5 successful club managers who failed at International football

Success at club level does not guarantee silverware in international football

Even if a team possesses a pool of talented players and irrespective of how confident they are, without a good manager, it is highly unlikely that they will succeed. Let us take the very example of Manchester United. David Moyes failed to even qualify for the UEFA Europa League, with almost the same squad with which Sir Alex Ferguson won the Premier League. This may be an example of a failure at club level. However, this is also true when it comes to managing a country.

The role of a manager isn’t just setting the training regime, picking the playing XI and discussing tactics for a particular game. The manager more or less becomes the face of the team, defending them during their defeats and boosting their morale during bitter periods. It also takes a great manager to use his limited options wisely and bring out the best of even an average player.

Despite being successful at the club level, one might not always succeed at the international level as it is a different ballgame altogether. Some managers are more suited to the national team while others are cut out for the club game only.

Let us take a look at five managers who succeeded at the club level but failed to etch their mark at the international stage.

#5 Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan won only 38.9% of his games in charge as England manager

After a break of 8 years following a fruitful career as a player, Keegan returned to football as the manager of Newcastle United, a team fighting for survival in the Second Division. He strengthened the squad with key signings and helped promotion from the second tier to the first and then to the Premier League in consecutive seasons.

He had enormous success in his first season at the Premier League, finishing third and bringing European football to the club after a period of over 20 years. During his stint, Newcastle finished as runners-up in two consecutive seasons (1995-96, 1996-97), finishing second only to Ferguson’s Manchester United.

He also went on to manage Fulham and Manchester City, winning promotion as champions in his first full season at both clubs, a feat he had also achieved with Newcastle United.

Following his tremendous success with below average teams, he was appointed as the manager of the England national team in February 1999. After an impressive qualifying campaign for Euro 2000, his tactical naivety was exploited and an unsuccessful Euro campaign followed. During the competition, England lost 3-2 to Portugal despite taking a 2-0 lead. After a victory over Germany in the second fixture, England yet again lost 3-2, this time at the hands of Romania. This led to their elimination from the competition and put Keegan under tremendous pressure.

He eventually resigned in October 2000, after a defeat in England’s first 2002 World Cup qualifier against Germany. He could manage just four wins in 11 games as England manager.

#4 Javier Clemente

Javier Clemente managed Spain in three major competitions and failed to make it to the semi-finals even once.

He started his career as a manager even before he turned 30, with teams from the lower levels of Spanish football league system. He eventually went on to manage Athletic Bilbao, the only club he represented as a player.

Clemente led the side to back-to-back league titles in his second and third year, ahead of the likes of Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Barcelona. He also won the Copa del Rey during his third year, while finishing as runner-up in the successive year.

He then went to RCD Espanyol, where he guided them to a best-ever third place and the final of the UEFA Cup. Following short spells at Atletico Madrid, Bilbao and Espanyol, in 1992, he was appointed as the manager of Spain national team.

He led the country to three major international tournaments- 1994 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 1996. A loss to Nigeria in the group stages of the 1998 World Cup led to their exit without even qualifying for the knock-out stages. Clemente could only manage a run to the quarterfinals stage at the 1994 World Cup and Euro 1996.

Clemente and the national team parted ways following a 2-3 defeat to Cyprus in a Euro 2000 qualifier.

#3 Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson failed as the manager of England national team

Hodgson started his managerial career in 1976 at Allsvenkan, the top flight of the Swedish football league system. He managed Halmstads BK and won the championship twice in a span of five years. His success with Halmstads BK is considered as one of the biggest surprises of all time in Swedish football.

In 1985, he was appointed as the manager of Malmo FF. He led them to five consecutive league championships, two Swedish championships and two Swedish cups (Svenska Cupen). He, along with his friend Bob Houghton, are credited with transforming football in Sweden and bringing in zonal marking for the first time to Swedish football.

After short managerial stints at various other clubs, he moved to Denmark and became the manager of FC Copenhagen. He turned out to be a big success as he led a team that finished seventh and eighth in the two previous seasons to the Superliga championship.

He was appointed as the manager of England national team in 2012. This was not his first stint as an international manager, having already managed Switzerland (1992-95) and Finland (2006-07).

At his first major competition, Euro 2012, England topped the group convincingly and faced Italy in the quarterfinals. Despite a defeat on penalties against Italy, the England national team were praised for being well-organized and putting up a good fight. A good showing at Euro 2012 and the qualifying stages of the World Cup raised the hopes of the fans for the 2014 World Cup.

To the disappointment of the entire footballing fraternity, England got eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage for the first time since 1958.

After an unsuccessful campaign at Euro 2016, Roy Hodgson decided to resign after failing to beat the minnows Iceland in the quarterfinal fixture.

#2 Fabio Capello

Despite massive club success, Fabio Capello failed to achieve anything with England

Fabio Capello had a dream start to his managerial career as he won 4 Serie A titles in his five seasons with AC Milan. He also won the UEFA Champions League, defeating Barcelona 4-0 in a memorable final. The following year he went to Real Madrid and won the La Liga title at his first attempt.

He also led Roma to their first league title in 18 years. He extended his legacy by managing Real Madrid to yet another La Liga title in the 2006-07 season.

Coming afresh from winning the league title in Spain, big things were expected of Capello when he took over as England manager in 2008. After a convincing qualifying campaign to the World Cup, it was time for England to perform at the big stage in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup.

However, they played well below expectations. Grouped along with USA, Slovenia and Algeria, Capello’s men scraped through to the knockout stages with just one win and two goals in the three group fixtures. Finishing second in the group meant that they would face the Germans in the quarterfinals. The red hot Germans annihilated them 4-1 and ended England’s high hopes of bringing glory since the 1966 World Cup.

After an unsuccessful tenure, Capello resigned as England manager due to a dispute with the Football Association. His managerial stint at Russia didn’t come off to a great start either as they failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup. Following a shaky Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, he was sacked as Russia manager.

#1 Giovanni Trapattoni

Giovanni Trappattoni is considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A

Like his Italian compatriot Capello, Trappattoni is one of the most successful managers at club level, gloating trophies galore with multiple clubs.

He began his managerial stint at Juventus, leading them for ten consecutive seasons. During this tenure, he won six Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia and the Intercontinental Cup. He also won the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) and the UEFA Cup twice. He also holds a European record, having won all UEFA club competitions with Juventus.

He added another Serie A title and UEFA Cup to his tally with Inter Milan. He then went to Bayern Munich, where he won the German Bundesliga, the German Cup (DFB-Pokal) and the German League Cup (DFB-Ligapokal).

Trappattoni took over his national team, Italy from 2000-2004 but failed to make an impact despite having one of the most talented Italian teams of all time. At the 2002 World Cup, the Azzuri could manage just one win in three games before being knocked out by co-hosts South Korea in the Round of 16.

Despite being undefeated at Euro 2004, Italy lacked lustre scoring just three goals in three games and eventually failed to make it past the group stages on goal difference.

To the fans rejoice, all the talent in the team was put to use as Italy went on to win the World Cup two years after Trappattoni’s departure.

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Edited by Staff Editor