Who needs scouts when a coach can evaluate rookies in his backyard? A Bolivian soccer coach quit after drawing heavy criticism for playing his 12-year-old son in a premier division game.
Julio Cesar Baldivieso played his son Mauricio on Sunday in the final 10 minutes of Aurora’s 1-0 loss to La Paz.
“Sadly, a lot of people did not like my son’s debut. It was then a question of my son or my club — and, of course, my son comes first,” Baldivieso said in the British Guardian. “I’m not going to be told whether I play someone from my family or not.
“The country and the world need to know that in Bolivia, talented youngsters get their legs cut off, to make room for foreign players or because of personal grudges.”
The newspaper La Razon quoted Baldivieso as saying Mauricio played well. But much of the media and the coach’s club questioned the performance and the decision to use the youngster. The boy turned 13 on Wednesday. Baldivieso, a former World Cup star in Bolivia, said he and his club agreed he should resign.
