Ex-Players Sometimes Ex-Coaches

Two World Cup winners and the man who once was Mexico’s most-feared striker found out the same unfortunate truth over the past couple of days: Great players do not necessarily make great coaches.

On Monday, Andreas Brehme, who scored the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 World Cup final, was fired as coach of Kaiserslautern, becoming the first to lose his job in a 2002-2003 Bundesliga season that is barely three weeks old.

On Sunday, Osvaldo “Ossie” Ardiles, whose play on the wing was largely responsible for Argentina’s 1978 World Cup triumph, endured another downturn in his coaching career when his Racing Club was hammered, 4-0, by Rosario Central in an Argentine league game. Racing had lost, 4-1, to Independiente only six days earlier.

Also Sunday, Hugo Sanchez, one of the greatest goal-scorers in Mexican history and a five-time leading scorer in the Spanish league, braced himself for a 4-1 thumping of his UNAM Pumas by Toluca in a Mexican league match.

All in all, it was not an inspiring weekend for the three former players.

Brehme, 41, played 86 games for Germany from 1984-94 and had been a member of Kaiserslautern’s 1998 Bundesliga championship team before becoming its coach in 2000.

But the team, which finished seventh last season, was winless after three games, losing, 3-0, to Borussia Moenchengladbach Saturday, and Brehme paid the price.

Ardiles too might soon be shown the door, based on Racing’s 1-3 start in Argentina.

“I am not considering resigning,” Ardiles said Monday. “I intend to work my way out of this situation.”

For Sanchez, the loss to Toluca, arguably the best team in the Americas at the moment, was doubly galling. Only last week, he blasted Toluca Coach Ricardo LaVolpe, saying he would personally make sure that LaVolpe, a longtime rival, is not chosen to replace Javier Aguirre as Mexico’s national team coach.

*

Mexican Milestones

Paraguay national team striker Jose Cardozo scored one of league-leading Toluca’s four goals against UNAM, thereby taking his career total for the club to 150 and keeping him ahead of all other Mexican league scorers, with seven goals in four games this season.

Also reaching a milestone was Alex Aguinaga, the Ecuador World Cup veteran who played his 450th game for Necaxa, which shut out Puebla, 2-0, on goals by Braulio Luna and Miguel Acosta.

Defending champion Club America won its third in a row, 1-0, over Santos Laguna on an 86th-minute goal by Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

*

Argentina Violence

Defending champion and Argentine league leader River Plate scored five goals in the first 33 minutes en route to a 6-0 victory over Estudiantes, causing fans to riot briefly and throw debris on the field. The game was halted by referee Fabian Madorran, but play later resumed.

That was not the case in the match between Banfield and Lanus, which was called off after 23 minutes as Lanus fans clashed with police, leading to the arrest of a dozen of them.

*

A 60-Yard Goal

Midfielder Pedrinho, a Brazilian who plays for Libertad in the Paraguayan league, scored a spectacular goal during a 3-0 victory over Copa Libertadores winner Olimpia on Sunday.

Seeing Paraguay national team goalkeeper Ricardo Tavarelli well off his line, Pedrinho lofted a 60-yard shot that sailed over Tavarelli’s head into the open net without hitting the ground.

*

Ahn Denied Permit

South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan, whose headed goal in overtime knocked Italy out of the World Cup, has been denied a work permit by the British government, thus ending his chances of joining Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League.

Blackburn had offered Perugia of Italy $3.1 million for the 26-year-old forward.