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The Managers Taking Charge of the Rival Sides in International Football

 


Only a few managers who have been up to the rare challenge in taking charge of the rival side of their own nations in international football.

Being the manager of your own national team would undoubtedly be an incredible experience for a coach. The pride of leading one's own country to an international major tournament is irreplaceable. However, fate can be cruel at times, and the opportunity to lead a rival nation arises before your own. Such is difficult, but for someone who is unattached, it is simply too good to pass up.

This is what happens to Thomas Tuchel. The former Chelsea, Bayern Munich, PSG, and Dortmund manager was recently appointed by the FA as Gareth Southgate's successor. He is the best available candidate and a proven winner for his team, which matches the desired profile. The only flaw in him is that he is German, England's long-time rival on and off the pitch. Fortunately, such rivalry is no longer an issue in modern era, despite their conflict in the past.

In international football history, there have been some gaffers who were up for such a challenge. Surprisingly, none of them has been successful with silverware in hand. Here are those managers who opt to take such an unpopular challenge.

Filpo Nunez (Brazil 1965)

He was the only gaffer who had been in-between Brazil-Argentina rivalry. Nunez was more well-known in Brazil than in his native country and even gained Brazilian citizenship in 1969.

Nunez first came to Brazil in 1955 to take charge of Cruzeiro with the reference from his friend, Elba de Padua Lima. Previously, he had spells in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The former goalkeeper, while playing for an amateur team, then spent most of his life in his nation’s rival and had several stints in Palmeiras, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Portuguesa, Paulista, and Jabaquara, with several years in Portugal, Venezuela, and his homeland, Argentina.

In 1965, the Brazilian football governing body (CBF) picked the best team at that time, Palmeiras, to represent Selecao in a friendly match against Uruguay to inaugurate Mineirao Stadium. Nunez brought his Palmerias team-in-Brazil shirt to defeat La Celeste 3-0. It was only a one-time game, but his name remained well-noted as one of the two foreign bosses in the Brazilian national team.

The Buenos Aires-born manager might not have delivered plenty of silverware. His only titles were three regional championships with Guarani, the America of Sao Jose and Palmerias, the Portuguese Cup in 1962 with Leixoes, their only title to date, and the second-tier league title with Peru’s Carlos Concha.

His most notable contribution was the foundation of Palmeiras first academy in 1964, with offensive attacking football as his team’s trademark. His tactical idea, ‘the carousel’, was in fact quite similar to Spain’s tiki taka, which was inspired by the Netherlands'  total football. Such football philosophy then rose to prominence globally in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Ironically, his carousel was not appreciated when he implemented it in Cruzeiro back in 1970, as it was deemed ‘too many passing’ and did not bring immediate positive results.

Jon Dahl Tomasson (Sweden 2024- now)

The current Sweden boss is the first foreign manager in Blagut since the Englishman George Raynor in the 1950s. His appointment is rather surprising considering the Sweden-Denmark rivalry. Yet, such is probably no longer relevant in the modern world, despite the fact that both nations once fought in several wars in the 16th century.

The former AC Milan and Feyenoord forward was named as Janne Anderson’s successor in 2024 following his fairly impressive spell in Malmo FF in 2020-21 before he switched sides to EFL’s Blackburn Rovers. Tomasson won two league titles with the Swedish powerhouses consecutively and led them to UCL’s group stage in the second season.

So far, the former assistant manager of the Denmark national team during their 2018 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2020 campaign has been at the helm of Alexander Isak and Co. in eight games. They have been unbeaten in the UEFA Nations League with three wins and one draw, but Sweden is still hapless against the mid- and top teams. They suffered three defeats in the friendly games against Portugal, Serbia, and his own nation, Denmark.

Bo Johansson (Denmark 1996-2000)

 Long before Sweden opted for the Danish’s service, Denmark had already done it back in the mid-1990s. The Denmark football governing body named a Swedish gaffer, Bo Johansson, as the manager for the EURO 1992 winner, replacing Richard Moeller Nielsen, who failed to defend the title in EURO 1996.

The Swede was able to overturn the team’s style of play from the defensive to more offensive one under his tutelage. Such had made him popular among the fans, especially when he managed to guide Michael Laudrup and Co to the quarterfinal in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, they had a dismal run in EURO 2000 as Denmark failed to snatch a single point at the group stage.

The former Iceland boss in the early 1990s did have one successful spell in Denmark. He won a league title in 1994 with Silkeborg IF, which is their first and only one to date. The Kristdala-born manager also had a brief stint in two Nordic elite sides, IFK Goteborg and Molde BK, in the later years of his managerial career before he retired in 2005.

Dick Advocaat (Belgium 2009-2010)

The current Curacao boss was once one of the well-known managers at the top level. He has been in charge of the Netherlands national team three times, led Zenit St Petersburg to be the only Russian club to ever win a continental title to date while clinching the UEFA Cup 2008, the Europa League predecessor, and guided South Korea and Russia to major international tournaments.

Advocaat was once in the middle of Low Countries rivalry when he was appointed Belgium boss in 2009, while he was still at the helm of AZ Alkmaar. Belgium and the Netherlands have been rivals for ages. The former has been constantly looked down on by the latter. No wonder that when they opted to hire the gaffer known as ‘The Little General’, it only confirmed such an opinion.

However, the former Roda JC man did not stay long with De Rode Duivels. Heonly led them in five games till 2010 with the record of three wins and twodefeats, while his tenure in Arizona had a dismal campaign as they only finished fifth. Advocaat eventually left both posts to sign for Russia as Guus Hiddink’s successor in summer 2010.

Daniel Passarella (Uruguay 1999-2001)

The world knows him more as the World Cup-winning centre back. Yet little know that he was actually the first Argentinean manager for La Celeste. Argentina and Uruguay have been in rivalry for years, with the fiercest one in the 1920s and 1930s, when both nations met in 1928 Olympic games and 1930 FIFA World Cup finals.

Passarella was named Uruguay's boss in summer 1999 after the Copa America, in which Alvaro Recoba and Co became the tournament’s finalists. Unfortunately, his stint in Uruguay did not end well. The former River Plate and Parma manager only guided them in 16 games until 2001, including 10 matches in 2002 World Cup qualifiers. His team only won four times and was held three times. The former Argentina boss in the 1998 FIFA World Cup was not able to prevent La Celeste from humiliating losses against China and Bosnia.

Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay 2022-now)

The former Leeds United boss is the second Argentine in charge of La Celeste. Like Passarella, Bielsa once led Argentina too, from 1998 to 2004. Despite being praised for his high pressing and intensity in his tactic, Javier Zanetti and Co’s campaign in the 2002 World Cup ended miserably in the group stage. They were also unable to clinch a Copa America title in 2004. Bielsa’sonly silverware with his native was a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

His fortune, unfortunately, did not change when he switched sides with his country’s rival. El Loco did bring Uruguay to a historic triumph over Brazil and Argentina in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but their performance dipped in the Copa America 2024 as they failed to reach the final. Luis Suarez and Co. even had to struggle to beat Canada on penalties in the third-place playoff.


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