The exception of foreign coach

Jamie Carragher, Liverpool defender battle-hardened, put the debate on the table a few weeks ago: Is it lawful for the selections to hire foreign coaches? Carragher criticized the England team is coached by Italian Fabio Capello, not a technician British trap considering the permissibility of the rule concerning the selectors, and the truth is that reason and argument does not lack the heart of Liverpool. If football teams combined faces representing the cream of the national scene, the coach should not be an exception. With nuances, though.

"It's as if our doormen are not good enough and we bring Buffon of Italy, or any other" wields Carragher when asked about the matter. The network player, who left the team after the World Cup in South Africa where England did well under Capello's orders, says the English coaches should have a chance even though Steve McClaren did well in the selection or may have been the foreign coaches like Ferguson, Mourinho or Benitez those who have succeeded in the Premiership and in Europe in recent years.

For some reason or other, England has not featured since reaching the semifinals at Euro 1996, which was hosted and run by Terry Venables. Then fell in the semifinals against Germany on penalties, in which luck defeated Spain in the quarterfinals. In the five years since they sat on the bench of Glenn Hoddle and Kevin pross Keegan, in addition to the interim Howard Wilkinson and Peter Taylor. After the limited success achieved in 2001 was used the first foreign coach in its history with the Swede Eriksson, who had not even trained in the Premiership. A controversial and risky bet country that invented football.

After mediocre results in the World 2006, Steve McClaren came to put an Englishman bringing back to the bench. Was only a year in which the British team failed to qualify for Euro 2008. McClaren is a good coach as demonstrated in the Dutch Twente, with whom he won in 2009 the only league of its history, but it was not a prophet in his land. Fabio Capello, with a brilliant record at clubs such as Milan, Real Madrid or Rome, was chosen. Again, a technician with no experience in English football. Although improved sensation, the role of pross in South Africa was very discreet in the second round after losing to Germany 4-1.

The truth is that a foreign coach to see a selection is already an established custom and not surprisingly, mostly in teams of middle and low. Here we see in China or Clemente Camacho in Cameroon until recently. None has succeeded, although he did with that Xabier Azkargorta Bolivia participated in the World U.S. with Etcheverry, Baldivieso or Erwin Sanchez. It is easier to understand where soccer has not developed much as in other places, but in a country with England's football tradition is strange that recourse to an outsider.

However, the rule must be equal for all, big and small, and it hosted England. In countries where football tradition is in development stages, the contribution of foreign coaches may be important for evolution, there are examples of that Hiddink Azkargorta or South Korea. Thus, Bora Milutinovic coaches and have made ​​careers on the bench half the world: Costa Rica, United States in two stages, Mexico, Nigeria, China, Honduras, Qatar, Jamaica and Iraq have been directing their Serbian national team. Frenchman Henri Michel O, addressed to France, Cameroon, Morocco twice, UAE, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and now Equatorial Guinea.

With respect to global and European Championships champions, never a team won with a foreign coach with one exception: that rarity-not without merit, it was to see Greece win Euro 2004. The German Otto Rehhagel was the one who worked the miracle. There will be cases like Rehhagel in Greece or the Argentine Bielsa, after his successful stage in Chile, where the recipients are not wary of the standard. In contrast, the outcry is not as good in England. Maybe things will change if the British team does a good world. And in the end everything depends on that between the round.

Photos | Paulblank | M11entonces