Football
Tom Marshall, Mexico correspondent 6y

Ex-Chivas coach Matias Almeyda in talks to take over Costa Rica

Former Chivas coach Matias Almeyda has had talks with Costa Rica about coaching their national team and said he has not had any other formal approaches.

Almeyda has declared his interest in managing Mexico and his native Argentina and has also been linked with Paraguay, but it appears Costa Rica has the upper hand.

"I had the chance to talk with [Costa Rica's] directors. They called me, which I appreciate a lot," Almeyda told ESPN's Futbol Picante. "As I was on vacation with the family at that moment, we agreed to talk a little next week and to give them an answer, but I really value the fact that their interest is concrete."

Almeyda also told La Nacion that his family would be happy to live in Costa Rica and that money would not be the deciding factor in his decision.

The former River Plate midfielder left Chivas in June and recently visited Italy, where he played for Lazio, Parma, Brescia and Inter Milan.

Costa Rica did not renew the contract of coach Oscar Ramirez after their first-round World Cup exit in June.

Almeyda's name has been heavily linked with the Mexico position vacated by Juan Carlos Osorio, but even with Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti announcing he has already rejected the chance to be in the running for El Tri, Almeyda has not been contacted.

"There's something very close with Costa Rica, that's the reality, but all the countries and national teams are rearming again and that's how I see it," Almeyda told ESPN. "I believe that they are taking their time to think hard about who to pick."

Almeyda won one Liga MX title and the CONCACAF Champions League with all-Mexican team Chivas in April and said he's even bought a house in Guadalajara.

He still watches the club's games and hopes Chivas, who have lost both Liga MX games so far in the 2018 Apertura, can have a good season.

"The other day I was following the cup game [in Italy] at 4 a.m. with my daughter, whose boyfriend is [Chivas player Benjamin] Galindo," Almeyda said. "I was being a father, a father-in-law and a Chivas fan on the internet looking how they were doing."

Almeyda has already rejected an offer from Al-Rayyan in Qatar and suggested that Leeds United had also enquired about him before they hired Marcelo Bielsa.

ESPN FC Spain correspondent Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.

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