Top Coaches in 2005 — World Cup update included
All the above top-ten coaches will be managing a team in the 2006 World Cup, as above-indicated. The list reflects their success in 2005, having been published at the start of 2006, that is, less than half a year before the World Cup kicks off in Germany.
To each of the remarks, below, also dating from the very start of 2006, updates have been added whenever appropriate, following the 2006 World Cup. These updates appear in green type, and indented, in order to facilitate spotting them. Post-World Cup updates have likewise been added to the above table.
It will be curious to see if (or how much) the above ranking can be reflected in any effective way, in the World Cup unfolding and results. All that we know in advance is that one of the names above, for sure, will not be making the Round of Sixteen's headlines (more about this, below).
According to the ranking above displayed, that is, as far as the head coaches are concerned, are we to expect Group E to offer the highest degree of complexity, as far as tactics and match strategies?... After all, this is the only group providing three coaches to the above top-ten table. Interestingly, this is not the Group that has been "nicknamed" the group of death (related considerations available in this eBook).
  July, 2006 Update: |
Indeed, Group E did turn out as one of the toughest, as it had emerged from the tables on the pages under World Cup Groups & Rankings, if not the very toughest of all. A place in the Round of Sixteen was fought for till the Squads' last matches in the First Round. |
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Groups C, D, and F have equally contributed to the top-ten list with two coaches, each, whereas just a single coach from Group H completes this list of top ten coaches.
Would this then suggest (if this list should be at all meaningful, as we depart from statistics into real practice) that Groups A, B, and G would probably turn out to be at least less complex than the other Groups, in terms of tactics and strategies?... None of the twelve coaches in these groups appears above.
It will certainly be interesting to check how many of the above listed coaches actually manage to take their Squads beyond the First Round!
Would you dare make a guess?
| July, 2006 Update: |
two table columns have been added to the right of the one indicating the Groups, in order to indicate [1] how these ten coaches rank according to the success of their squads in the 2006 World Cup, and [2] the World Cup Round that each squad led by these ten coaches has managed to reach (the above number images, indicating the number of squads in each Round, are linked to the respective Round page; a simple line, instead, means that the squad did not make it past the First Round). |
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In Group E, and only in this group, we know that at least one of the three above-listed successful team managers is doomed to fail past the First Round.
How do we know? Very simple: only two Squads qualify beyond the First Round. So, here, we can easily tell the future!
... But...who will he be?
| July, 2006 Update: |
however surprising, it is of course now obvious: neither Karel Brückner's team (Czech Republic) nor Bruce Arena's (United States) managed to get past the First Round. The Group teams that qualified were Ghana, in 2nd place, and in first place was Italy (led by Marcello Lippi).
Ghana was then eliminated by Carlos Alberto Parreira's Brazil, in the Round of Sixteen, but Brazil was next to go home, eliminated by France, which then booked their place in the Final Match by defeating Luiz Felipe Scolari's Portugal, in the Semi-Finals.
Italy, in turn, eliminated Australia (Guus Hiddink), then eliminated Oleg Blokhin's Ukraine, went on to deny the home team, Germany, a place in the Final Match, and conquer the 2006 Champion title over France. |
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Although not directly related to the above ranking, the data in the Section World Cup Groups & Rankings can certainly add interest to the above ranking and related discussion.
A few pertinent observations conclude this page:
- It is quite remarkable that Marco van Basten has managed to rank number two! For this is his first job dealing with professional players! (His previous coaching experience includes only youth teams.) Moreover, he has dared leave most of the renowned Dutch players out of the National Team. You can read a bit more about him in the Squad's page for the Netherlands.
- Brazil's Carlos Alberto Parreira, who ranks first, above, is probably one of the most experienced coaches – if not the most – among the above, and among the coaches to be in the World Cup, as far as National Squads are concerned. You can see why, in the Squad's page for Brazil. Another interesting detail about Parreira is that, unlike most of his colleagues, he has never been a soccer player. He started out as a physical trainer (he has a degree in physical education) and eventually moved into the coaching scenario, as he has always been a researcher, within the soccer context. He has won the World Cup twice, a feat that none of the above coaches has in their curriculum: in 1970 (Mexico), as a physical trainer, and in 1994 (United States), as the full-fledged coach of the winning Brazilian squad.
- Both Brazil and the Netherlands are the countries providing the highest number of coaches to the Squads contesting the 2006 World Cup – five and four, respectively. In other words, out of the 32 coaches to be in Germany, 2006, nine (over 25%!) are either Dutch or Brazilian born. Details in the Squad's page for each of these countries (just click on the country name, right above).
| July, 2006 Update: |
Generally speaking, it appears that the Dutch coaches have done somewhat better than their Brazilian colleagues, though Carlos Alberto Parreira took his star-packed side a bit further than Marco van Basten did his young team.
On the other hand, Luiz Felipe Scolari has not only managed to lead Portugal all the way to 4th Place, but has also conquered a record of consecutive World Cup wins that will not be easily overtaken by another coach–read about it on the Records & Memorable Details page. |
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2006 
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IFFHS 2005 Rank
Carlos Alberto Parreira 
Marco van Basten
José Pekerman
Marcello Lippi 
1
Karel Brückner
Ricardo Antonio Lavolpe
Portugal
Bruce Arena
Japan
Oleg Blokhin
Germany
England
Costa Rica
Paraguay
Côte d'Ivoire
Iran
Poland
Trinidad and Tobago
Serbia and Montenegro
Angola
Ecuador
Sweden
France
Spain
Ghana
Croatia
Switzerland
Australia
Korea Republic
Tunisia
Togo
Saudi Arabia
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