Sampaoli, Martino favorites for Chile coach

Jorge Sampaoli has been managining first-division clubs in South America since 2002.

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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Universidad de Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli and former Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino are the favorites for the Chile job after Claudio Borghi was fired after Chile's 3-1 loss to Serbia in a friendly on Wednesday.

Borghi was sacked after 20 months as the national coach. He failed to match the results of Marcelo Bielsa, who led the team to the 2010 World Cup but resigned afterward in a dispute with top Chilean football officials.

Chile has struggled in South American qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina has 20 points, three ahead of Ecuador and four up on Colombia. Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela have 12 each. The top four advance automatically. The fifth-place team faces a playoff for an additional berth.

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