Skip to main content

Notable Top Managers who won Medals at the Olympics

Image
By


Very few top managers leading the U23 team to the Olympics eventually won medals in the tournament.

Football at the Olympics might have been the most prestigious tournament in its early editions in the 1920s and 1930s before the FIFA World Cup emerged as the main international competition. However, since then, the value of football at the Olympics has steadily declined, as FIFA would prefer to emphasise the competition for professional players, not only for amateurs or youngsters. Despite the rule change in 1984, enabling professional players to take part, winning medals at the Olympics has never been a priority. Such can be seen from the small number of top managers who have been eager to help the U23 side gain success in the tournament.

In the past few editions, including Paris 2024, top managers have been nowhere to be seen. Most of them are the head coaches of U20 sides or assistant managers who have been assigned to take charge of the U23 team. Should they manage to impress the federation, they could be promoted to the post of senior national team. Spain’s Luis de La Fuente is one recent example. Before winning thesilver medal in Tokyo 2020, no one barely heard of his name. Yet, now, the former Bilbao Athletic coach has been tipped as the man who revitalised La Furia Roja’s glory after winning the UEFA Nations League 2023 and EURO 2024.

Throughout history, only a few well-known managers took charge of the team, but even fewer eventually won medals. Here are those who did.


Valeri Lobanovsky

He is one of the greatest but most forgotten top managers in the world. Lobanovsky was an integral part of Dynamo Kiev’s and the USSR's triumphant campaign in the continental competition. He was at the helm of both teams three times. The former left-winger was even in charge of both his club and national team from 1986 to 1990. As a manager, the former Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donestk man had won 13 league titles for Kiev and two UEFA Winners Cups in 1975 and 1986, plusguided them to UCL semifinals three times, with the last one in the 1998/99 season. He also helped Rinat Dassayev and Co. reach the semifinals of EURO 1988.

Unfortunately, he could not replicate such success while leading the Olympic team for the 1976 edition. The manager, who once became joint-head coach with his ex-teammate, Oleh Bazylevych, during their successful stint in Europe within 1974-1976, only clinched the bronze medal after thumping Brazil 2-0.

Mario Zagallo

The former Brazilian left winger in the 1940s and 1950s is undoubtedly one of the best managers in history. He might have only won a league title once for Botafogo in 1968. Yet Zagallo was the first world cup-winning player and manager to clinch the FIFA World Cup. He guided Pele and Co for their third one in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, plus snatched the Copa America 1997 and Confederation Cup in the same year for Selecao.

However, while at the helm of the U23 team for the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, Zagallo only managed to win a bronze medal. Ronaldo Luiz was surprisingly beaten 4-3 by Nigeria in the thrilling semifinal before routing Portugal 5-0 in the third-place playoff. 

Marcelo Bielsa

The Argentine boss is the only top manager to win a gold medal at the Olympics. He did it in Athens in 2004 as he guided the star-studded Argentina U23 team to clinch their first ever gold medal. Bielsa’s men were too superior to the opposition in the process. Carlos Tevez and Co. hammered Serbia and Montenegro 6-0 at the group stage, crushed Costa Rica 4-0 in the quarterfinal, and dismantled Italy 3-0 in the semifinal before thumping Paraguay 1-0 in the final.

The current Uruguay manager might not have snatched plenty of silverware at the club level. Yet, his role in improving his mid-level teams’ form to challenge the elite sides has been highly appreciated. His only titles were three league titles for Newell’s Old Boys (1991, Clausura 1992, and Velez Sarsfield 1998). Yet, he guided his team to advance to the finals multiple times before losing in the summit, from Newell’s Old Boys in the Copa Libertadores 1992, Argentina in the Copa America 2004 to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League 2012. The former defender also helped Chile qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after their absence in two previous editions and inspired Leeds United’s return to the Premier League in 2020 after missing out on the top flight for 16 years.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top El Classicos with Englishman as the Protagonist

By
  A few El Clásico games have been decided by English players in the matches’ history, especially during modern times. El Classico 2025 is set to be held this weekend on Sunday, October 26. This would be the first time ever when two sides have English players in the same season. Both teams have a long history with Englishmen, but they belong to different eras and seasons. In the past, prior to World War II, Barcelona had 10 Englishmen in the squad, with Jack Greenwell as one of the most notable ones, whereas their archrival in the capital only had one name. However, things went the opposite in the modern era. Los Blancos went ahead and became more English-friendly with seven players since the 1980s, while their Catalan counterparts have only had two names ever since. The Englishmen in Madrid were even top names in the era, especially in the 2000s when the superstars David Beckham and Michael Owen joined the Los Galacticos after Laurie Cunningham in the 1980s and Steve ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Players thriving under their father/manager at the club and earn immediate international cap

By
  A few players have been fortunate in his career when they emerge to stardom under his father who happens to be the manager of their club. Football runs deep and certainly can run in the family. There have been a number of players who play for the team alongside their brothers or under their father as the team boss.  Not all manage to break into the first team under their fathers. Recently, one of Argentina internationals thrives under his father/manager at the club has been the regular member of Albiceleste squad. He is none but Guiliano Simeone , the son of Atletico Madrid boss, Diego . He owed his recent prominence to his father. He joined Los Rojiblancos initially in the reserve team before spending his loan spells in two Segunda Division sides, Alaves and Real Zaragoza before eventually being promoted to the first team last season. The right winger has been indispensable in Metropolitan with 67 appearances so far, registering eight goals and 14 assists. He e...
Post a Comment
Read more

1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup: The Emergence of Portugal

By
  The 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup marked the dawn of Portugal’s resurgence in world football, as a new generation delivered the nation’s first international title. Portugal had enjoyed a golden period in the mid-1960s, when Eusébio inspired them to the World Cup semi-finals in 1966, but the national side then faded from prominence. A revival began in the 1980s at club level, with Benfica and Porto reaching European finals—Porto famously winning the European Cup in 1987. The national team also showed promise at Euro 1984, reaching the semi-finals, before suffering a humiliating collapse at the 1986 World Cup amid the “Saltillo scandal.” Failure to qualify for Euro 1988 left Portuguese football in crisis. Against that backdrop, the triumph of Carlos Queiroz’s promising young squad in Saudi Arabia offered a glimpse of a brighter future for the Seleção das Quinas. Key Facts – 1989 Tournament   The 1989 edition carried several notable features: * Held from 16 February to 3 Mar...
Post a Comment
Read more