Football Photos

Coaches who stole the thunder at World Cup

July 13, 2010 23:05

The world has got its new football champions – Spain. The football extravaganza has left back so many moments – some to cherish, some worth forgetting. And while the football stars hogged the limelight for different reasons, some of the coaches made sure they had their moments too – willingly or unwillingly. We take a look at the top 10 coaches who made their way to the headlines.

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The world has got its new football champions – Spain. The football extravaganza has left back so many moments – some to cherish, some worth forgetting.

And while the football stars hogged the limelight for different reasons, some of the coaches made sure they had their moments too – willingly or unwillingly.

We take a look at the top 10 coaches who made their way to the headlines.
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Diego Maradona: So what if his team crashed out in the quarterfinals, there is no way any other coach could be more popular than Diego Maradona. Agreed he wasn't the best coach at the World Cup but he captured everyone's imagination with his animated and colorful self.
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Oscar Tabarez: Oscar Tabarez turned Uruguay from a team that was known for dirty football into an attacking outfit. Uruguay, a country of just 3.5 million, upstaged all its South American rivals at this World Cup.
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Joachim Loew: If we ignore this unhygienic habit, Joachim Loew was quite impressive. He made a clinical German team play some free flowing football. Germany's president Christian Wulff said he would award Loew the country's Federal Cross of Merit for taking the national team to third place at the World Cup.
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Vicente Del Bosque: Spain had already won the Euro 2008 title when he took over as their coach after the retirement of Luis Aragones, and many thought he was lucky to have a well-built team at disposal.

Unlike other coaches, he likes to stay in background quietly. But he has made this team from just a team to a close-knit group. Apart from winning the title, it is noteworthy how the star-studded Spanish team was one of the most disciplined team. And the credit definitely goes to Del Bosque.
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Bert Van Marwijk: The Dutch have always been known for their sharp tactics, smart and technical game, but they have not been able to translate all these into much of success. Experts believed under Bert Van Marwijk they had a good chance of lifting the coveted trophy. That they couldn't is a different story.

Van Marwijk has been a very non-dutch like person. He is calm, sensible and capable of managing egos. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of his players. He was marked as the Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau after taking the team to the final.
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Dunga: Brazil coach Dunga had the chance to become just the second player to win the World Cup as player and coach. Instead he left angry and disappointed at his tactics going horribly wrong in the game against the Netherlands. As they say all great players don't become great coaches.
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Takeshi Okada: Japan coach Takeshi Okada became a laughingstock after he said his team would reach the World Cup semi-finals. It was a huge statement to make for a team that had never won a tournament game away from home. And even when Japan failed to enter the semi-finals, Okada stood vindicated. His team advanced to the round of 16.

Okada, hardly showing any hint of emotion, is known for being hard and rigid on his decisions. He benched Japanese super star Shunsuke Nakamura and played with a single striker Keisuke Honda, who scored the lone goal for Japan against Cameroon and won the first away game for his side.
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Raymond Domenech: Now this man was a disaster. France's manager Raymond Domenech got it all wrong this World Cup. Following the draw with Uruguay, French striker Nicolas Anelka directed a tirade at the coach. Next day, Domenech dismissed him and sent him back. A day later, the entire French team refused to practice in protest. The France Football Federation intervened and the players returned to practice.

Damage was done but not Domenech. France's World Cup campaign ended with a 2-1 defeat to South Africa. After the defeat, Domenech refused to shake the hand with South African coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
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Fabio Capello: Before the World Cup, Capello was touted as the kind of strict disciplinarian that England's star players needed to harmonize into a winning combination. But England's below par show had critics up with their daggers.

After England's 1-1 draw with the USA, Capello slammed the Jabulani ball and said it "impossible to control". A 0-0 draw against Algeria didn't help the cause either.

According to FIFA's tournament rankings, Capello oversaw the worst ever World Cup campaign in England's footballing history.

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