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.
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