Top managers rarely make a leap of faith by taking charge of the minnows in international football and succeed.
Being the top manager is
always synonymous with the high demands from the clubs and foreign national
teams. The big teams are always more preferable for those top figures as it
suits their ambition. They are also accustomed to huge pressure and expectations.
However, some others take
more unpopular options by taking the leap of faith with the minnows. Such is
never easy, especially considering their lack of modern facilities, local
bureaucracy, or, even worse, a limited number of talents. It is a huge challenge
they have to face from time to time.
Recently, one of the minnows
which could potentially qualify to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Indonesia, has just
dismissed Shin Tae-Yong, who is considered one of South Korea’s top managers.
He was the former South Korean national team boss in the 2018 FIFA World Cup,
where they crushed the defending champion, Germany 2-0 at the group stage. STY
was also at the helm of Korea U23 in 2016 Rio Olympics as they reached quarter
finals and the U20 side in 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup, when they managed to beat
one of the favorites, Argentina U20 to go through.
His contribution to
Indonesia’s surprising rise from nearly qualifying to 2024 Paris Olympics, only
losing to Mali in the intercontinental playoff, to reaching the round of 16 in
2023 AFC Asian Cup and sitting third in the current World Cup qualifiers, was
not considered enough to convince the local football governing body, PSSI, to
keep his position. His lack of proper communication with the foreign-born
Indonesian players and tactical approach have been deemed the reason behind his
sacking.
Such is quite shameful as STY
could be on the verge of making a historic breakthrough with the South East
Asian former giant. Should Shin have sealed the world cup berth, he could have
been following the path of these top figures.
These top class managers
below have proven that they were able to make a positive impact on their low
tier sides. One of them was even able to lift the trophy, which is their only
international title to date.
Jean Vincent (Cameroon)
His name is probably not popular outside France but he was a true legend in French football. Vincent was the manager at Nantes when they had their brief golden era in the late 1970s to early 1980s.
During his spell with the
Canaries from 1976 to 1982, the former Bastia boss guided them to win the
league twice in 1977 and 1980, finish second three times in 1978, 1979 and 1981
plus snatch the French Cup title in 1979.
In his last season in Nantes,
he left the club in March 1982 surprisingly to take charge of the Cameroon
national team who would make their world cup debut in Spain during the summer.
Vincent led Thomas N’Kono and Co to a sensational form by being unbeaten at the
group stage. They held Poland and Peru in a goalless draw and the eventual
Champions, Italy in 1-1 tie. His team missed the chance to qualify to the group
stage at the second round only due to the lack of goal advantage. Italy also
collected the same point but had scored one more goal. He eventually left the post
after the world cup and returned to France by signing for Rennes.
Jorge Solari (Saudi
Arabia)
He was one of the top
managers in Argentina back in the late 1980s before switching sides to La Liga
side, Tenerife, in January 1991. The uncle of former Real Madrid boss, Santiago
Solari, had impressive spells with Newell’s Old Boys, which he led them finish
second in Argentina top flight league in 1986 and 1987, and with Independiente,
where he finally clinched his first league title in 1989.
Solari’s stint in Spain was
not exactly memorable as he only managed to guide Tenerife to sit in the mid
lower table in his two seasons there. He went back to Newell's in 1993 but
failed to replicate his previous tenure there before plying his trade to SaudiArabia. They were about to make their World Cup debut in USA 1994.
The former midfielder was at
the helm of Fuad Amin and Co in ten games. In his first six friendly games,Saudi Arabia suffered three defeats, snatched two draws against Chile and USMNTplus picked up a win over Iceland. However, they made a stunning performance in
the final round by thumping Morocco and Belgium to advance to the round of 16.
Sadly, they were hapless against Sweden as they lost 3-1. It has been KSA’s
best campaign in the world cup to date.
Leo Beenhakker
(Trinidad and Tobago)
He was once a top managers in
Europe, especially during the 1980s and 1990s. Beenhakker was widely remembered
for his spells in Ajax, Real Madrid and Feyenoord, as he clinched league titles
there. The former Volendam and Grashopper Zurich boss even won La Liga three
times consecutively from 1987-1989 plus Copa Del Rey with Los Blancos.
Beenhakker also had two
stints with Netherlands national team in the mid-1980s and the 1990 FIFA World
Cup. He was named Ruud Gullit and Co’s manager by KNVB ahead of the legendary
Johan Cryuff. Unfortunately, he failed to impress in both tenures. De Oranje
was even winless in the latter competition, despite going through the knockout
stage. Their campaign ended miserably in the second round by losing to their
archrival, West Germany, 2-1.
In early 2005, he took up a
challenging job by signing for Trinidad and Tobago, the CONCACAF minnow, with
the target of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Such was a huge task, as
T & T had poor talents and limited players abroad.
They were once at the bottom
of the third group stage of World Cup qualifiers before his arrival. Then, the
Dutch boss was able to overturn the situation as Chris Birchall and Co. managed
to finish fourth and sealed an intercontinental playoff berth. One of the
crucial results was a 2-1 victory over Mexico on their home turf in the last
match of the CONCACAF qualifiers. Soca Warriors eventually secured one spot in
Germany 2006 after a 2-1 win over Bahrain in the playoff.
In the final round,
Beenhakker’s team was able to frustrate Sweden at the opener by forcing a
goalless tie. Unfortunately, they could not score either, as they were beaten
by England and Paraguay in the following two fixtures. Such did not stop him
from cementing his status as the T & T football hero. Soca Warriors have
yet to qualify for another World Cup final round ever since.
Otto Rehhagel
(Greece)
He is undoubtedly the most
successful top managers taking a leap of faith for the minnow. Rehhagel even
turned down the chance to lead his own national team, Germany, at the time of
the crisis twice and turned to Greece instead in 2001.
Greece is no match to his
native which is a world cup and European winner. They are none but a low tier
team in Europe. They only made one appearance each in major tournaments, EURO
1980 and 1994 FIFA World Cup, before his arrival. Both ended in their
disappointing early exit without a single win.
His success with Greece did
not come instantly. He had to rebuild the team after their failure to qualify
to 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the next major tournaments, Rehhagel’s hard work
came to fruitful unexpectedly, as his team was able to win EURO 2004 by
stomping the favorite and the host, Portugal, twice, at the opener and the
final, plus France and Czech Republic in the process. It is Greece’s best
campaign in history and their only title in major competition so far. In his
last years, the former Werder Bremen and Kaiserlautern boss helped them to
qualify to another EURO in 2008 and second world cup in 2010.
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