The Best Former Olympic Team Managers Promoted to Lead Senior Teams

 

Only a few former Olympic team managers appointed to take charge of the senior team were considered the best one in history.

The Paris Olympics 2024 are getting closer. The multi-event sport tournament starts its competition on July 26, but football starts slightly earlier on July 24 due to its stages in the competition. All 16 managers are still pondering who will be named in the final squad and which over-aged player can be called up and given permission by their clubs to compete in the Olympics, the global tournament that is not included in the FIFA calendar.

So far, only the host France U23 and Argentina U23 have called up their players for the final squad. Les Blues have included Crystal Palace man Jean Philippe Mateta and former Arsenal man Alexander Lacazette as their only over-aged players enlisted in the team. France is led by Thierry Henry, while Albiceleste currently has Javier Mascherano at the helm of the team. Both are still at the early stages of their managerial careers. Henry is hired with the target of winning gold medal, while Mascherano has been part of the Argentina youth team since 2021. Should they manage to win medals or at least have a fairly successful campaign, they could be promoted to take charge of the senior team in the future.

Recently, two notable former Olympic team head coaches have been promoted to the top level. Spain and Mexico bosses, Luis De la Fuente and Jaime Lozano are perfect examples. They have been appointed to lead the senior team after their success in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where Spain and Mexico reached the final and semifinal, respectively. Here are the other managers who were in the same circumstances but managed to do well in the senior side.

Jupp Derwall (West Germany)

Derwall was at the helm of the West German Olympic team in 1972. At that time, he also served as the assistant manager of Helmut Schon, the West Germany national team boss, a position he held until 1970. The former Fortuna Dusseldorf man led the team with the young Ottmar Hizfield and Uli Hoeness in the squad in the tournament but did not have an impressive campaign, despite being the host. They only managed to progress to the last eight in the second-round group stage. Being seeded with East Germany, Mexico, and Hungary, Derwall’s men were only able to snatch one point and sit third in the final standings.

Despite his team’s dismal result, the Wurselen-born gaffer was promoted as Helmut Schon’s successor in 1978. He passed the first test as a head coach well by winning EURO 1980 with Bernd Schuster, Karl Heinz Rummeniege, Horst Hrubesch, and Klaus Allofs. In his first World Cup two years later, Derwall guided Germany to the final despite losing to Algeria in the opener. His last major tournament was EURO 1984, which they headed to exit prematurely.

Henri Michel (France)

He was the head coach for the French Olympic team in Los Angeles in 1984. That was the first edition when professional players were allowed to be called up for the squad. Yet, only those with minor caps or less than five international appearances on the senior team, regardless of age, were given clearance to play at the Olympics. Michel had RC Lens’ Daniel Xuereb and Guy Lacombe in the squad. Les Blues managed to go all the way to the final and beat the favourite, Brazil, by two goals to nil.

Not long after, he was promoted to replace Michel Hidalgo after EURO 1984. Michel had the luxury of having top players in the national team like Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, and Luis Fernandez at his disposal. His team once again defeated Brazil in the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal before slumping to a 2-0 loss against West Germany in the semifinal. Michel Platini and Co. finally secured third place in Mexico in 1986. Unfortunately, Prance failed to qualify in Italy in 1990.

The former midfielder then left the position and took charge of PSG for the 1990–91 campaign. Sadly, Le Parisien only finished ninth in the standings. Michel then became a journeyman in Africa and led three nations to three different World Cup editions: Cameroon in the USA 1994, Morocco in France in 1998, and Ivory Coast in Germany in 2006.

Raymond Domenech (France)

Domenech was a surprising figure in French football. Yet he had his fortune during his time. The former Strasbourg man was at the helm of the French Olympic team in Atlanta in 1996. Les Blues had notable names in the squad, such as Vincent Candela, Olivier Dacourt, Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires, and Claude Makalele. All of whom became stars in their own clubs and the France national team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, EURO 2000, and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, Domenech’s men only advanced to the quarterfinal as they were beaten by Portugal 2-1 through a golden goal.

After France’s exit from EURO 2004, the former fullback was once again shockingly picked to lead the senior team ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. With the help of Makalele, plus Zidane and Lillian Thuram, who had announced their international retirement, Les Blues was able to go through the final. Unfortunately, Les Blues’s luck ran dry in the summit as they lost on penalties after their skipper, Zinedine Zidane, headbutted Marco Materazzi, leading to his expulsion and the tragic end of his career.

Unsurprisingly, Domenech failed to replicate their positive campaign in EURO 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cups. France were both eliminated in the preliminary round. The manager who was infamous for his controversy was eventually sacked. His last team in charge was Nantes in 2020, ten years after his dismissal by FFF. Yet, he only lasted for months as they struggled in the relegation zone. 

Bruce Arena (USA)

The last one on the list is the American former manager of the USMNT, Bruce Arena. He was the head coach of the USA Olympic team in Atlanta in 1996. However, unlike Domenech, he was not able to guide his team to progress from the group stage, despite having notable over-aged figures like Alexi Lalas and Kasey Keller and young talents such as Claudio Reyna, Eddie Pope, and Frankie Hedjuk in the squad. Being seeded by the favourites, Argentina, Portugal, and Tunisia, Alexi Lalas and Co only finished third with four points, from a win over Tunisia and a draw against Portugal, but lost to Albiceleste.

Two years later, after taking the reins in MLS’s DC United, Arena was named USMNT boss after their early disappointing exit in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The former goalkeeper had been able to bring the USMNT to the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, their highest stage to date in modern football. Unfortunately, he could not repeat the same success in Germany in 2006, leading to his dismissal.