Marcelo Bielsa is out as national team coach of Chile, the new president of the country's football federation said Thursday.
Bielsa had promised to resign if Jorge Segovia was elected president of the federation, which happened Thursday when Segovia ousted incumbent Harold Mayne-Nicholls, who had hired the coach.
There was no immediate word from Bielsa, but Segovia and Mayne-Nicholls - speaking after the election - said that the coach's term was over.
"Until yesterday the priority was Bielsa," said Segovia, a Spanish businessman. "But he excluded himself. ... For me it's a closed case. He (Bielsa) has expressed himself clearly that he won't continue. Therefore, it's not worthwhile wasting another minute on it."
He declined to speculate on a replacement, although several names surfaced including Claudio Borghi, the coach of Boca Juniors, and former Spanish national team coach Luis Aragones.
Added Mayne-Nicholls: "I think we had the luxury of having him (Bielsa) and this is what we must be thankful for."
Bielsa, an Argentine, is wildly popular among Chilean fans after leading the team to its first World Cup since 1998. Chile reached the second round in South Africa but was knocked out by Brazil.
Juan Facusse, an outside observer who monitored the vote, said Segovia won 28-22.
Mayne-Nicholls hired Bielsa and the former journalist has been a supporter of smaller Chilean clubs, making sure they receive a share of the revenue generated by the World Cup success. Segovia is the owner of team Union Espanola and had the support of Chile's largest clubs, including Colo Colo, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica.
Reports in Chile said new President Sebastian Pinera did not seem to get along with Bielsa, who has long carried the nickname "Loco" - for his intensity and forceful personality. Pinera is a stockholder of Colo Colo.
Former president Michelle Bachelet was a strong supporter of Bielsa.
Mayne-Nicholls said before the vote he would ask Bielsa to stay - even if he lost the election. Bielsa has a contract until 2015.
Mayne-Nicholls has maintained a high profile recently, heading a FIFA inspection team that traveled worldwide looking at plans from countries bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. FIFA is to choose the winners next month.
He said he planned to continue working for FIFA and declined to speculate about who would succeed Bielsa.
"This is a thing for them (the new leadership)," Mayne-Nicholls said. "If we brought in Marcelo, I don't see any reason they can't bring in a quality candidate."
