Jorge Almirón backed to manage Albiceleste by Argentina's president | OneFootball

Jorge Almirón, current manager of Atlético Nacional, has some very high-ranking Argentine officials that back him to succeed Jorge Sampaoli.

The president of the country himself, Mauricio Macri, has nominated Almirón to take over with the Albiceleste.

In an interview he gave in Córdoba, Macri acknowledged that Almirón stands out as a top choice “among young people.”

In addition, he added that “Almirón’s way of managing is something different”, but quickly clarified, “I do not interfere in these type of things, I speak only as a fan.”

Clearly, he is not just any fan.

Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici has also nominated Almirón to take over the national team. Almirón’s name was thrown around as a possible replacement for Guillermo Barros Schelotto, however, the Boca manager did not lose his job after he was able to lead the Xeneize into the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores.

Another key piece of the puzzle could be Almirón’s agent, Cristián Bragarnik. He is one of the most powerful agents in Argentina and even negotiated a €1.3m annual contract for Almirón to manage Atlético, a fortune in Colombia.

Bragarnik has been with Almirón throughout every step of his career and is close with AFA president Claudio Tapia as well as Angelici. He is said to have had a major influence on Sampaoli’s ability to leave Sevilla to manage the Albiceleste in 2017.

This Thursday, there will be an Executive Committee meeting and the Argentine National Team will be a key issue, regarding both the youth setup and Sampaoli’s successor.