Rumor has it Marcel Desailly has put his hat in the ring to succeed Milovan Rajevac as the Black Stars coach. If you remember, Rajevac left the Ghana post to coach Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia after leading them to the quarters of the World Cup this summer in South Africa.  The Ghana Association has reported receiving 50 CVs for the position and Desailly’s lack of experience has raised some eyebrows.  So what could Ghana expect from Desailly should they pick him out of the bunch (other than fantastic sideline reactions like the one above)?

Menezes had previously become the frontrunner, but then out of nowhere, Ramalho seemed to be confirmed as manager. Except Fluminense wouldn’t release him from his contract (which has two years left to run) and now, Menezes is back in the frame, he’s expected to formally accept the job offer in a press conference this afternoon.

So what do we know about Mano Menezes?

For a start he is obviously Brazilian, despite whispers that Brazil would consider someone from abroad. He’s been in club management since 1997, in Brazil. He’s achieved much on the domestic scene, and importantly has a reputation for rebuilding – he’s pulled both Gremio and Corinthians two big names in Brazil, up from lower leagues back into the top division.

Its a big job at the best of times, but with Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup (first time they’ve been hosts since 1950, where they famously lost in the final), the pressure could not be higher. Whoever is manager, Brazil will be expected to win a World Cup on home turf. Its going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

England of course already have a non-English manager in the shape of Fabio Capello, but yesterday Sir Trevor Brooking added to the uneasy relationship with the manager, suggesting that the next coach would be English.

Brazil are without a manager and there are calls from inside Brazil at the thought of a non-Brazilian coach, as there are a lack of Brazilian names that spring instantly to mind (Leonardo is favourite to land the job, despite a underwhelming stay in Milan).

So how much does it matter?

Obviously some of you might know, I’m English, so naturally have been through this thought many a time – before Capello, we had Sven as manager. And while you’ll all be quick to remind me how underwhelming England were at the World Cup (and how), I really don’t think the fact we have an Italian manager is the reason we underperformed. There is a myriad of other reasons, but I don’t think the nationality of the coach is the relevant one.

Brazil, obviously, have a big heritage to live up to. And while its one thing for say, the Ivory Coast to have a non-national as manager (Sven again), I’m sure if Brazil were to employ one, some eyebrows would be raised.

But potentially there are alot of possibilities there, and the chance for someone to take an outsiders eye into the camp and try something a bit different. I think a manager does need a big understanding of the country he’s taking on and the history and so fourth, but naturally a coach born abroad can bring a different viewpoint which could be really good.

So I say Brazil should give it a go, if there are no Brazilians who are quite up to the level they expect. They’ve got nothing to lose.

Marcelo Bielsa may never be forgiven by Argentina fans for crashing out of the 2002 World Cup in the first round.  His Argentine team were considered favorites after winning the CONMEBOL regional qualifiers, but couldn’t get past either England or Sweden in the group stage.  In hindsight, his tactics (once praised) were dubbed too inflexible, predictable and stifling to talented individual players who required freedom to display their talent.  The team showed up to the tournament exhausted, with many players struggling with injuries.  The conditioning and preparation for the tournament was brutal, appearing to overwork the players who were already fatigued from their club obligations.  For Bielsa, success is attained through hardwork, obsessive attention to detail and repetition- and each of his carefully designed coaching methods is based on this philosophy.  Though Bielsa left Argentina in 2004 (with an Olympic Gold medal), his methods and philosophy don’t appear to have changed in his tenure with the Chilean Federation.  Of course, the million dollar question is if Bielsa’s methods can help Chile pull off what an “invincible” Argentina side could not in 2002?

Chile vs. Argentina

Chile and Argentina share a lot of similarities:  they are both South American, share a the 3rd longest international border in the world and have extensive economic, military and diplomatic ties.  But, in terms of football- the two nations don’t share much.  The Argentines have been spoiled by their extensive history of success both at the international and club level- so extensive in fact, it required two posts for Daryl to recite it all.  Argentina are about to make their 20th total and 10th consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals.  This will only be Chile’s 8th time qualifying for the tournament in their history and they didn’t record a single win in four of their participating years.  Argentina reached four World Cup finals and won twice before Chile ever made it out of the group stage in a World Cup they weren’t hosting in 1998 (previously, they placed third as the tournament host in 1962).  The Argentinean squad is filled with star players like Messi, Aguero, Mascherano, Tevez, Higuain…the list goes on.  The Chileans are undoubtedly a talented group, but remain players on the cusp of greatness and fame…thus, largely unfamiliar to casual fans of the game.

Given, this pretty significant gap in the pool of talent and World Cup legacy- no one though Chile would be able to overcome their regional rivals.  Especially since at the time of the encounter, Chile had only won 5 of the last 77 matches between the two.  But Chile managed to pull off the shock win.  And they did it with class and style.  Argentina certainly didn’t play well that game – but that shouldn’t take anything away from the focused, disciplined performance by Chile.  I had a hard time finding full highlights, but here is a video of Chile’s game winning goal.

After losing to Chile, Argentina made drastic moves.  Perhaps missing some of Bielsa’s colorful habits and opinions, they fired Alfio Basile and hired Diego Maradona to lead Argentina to the World Cup. While Diego did little to steady the ship, Argentina eventually succeeded in qualifying for South Africa after enduring a very rocky campaign.  Chile, on the other hand, seemed to be inspired by the victory.  They followed up the win with subsequent wins over Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.  Even though they only managed a draw with Uruguay and lost badly to Brazil (4-2), Chile surprised everyone by qualifying as second behind Brazil in the CONMEBOL region.

Unorthodox Methods

To achieve this feat, Bielsa instituted some radical and unorthodox policies which are familiar from his days coaching the Argentina dream team.  Described as a “tortured intellectual,” he once told a player “While you are sleeping, I am thinking of ways for the team to win.”  He is obsessive to a fault with a clear strategic vision of what he wants his team to produce on the field.  It is said that he makes his teams watch endless hours of video and film (that he has personally edited) on the opposing team’s tactics to analyze, dissect and pick apart the flaws and cracks to exploit.  Plus the additional hours of footage of Chile’s own games.  For a description of his editing technique that is so obsessive it seems like Bielsa wrote it himself, see this Guardian article written on him in 2002.

Every decision he makes is based on his precise understanding of the game’s conditions- he is known to measure the length of the field to determine the team’s formation and to hold separate practices for each field position (strikers, midfield, defenders).  It’s not wonder why he is (affectionately) known as “Loco” Bielsa.

Though he has endeared himself to the Chilean public, he remains a cold figure that is fiercely protective of his private life- aloof to his players and the media alike.  His distaste for exclusive interviews is widely known- instead, he prefers to speak to journalists in public press conferences.  But critiques of being inaccessible are unfair as he is known to field every question in the room…even if that requires a 5 hour press conference.

But, can the results be different if the build-up is the same?

So despite having endured a terrible result in 2002, Bielsa has clearly remained loyal to the methods which initially led Argentina to their successful campaign to qualify for the Korea/Japan edition of the World Cup.  Last week, he even arranged for his team to participate in two friendlies…on the same day. The physical preparation for the Chilean team is rumored to be intense.  It has to be for the players to have the endurance to execute Bielsa’s high-energy, face paced attacking style (which also hasn’t changed much since he coached Argentina) over several matches in such a short period of time.

To be honest, I’m not sure.  Last week, Chile played three friendlies in one week- including the famous aforementioned two in one day.  To their credit, they won all of them (Northern Ireland, Israel and Zambia), but Bielsa wasn’t impressed with the quality of the opposition so he penciled in some additional, intense training sessions.  And this scheduled is a pared down form of their original calendar of friendlies, many of whom were cancelled due to the earthquake Chile sustained in February 2010.  His intense schedule of workouts may be a better fit for this Chilean team than his former Argentine groups- the lack of stars means that many of his player’s season were shorter and likely to be less intense.  However, there is still a fear that perhaps history is repeating itself and Bielsa’s team may have physically peaked too soon.  In the recent friendly against Israel, the team’s talisman, Humberto Suazo (picture below), picked up a hamstring injury that is expected to make him unavailable for three weeks.  Since the injury, some media outlets have suggested that the treatment Suazo is using to accelerate his body’s healing (platelet injections) may cause him to fail a drug test if too many injections are taken. For better or for worse, Chilean fans won’t have to wait long to see how their team cope with the physical stress and loss of their key striker.  Chile are set to face Honduras in their first World Cup group match on June 16th before they face Switzerland on the 21st and Spain on the 25th.

Boy, does that seem like a life time ago.

Today, Maradona has caused more Argentine headaches then the English fans had after the Hand of God goal. The team struggled mightily in World Cup qualifying, to the point where Argentina needed to win both of their remaining games against Peru and Uruguay in order to secure a spot.

The first game against Peru was shockingly close, but a last gasp, hail mary of a cross found a head in Martin Palermo to seal the game. In typical dignified fashion, Maradona celebrated the only way he knew how; using the wet pitch as his own personal slip and slide, taking a belly flop like an Antarctic penguin. Think about that for a second; a huge celebration for a win . . . against Peru. That is how far the Argentine Nats have fallen.

But that was only the beginning of this *ahem* colorful characters antics. After securing the victory against Uruguay in another less than inspiring show, Maradona gave his greatest performance of all with wonderful quotes like these:

“I never forget. To those who didn’t believe, with apologies to the ladies, they can suck it. They can keep sucking it. I’m either black or white – I’ll never be gray in my life. You people who treated me like you did? Keep licking it. Now, next question?”

“Eh, you have it inside you too” – in response to another reporters question

That was enough to catch the ire of FIFA head Sepp Blatter, who has now begun an investigation of this childish tirade.

But Diego wasn’t done!

Forever blameless for any of his wrong doings, Maradona has now traded in his managerial tracksuit for the cape and magnifying glass of a detective. He has uncovered a conspiracy – typically, against him and his boss – and he is revealing “the truth” to anyone who can hear him.

“There is a campaign against against Grondona here. Vila and Bilardo wanted to bring down Grondona,” Maradona said.

Vila is a well respected reporter out of Argentina. He has been trumpeting for the firing of Maradona since Argentina’s struggles began, pleading with AFA head Grondona to do the right thing. In Maradona’s mind, Vila’s unsuccessful bid to turn Grondona against him forced the reporter to find another ally to get his master plan done. That man? Carlos Bilardo. And why? Because Bilardo has aspirations of being the true Argentine head coach.

Of course.

You would figure that someone would tell this guy to just be quiet and lay low till 2010, but when you are used to being treated like a diety, such a request may be too much to ask for.

What are your thoughts on the latest from El Dios Maradona?

–Russia coach Guus Hiddink, on whether he might continue coaching after the 2010 World Cup

“We will certainly clarify my contract situation before the Euro Finals, that’s only logical,” said Donadoni. “FIGC President Giancarlo Abete is aware of this and he agrees with my logic on the matter.” Got to have some sympathy for Donadoni as he’s under immense pressure after stepping into the gigantic boots of World Cup winner Marcello Lippi. But I find his logic a little hard to follow. Euro 2008 is the place where we’ll find out what Donadoni’s made of, for better or worse, so surely the FIGC would be mad to extend his contract before seeing what happens this coming summer.

England managers from 1990 onwards:

Graham Taylor 1990-1993
Slightly nerdy
Not fond of fancy players like Gazza or Chris Waddle.
Fond of route one football and hard-working donkeys like Carlton Palmer.
Wasn’t too popular with players, especially after substituting Gary Lineker for Alan Smith in his last ever England match.
Ridiculed by the English tabloids, who depicted him as various vegetables and nicknamed him “Turniphead”

Terry Venables 1994-1996
Charisma and foreign experience made him a media darling.
Encouraged and indulged talented players like Gazza.
Already had a cool nickname from his time in Spain: “El Tel”
Dodgy business dealing came back to haunt him and El Tel wasn’t offered a new contract after the tournament.

Glenn Hoddle 1996-1999
Famously God-fearing Christian man who wouldn’t do any dodge business deals.
Lost respect and alienated players when he hired a faith healer for the team.
Lost his job after making the very weird suggestion that disabled people are paying for sins committed in former lives.

Kevin Keegan 1999-2000
Seens as master motivator who players would respact and want to play for.
Put together a popular, attractive, but ultimately unsuccessful Newcastle team.
Tactically inept, couldn’t grasp the concept of holding onto a lead.
Over-emotional, resigned in the toilet after losing to Germany.

Sven Goran Eriksson 2000-2006
Ice Swede with the track record of winning trophies at club level.
Frustrated everyone with unadventurous 4-4-2 tactics.
Over-reliance on star players.
Constant job-hunting and womanizing.

Steve McClaren 2006-2007
English
Relatively inexperienced (a few mediocre seasons with Middlesbrough)
Grateful for the job and unlikely tout himself around for a better paying gig with a big European team.
Complete absence of media savvy (whitening his teeth, flying to LA, all that)
Not respected by superstar players
Weakness in the face of public pressure, replacing Paul Robinson with Scott Carson against Croatia.

Fabio Capello 2007-?
All the experience in the world.
Doesn’t care what the media think. Ask the Madrid press.
Commands respect.
Stubborn, will do whatever he thinks needs to be done to win.

The man is a public relations genius and will probably enjoy the big job he’s positioned himself for at AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid or some other highly paid and high profile club job infinitely more than he would have trying to teach Stewart Downing do a trick. Which leaves all the other highly qualified foreigners who actually want the job.

Two of those men are Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi. Both eminently qualified, both at the stage of life where international management would suit them nicely. The media seem to think Capello is the favourite, but then they thought Mourinho was the favourite until yesterday.

One odd aspect is the question marks over both Capello and Lippi’s ability to speak English. I’ve heard and read various reports that both men speak perfect English and equally that neither speak a word. Intuition tells me to go somewhere in between and assume that both speak a respectable amount. Not that that’s a positive. Did anyone else notice that as Sven’s English vocabulary increased his results got worse?

Just this week, Australia appointed a Dutchman (former South Korea coach Pim Verbeek) after being screwed over by another Dutchman, Serbia fired a Spaniard and England have been nervously glancing in Jose Mourinho’s direction. So is the time of national team managers having the same passport as his players coming to an end?

Clearly it is, but only among the smaller teams. It makes sense that nations without a long football history will not necessarily have the best coaches available to them. So to produce the best possible results from the players available it makes perfect sense to hire the best possible coach. And for nations like South Korea or Australia that means going outside the country.

It’s a strategy that has produced results. International man of strategy Guus Hiddink took South Korea to the World Cup semi-final in 2002. You can’t argue with that. He did a similarly good job with Australia and has now taken Russia to Euro 2008.

But the very best nations stick to their own, not just out of pride, but because they have a pool of managerial talent available to them. Italy, France, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain. These nations have never appointed a foreign manager, because they’ve never needed to.

I’d even argue that you can judge a nation’s standing by whether they need to hire a foreign coach or not. Because though most nations are doing just that, they’re doing it out of the necessity to get results. I’m sure they’d tell you that in an ideal situation they’d want the same results but with a domestic coach.

This is, of course, bad news for England but possibly a timely reality check. England consider themselves among the elite footballing nations, but when you look around at potential English managers, it’s difficult to support that argument. Steve McClaren is Exhibit A. Even those who weren’t happy with his appointment in 2006 conceded that he was the best qualified English coach. The next coach will almost certainly be foreign, and that means England may have to admit that they’ve descended from the top tier.