Joke of the day: Forty-eight managers walk into World Cup. Guess how many make it out?
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 21.07.26. | 21:49
The real wave of coaching departures happened during the World Cup
The curtain has fallen on yet another World Cup. Spain were crowned champions, Argentina and Lionel Messi finished runners-up, while England claimed third place.
Still, every team enters the tournament with its own ambitions. While for some the old Pierre de Coubertin's saying "It's the taking part that counts" applies, others refuse to settle for anything less than glory. That's why the same result can mean success for one nation and disappointment for another.
And when the latter happens, someone has to pay the price, and the usual scapegoats are the managers. This World Cup was no exception.
(©ChatGPT)During the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, 19 out of 48 participating national teams were left without head coaches, accounting for a staggering 39.58%!
In total, 20 managers have parted ways with their teams, either through dismissal or resignation.
Nineteen teams, but 20 coaches? You might be wondering how that is possible. Well, all thanks to Tunisia.
The Eagles of Carthage began the tournament with Sabri Lamouchi in the dugout, only for him to be sacked after the opening 5-1 defeat to Sweden. Then they hired Herve Renard, who led the team to two more losses against Japan (0-4) and the Netherlands (1-3) before stepping down from the position after a brief 18-day tenure.
Following highly underwhelming results with Germany and their early exit in the Round of 32, Julian Nagelsmann opted to step down from the helm of the national team, with his fate seemingly already decided.
Unable to ignore his responsibility for the disappointing results, Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay), Ronald Koeman (The Netherlands), and Roberto Martinez (Portugal) stepped down, though the Argentine tactician placed a significant part of the blame for the group-stage exit on the players.
The fact that the Oranje and the Navigators reached the knockout phase wasn't good enough considering the two teams' stature and reputation.
However, that's nothing compared to the case of the now former South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo, who became public enemy number one after the Asian team's group-stage exit.
He was harshly criticized by his compatriots, including the country's president Lee Jae Myung, his face was blurred on TV, and several restaurants barred him from entering.
Group-stage elimination proved to be the downfall of a number of other strategists, such as Miroslav Koubek (Czech Republic), Jamal Sellami (Jordan), and Sebastien Migne (Haiti), who all resigned, though the Frenchman quickly found a new home on Gabon's bench.
Steve Clarke left his post as Scotland manager after seven years, as his team crashed out in the group stage.
However, even some gaffers who guided their teams to the knockout stage stepped down from their positions.
Despite shocking Germany in the final round of Group E, Sebastian Beccacece was no longer in charge of Ecuador, nor was Carlos Queiroz at Ghana, although he managed to hold England to a goalless draw in the group stage.
Algeria boss Vladimir Petkovic was sacked after being eliminated in the Round of 32 by Switzerland, Javier Aguirre's contract with Mexico expired - with legendary Rafael Marquez succeeding him - while the South Africa manager Hugo Broos retired from coaching after becoming the third-oldest gaffer in World Cup history.
Following the whole saga surrounding his unclear contract situation with Senegal, Pape Thiaw was fired, despite being on the verge of stunning Belgium, whose coach Rudi Garcia also found himself out of a job after failing to receive an extension offer by the Royal Belgian Football Asociation (RBFA).
Finally, the two extremely successful and long-serving coaches, who had faced each other in the 2018 World Cup final, Didier Deschamps of France and Zlatko Dalic of Croatia, decided to step down after 14-year and nine-year spells in charge of their national teams, respectively.