Coach of National Teams

The Game Room
1

I wonder if a factual answer can be found for this.

In the 2007 World Cup, there was a New Zealander coaching 4 of the 20 of teams.

What, if any other sports, world wide competitions boast this level of “foreign” involvement in national teams.

  1. Must be a foreign national coaching a team (not an individual)
  2. Must be a “world wide” competition

Can anyone help me out?

2

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa in June/July, 12 of the 32 teams that qualified for the finals are coached by foreign nationals. They are:

Team: Australia
Coach: Dutch
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43976/profile.html

Team: Cameroon
Coach: French
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43849/profile.html

Team: Chile
Coach: Argeninian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43925/profile.html

Team: Côte d’Ivoire
Coach: Yugoslavian/Bosnian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43854/profile.html

Team: England
Coach: Italian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43942/profile.html

Team: Ghana
Coach: Yugoslavian/Serbian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43860/profile.html

Team: Greece
Coach: German
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43949/profile.html

Team: Honduras
Coach: Colombian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43909/profile.html

Team: Nigeria
Coach: Swedish
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43876/profile.html

Team: Paraguay
Coach: Argentinian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43928/profile.html

Team: South Africa
Coach: Brazilian
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43883/profile.html

Team: Switzerland
Coach: German
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43971/profile.html

3

Please note that Ivory coast hasn’t got a coach at the moment, they are looking for a new one after they sacked the last one for underperfoming at the African Cup of nations. appearantly Guus Hiddink is favourite for the job, so another dutchman.

This is catually something that happens a lot at world cups, some country’s coaches are ‘popular’ and way overrepresented at the finals. i think this has happened with French and former Yugoslavian coaches before and at the last world cup there were 4 dutch coaches; Van Basten for the Netherlands, Hiddink for Australia, Beenhakker for Trinidad and Tobago and Advocaat for South Korea.

4

Among the top soccer countries, though, it is unusual. The English FA of course now employs foreign coaches quite happily, but AFAIR none of Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands or France have done so. Portugal did have a foreign coach in the Brazilian Scolari.

[edit] Although Wikipedia suggests that I should qualify that with “within recent years”.

5

For the Netherlands I know that in the seventies we had an Austrian coach: Ernst Happel. But I get your drift, it is true it is mostly smaller football nations that have foreign coaches. But as you indicate with the English, it is not unheard of. I also remember that Portugal had a Scolari (a brazilian) as coach for the Euro 2008, and probably some time before that. Portugal and England have been some of the stronger European teams over the last decade (eventhough the English seem to suck every time the tournament finals start) and have had foreign coaches.

edit, I appearantly didn’t read your post carefully enough

6

I have a new favorite adverb. Meow!

7

Was that the RWC where there were more New Zealanders playing for Canada than playing for New Zealand, or was that the one before?

8

Moving to The Game Room from GQ.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator