Oct. 2, 2002
Steve Sampson, coach of the U.S. national team from 1995 to 1998, will reportedly sign a four-year contract with the Costa Rica soccer federation to head coach its national team.
Reuters news service reported that Costa Rica named Sampson head coach following a breakdown in negotiations to renew the contract of Alexandre Guimaraes, who guided the Ticos through the final phase of qualifying and at the 2002 World Cup.
Steve Sampson, a former college coach at Santa Clara, which he guided to the 1989 NCAA co-championship, was one of Bora Milutinovic's assistant coaches at the 1994 World Cup.
Sampson, who is fluent in Spanish, became popular in Costa Rica during U.S. trips to Central America while qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. Sampson resigned from his U.S. post after the USA failed to win a point at France '98.
He has been serving as the technical director of the California Youth Soccer Association-South.
