Juan Carlos Osorio Resigns as Paraguay Manager
Just five months after taking charge, and with only one match under his belt, manager Juan Carlos Osorio announced his resignation from the Paraguayan men's national team, citing personal reasons.
"For family reasons, I'm here to tell you that I am resigning from the national team on a mutual agreement with the APF," Osorio said during a press conference. Osorio wouldn't elaborate on details regarding the personal decision, but said it was a family reason that had been going on for some time.
"I had hoped to solve this issue for a while now, but I failed to do so. Paraguay has a good team, whether I'm here or not, and it has a good chance at the Copa America. It was an honor to coach this team during the time I had. I leave happy, with the experience I had during this six months.”
Osorio's only match as Paraguay manager came in November, a 1-1 draw vs. South Africa in a friendly.
Paraguayan federation president Robert Harrison joined Osorio in the conference and said the search for a new manager will begin straight away.
Aside from the surprising nature of the new, Paraguay doesn't have much time to act if it is to get in tactical shape for this summer's Copa America in Brazil. Paraguay is in a tough group, which includes Argentina, Colombia and Qatar, the latter of which was recently crowned as Asian Cup champion.
It's unclear what will come next for Osorio, who left Mexico's national team after guiding El Tri to the round of 16 in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Paraguay hired him on Sept. 3.
