By Rex Gowar

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Angel Cappa, whose brilliant Huracan side narrowly missed out on the Argentine league title in July, quit on Tuesday disillusioned with the struggling club and his team one from bottom of the standings.

Cappa lost half a dozen players from the team that shone in the 2008/09 season's Clausura championship in the off-season. Some had been on loan to the impoverished club from a working class Parque Patricios district of Buenos Aires.

Others sought fresh pastures, like Argentina midfielder Matias Defederico who decided to follow Carlos Tevez's footsteps to Corinthians in Brazil.

"This is the worst ending but I'm leaving happy in the knowledge our identity is not dead," Cappa told reporters.

He said his team's 'Tiki tiki' quick-passing, possession game was "the best thing that's happened in Argentine football in the last 20 years."

Huracan did not have the money to replace the departed players with experienced replacements and Cappa tried to build another team capable of mounting a challenge in the 2009/10 season.

However, the 63-year-old's magic touch failed and he leaves them in 19th place in the Apertura championship after two wins and 10 points in 15 matches. His assistant Francisco Russo will take charge as caretaker.

Cappa had said last week that he would stay until the championship ended next month but brought his departure forward after Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by bitter area rivals San Lorenzo.

"We reached a limit some time ago, this was a decision postponed excessively... but I'd have liked to have left in a different manner," he said.

Club president Carlos Babington, a former midfielder in Huracan's solitary championship-winning team in 1973 and a member of Argentina's 1974 World Cup side, has been unable to guarantee reinforcements in the December-January transfer window.

Midfielder Mario Bolatti, Huracan's best player who scored the goal away to Uruguay last month that secured Argentina's place in the 2010 World Cup finals and is on loan from Porto, has said he will not stay on next year. (Editing by Pritha Sarkar; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com) ((rex.gowar@thomsonreuters.com; +54911 5325 0775; Reuters Messaging: rex.gowar.reuters.com@reuters.net. For the Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport))

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