By DPA
Caracas : Venezuela national team coach Richard Paez resigned after clashing with fans and the press, the football authorities confirmed Monday.
President of the Venezuelan Football Federation Rafael Esquivel said Paez’s resignation cannot be revoked and his job as national coach will end Dec 31. He had been under contract until the end of 2008.
Paez will leave as the most successful and longest-serving football coach in the history of Venezuela, the traditional weakling of South America in the sport.
He took over the national team on March 28, 2001. In the current South American qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Venezuela is fifth, with five points after four games (of a total of 18).
Esquivel said a replacement would be appointed in early 2008.
In a letter read by the federation president, Paez said he resigned “with deep pain but with irrevocable and unpostponable firmness.” The coach complained of the “inadequate atmosphere” surrounding the team, which, he said, affected its performance.
In last week’s game against Bolivia in San Cristobal, which the host Venezuela won 5-3 with late goals, many fans demanded Paez’s resignation and the exit of the coach’s son, Ricardo David, from the national team.
The coach rejected the criticism and told fans to “go manage their homes” because he was boss in the national team.