At the end of October, Carlos Alberto Parreira was once again appointed the head coach of Bafana Bafana after the Brazilian fled South Africa in April 2008 for personal reasons. I know that some believe that these mercenary coaches are necessary to raise the level of football in developing soccer nations, but I’m not sold.
First, other than a contractual tie to a country, there is often very little incentive for the mercenary coach to truly invest in their new country. When problems arise, check-out can often occur quite quickly.
Second, these mercenaries often get ridiculously large pay packages, but rarely produce better results than their predecessors.
In short, there’s basically a huge financial upside to mercenary coaching and very little downside. That’s a recipe for disaster.
What do you think, Bora Milutinovic, coach of EIGHT national teams?
Permy J, I am astonished! 8 national teams… He must speak about 5 languages fluently….He is a miracle worker, but, money talks as they say… and the same could be said of Guus Hiddink tbh… They never stay at one job. The Wengers and Fergusons of the world are rarities. I doubt Guy Roux’s record will ever be broken either…
Interesting Bayern Munich lost again tonight. I am putting my money on Van Gaal possibly going before Benitez…. BUT I may change my mind tomorrow night!
I think national coaches should be nationals of the country they coach, just as players have to be. How is England (”birth place of football”) coached by a guy named Capello?
Fair point…. but then what about a Developing nation which would benefit from having a coach from top European league!?
Shame England went for a non-english coach, I doubt Brazil, Italy, Spain, Holland, Argentina, Germany and France will ever hire a trainer from abroad….. and those nations take a lot of pride in not doing so….
I hear ya, but the real issue is the lack of access for non-players (coaches, trainers, and the like…) in the top leagues. If they had that exposure, they would gain the necessary experience, just like the players are now beginning to in increasing number. This is a developmental issue that can do wonders for the growth of football in less affluent nations.