on them.

Lionel Scaloni was appointed as the coach of Argentina on August 2, 2018. He replaced Jorge Sampaoli, who was fired after the team's failure in the 2018 World Cup. Under Scaloni's guidance, Lionel Messi and his teammates won several prestigious titles, including the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup, and the 2022 World Cup. He was also awarded the best coach in the world in 2022.

Marcelo Bielsa is an experienced coach in European competitions. He previously coached Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao, Marseille, Lazio, Lille, and Leeds United. However, he has yet to win a major title while coaching in Europe. The 68-year-old coach began training Uruguay on May 15, 2023.

The next coach is Ricardo Gareca, who was appointed coach of Chile on January 25, 2024. His experience lies in coaching in South America. Although he has only worked in America, he previously coached Peru from 2015 to 2022. He is expected to coach Chile until June 2026.

Nestor Lorenzo was officially appointed as coach of Colombia on July 9, 2022, replacing Reinaldo Rueda. Before overseeing Colombia, the 58-year-old coach only coached one club, FCB Melgar of Peru. Lorenzo was also an assistant coach for Colombia from 2012 to 2019 and an assistant coach for Argentina from 2004 to 2006. He will have his first experience coaching a major team like Colombia in Copa America 2024.

Fernando Batista was appointed as the coach of Venezuela on March 10, 2023, after previously serving as an assistant coach. He is also the coach of Venezuela U-23 at the time. Copa America 2024 is his first experience training a senior team. Prior to that, he coached Armenia U-19 and Argentina U-23 and also managed the Argentine team in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Gustavo Alfaro was appointed as the coach of Costa Rica on November 2, 2023. Before that, he coached Ecuador for three years. His coach experience is only in South America, although he did coach Al-Ahli in 2009. He has achieved various prestigious titles, including the Argentine Superliga, the Copa Sudamericana, and the Argentine League Cup with Arsenal and Boca Juniors.

Last but not least, there's Daniel Garnero, the coach of Paraguay in Copa America 2024. He was appointed as the coach on September 21, 2023, replacing Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Unlike the coaches above, his coaching career has only been confined to South American clubs. The 55-year-old coach is expected to lead Paraguay until December 2025.

Out of the seven coaches, only Marcelo Bielsa and Lionel Scaloni are well-known figures in the soccer world today. Nonetheless, it's exciting to see the performances of Argentine coaches in Copa America 2024 taking place in the United States.