We’re now just a few months away from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, and the hype is starting to build apace. Here at The18, we’ve already covered 18 players to watch at this summer’s tournament, but here are five coaches that are worth following come June. Some have served as pioneers of the women’s game, while others are taking their respective countries to new found heights.
When Claude Puel was fired by Leicester City over the weekend, there were no more French head coaches at a top-flight Big 5 league outside of France. It got us thinking, which country produces the best coaches by nationality?
Is it Italy, with its highly tactical league? Or England, the inventors of the sport? How about Germany, with the largest population in Europe? Spain’s gotta be up there with the deepest league in Europe, right? Or maybe France, which just won the World Cup?
After unbelievable success in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is heading back to the Premier League to take over Leicester City.
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 26, 2019
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer undoubtedly has made his mark at Manchester United. Even if the changes that were made to the side were small, the fruits of those changes are obvious. United haven't lost a single Premier League match since the Baby-faced Assassin took charge, the only blip on the radar being the PSG match.
Last time we checked in with Diego Maradona and Dorados, it was to report on the Argentine legend’s antics during his side’s Ascenso MX Apertura final defeat. After the heartbreak of that 4-3 aggregate defeat, Maradona has since returned to lead Dorados during the Clausura season.
While the club has achieved success in the Copa MX — they’ll play Liga MX side Atlas on Tuesday in the Round of 16 — the regular season has been something of a disaster for the club. After six matches, Dorados has only managed one win.
Jürgen Klinsmann has been out of the management game for well over two years now, and there are a variety of reasons for that. Most obviously, the 2006 German Football Manager of the Year is utilizing the old “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” technique.
Juan Carlos Osorio became the latest coach to lead Mexico to the World Cup Round of 16 and no further over the summer. The 2018 tournament was the seventh straight time El Tri was knocked out at that stage.
After the 2018 World Cup, Osorio resigned from Mexico and in September he was appointed Paraguay manager. His first match with the club was a 1-1 draw with South Africa in November.
This is Giancarlo Favarin, manager of Serie C club Lucchese. You’re not going to see much of him anymore, because he’s been banned for five months for unloading his cranium straight into the face of an opposing team's assistant coach. During the 2-2 draw between his side and rival Alessandria, Favarin also instructed one of his players to break an opponent’s legs. That’s also a big no-no when it comes to touchline etiquette.
On Friday, it was confirmed that Thierry Henry had officially left his position as manager of Monaco after a disastrously short reign of just over 100 days. Henry was appointed back on Oct. 11 with the club languishing in 18th, and after two wins over the following 12 league matches, Henry was dismissed with the club now sitting 19th.
Where did it all go wrong for Henry?