Costa Rica were one of the surprise teams at the World Cup 2014 after almost reaching the semifinals.
They had beaten the likes of Italy and Uruguay in the group stages before going out on penalties to Holland. They had Colombian manager Jorge Luis Pintoto thank for the success.
Since the World Cup, the stock of the Colombian has risen incredibly and he has now been rewarded with the success by becoming the new manager of Honduras.Pinto will be leading the tiny nation until the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Honduran Football Federation president Rafael Callejas said that he is extremely happy to announce the appointment of Pinto.
Honduras did not appear in a World Cup tournament until 1982, but they have since appeared in the 2010 and 2014 edition. Hence, they are looking likely to feature in the 2018 tournament as well, but most of the names who have done well in recent times are unlikely to feature in the actual tournament if they do qualify. Pinto’s main job will be to find new players and build the team for the future. His first competitive match will be in a play-off against Guyana. The winners of this play-off will be taking part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in the summer.
“I am pleased to inform the football family and fans that Jorge Luis Pinto is the new H (Honduras) coach until Russia 2018!!” said Callejas on his Twitter account. Pinto comes as the replacement for the national team’s former striker, Hernan Medford, who lasted only four months in the job.Medford was sacked on Tuesday and Honduras did not take long to announce the replacement. Apart from coaching International teams like Costa Rica, Pinto has also been involved in club football in his coaching career. He has won league titles with the likes ofAlianza Lima of Peru.