The Hindu : A champion in the coaching ranks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 06, 2002

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Sport - Football

A champion in the coaching ranks

Germany's Rudi Voeller is the only coach in this World Cup to have been part of a winning team. — Reuters

KWANGJU (South Korea) JUNE 5. More than 30 coaches are trying to inspire, goad and cajole their teams towards the World Cup final on June 30 but only one of them knows how it feels to lift the trophy as a player.

Rudi Voeller was part of the German side that lifted the trophy in 1990 and was also a runner-up four years earlier. Of all the coaches at the 2002 World Cup, he was perhaps the most successful on the pitch and remains his country's second highest goalscorer behind the great Gerd Mueller.

But some of his rivals were no slouches either.

Denmark's Morten Olsen won 102 caps as an elegant sweeper, while his assistant Michael Laudrup was perhaps the greatest Danish player of all time. Spain's Jose Antonio Camacho won 81 caps at the heart of his country's defence and played in two World Cups. He also enjoyed a glittering club career, making over 400 appearances for Real Madrid between 1973 and 1989 and winning several Spanish league titles.

The Italians are best known for their club careers. Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni played for 14 years at AC Milan while compatriot Cesare Maldini, now coach of Paraguay, spent 12 years at the same club, winning four league titles and captaining them to the European Cup glory in 1963. Maldini was on the bench as an assistant to Enzo Bearzot when Italy conquered the world in 1982 but never won soccer's greatest prize as a player, while Portuguese coach Antonio Oliveira played for his country 24 times. Srecko Katanec represented the old Yugoslav side 35 times and France coach Roger Lemerre played six times for his country.

Only five coaches at this World Cup were at the last one and none of them are with the same team. Maldini coached Italy last time round before switching to Paraguay, Ecuador's Hernan Dario Gomez was with his native Colombia in 1998 and China coach Bora Milutinovic was in charge of Nigeria.

The coaches of the two co-host nations — South Korea's Guus Hiddink and Japan's Philippe Troussier — were with the Netherlands and South Africa respectively at the World Cup in France.

Not all the coaches here had the talent or good fortune of Voeller, Olsen and Camacho during their playing careers.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and Argentina's Marcelo Bielsa will have plenty to argue about when their two sides meet in Sapporo on Friday but they also have a few things in common. Both were defenders, neither won full international honours and both were forced to retire early through injury. — Reuters

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