The 19th edition of the World Cup is turning out to be nightmarish to teams that are managed by foreign nationals. Foreign bosses are at the helm of 12 of the 32 teams in the fray, including England’s Italian manager Fabio Capello. Hosts South Africa also went for foreign firepower in the form of 1994 World Cup winner, Carlos Alberto Parreira. But the “outsourcing” decision hasn’t proved to be inspirational for a majority of the 12 countries.
Cameroon, the most experienced African country at the World Cup with six Finals appearances, have earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to make an exit from South Africa’s event. Frenchman Paul Le Guen is at the helm of Cameroon. And, he is the villain in the eye of Cameroonian fans.
Australia’s Pim Verbeek is another “foreigner” under the microscope. Australia have failed to fire under the Dutchman’s stewardship, even though they managed to hold Ghana 1-1 at Rustenburg on Saturday despite losing Harry Kewell early in the game. The performance had, however, more to do with typical Australian grit rather than the motivational powers of Verbeek, who was ripped apart in the media Down Under after the Aussies went down to Germany 0-4 in the opener.
Parreira is on the brink of taking nothing more than the personal milestone of reaching his sixth World Cup, from South Africa. His experience hasn’t made Bafana Bafana tick.
Capello’s position isn’t as precarious as that of Parreira, but the Italian has no margin for error against Slovenia in England’s final group match. If Capello fails to take his team to the second round, the knives will be out to oust him from one of the most lucrative jobs in international football.