Fernando Diniz and Abel Ferreira compete for King of America award

The Brazilian coach Fernando Diniz is the Portuguese Abel Ferreira will compete on Sunday for the 38th ‘King of America’ award from the Uruguayan newspaper El Paísalong with Argentines Lionel Scaloni, Marcelo Bielsa and Luis Zubeldía.

Coach of the Argentine national team, Scaloni will try to be elected for the second year in a row. Bielsa, winner in 2009, when he managed Chile, will also try for the second prize.

The two will have difficult opponents to overcome because Diniz was champion of the Copa Libertadores with Fluminense, Zubeldía won the Sudamericana in command of LDU (Liga Deportiva Universitaria) and Abel Ferreira added another Brazilian title with Palmeiras.

Renato Gaúcho, Fernando Batista, Gutavo Álvarez, Néstor Lorenzo, Daniel Oldrá, Jorge Fossati, César Farías, Gabriel Milito, Marcelo Broli and Jorge Almirón were other coaches who received a vote, according to ‘El País’.

Last year, Scaloni, world champion with Argentina in the Qatar Cup, received 107 of the 218 possible votes, surpassing Abel Ferreira (35) and Dorival Junior (28), then Flamengo coach.