Football: Argentina appoint Edgardo Bauza as new head coach

The Argentinian Football Association have announced the appointment of Edgardo Bauza as the new national team head coach. Gerardo Martino, the previous Argentina head coach, had quit the job after losing the Copa America final to Chile in June. Edgardo Bauza, aged 58, has been managing Sao Paolo in Brazil before accepting the new job as Argentina boss. Bauza has won the Copa Libertadores with two different clubs, in 2008 with Ecuadorian side LDU Quito and in 2014 with Argentinian side San Lorenzo. Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone and Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino had also been linked with the job. The first challenge for the new Argentina head coach is to make sure the team reaches the 2018 World Cup, with qualifiers starting next month. An even bigger challenge will be to make superstar Lionel Messi change his mind about international retirement. Lionel Messi was extremely upset after having lost the Copa America final, an event that pushed him to retire from the national team. He said at the time: "For me, the national team is over. I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion. It's been four finals, I tried. It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldn't get it, so I think it's over. I think this is best for everyone. First of all for me, then for everyone. I think there's a lot of people who want this, who obviously are not satisfied, as we are not satisfied reaching a final and not winning it." Argentina are 9/1 at Bet365 to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.