COACHES OF RUSSIA 2018
From strict old-school types to globe-trotting adventurers, this year’s World Cup has brought together a fascinating mix of brains DPA
URUGUAY’S Oscar Tabarez is the oldest World Cup coach, Senegal’s Aliou Cisse the youngest. The spectrum also ranges from strict oldschool types to globe-trotting adventurers.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman showed no signs of his 68 years of age when he happily jumped up and down to the singing and dancing of his players on the airport bus before their departure for Russia.
The World Cup can after all be something of a fountain of youth for the helmsmen.
Even not fully healthy, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez forgot about his cane when he leaped up from his seat in celebration of his team’s late winner against Egypt in their first game last week.
At 71, Tabarez is the oldest of the 32 coaches and his momentary burst of excitement contrasts with his usually cool and experienced demeanour.
The stereotype also applies to Sweden coach Janne Andersson, a 55-year-old who says about himself: “I am process-driven and dead boring.”
Heimir Hallgrimsson from cult team Iceland is just as down-to-earth.
Half the planet knows by now that he is a dentist and he is very clear why the team gets so much affection.
“You must simply love us. Iceland was always nice to everyone and has never started a war. We are very beautiful people as well,” he quipped. A little grumpy and authoritarian Moustachioed Stanislav Cherchesov from hosts Russia is more of an old-school coach, a little grumpy and authoritarian, but also completely modest.
“If no one criticizes you it basically means that that no one gives a damn what you are doing,” he said.
Portugal’s 63-year-old Fernando Santos also has has a reputation of being strict and serious – and religious.
He not only boasts the Euro 2016 title but also an engineering diploma.
Another type of coach, mainly found with African teams, is the globe-trotting European.
Frenchman Herve Renard, 49, has coached in Zambia, Angola, Algeria and Ivory Coast before now being in charge of Morocco.
He never played professional football but once owned a cleaning service.
German Gernot Rohr is coaching Nigeria in Russia after earlier stints with the national teams of Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Argentinian coaches Juan Antonio Pizzi (Saudi Arabia) and Hector Cuper (Egypt) have also seen a lot of the world, while Poland’s Adam Nawalka worked in the United States in the timber business between playing at the 1978 World Cup which was hsoted and won by his native country and now returning to the big time as coach.
Then there are those from the Spanish-speaking part of the Americas with the fancy nicknames.
Flamboyant Panama coach Hernan Dario is known as “El Bolillo” (the truncheon), diminutive Costa Rica helmsman Oscar Ramirez as “Machillo” (little man) and tattooed Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli as “El Loco” (the madman). Dread-locked Aliou Cisse of Senegal is meanwhile the youngest of them all at 42, an incredible 29 years younger than Tabarez, who needs walking aids as he suffers Guillain Barre syndrome, which causes muscle weakness. “Regardless of the difficulties, it’s his sportsmanship that keeps him on his feet,” Spanish paper El Pais said in admiration of the veteran coach of Uruguay, the two time world champions. – dpa