International Football News: Arsene Wenger votes English while Carlo Ancelloti goes for Foreign
Ever since England’s disaster at the FIFA 2010 World Cup took place, there has been a steady debate that has centred around the question that whether the next English national team coach should be English or Foreign?
It is a difficult question for the English Football Association, whose previous two choices for the national team post before Capello, have given them enough insight to the matter to make the correct decision in the near future. England were led into the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan and then in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany by a foreign coach, but nevertheless a well reputed one. The manager in question is none other than Sven Goran Eriksson; Sven managed England for both the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups along with the European Championships of 2004.
England’s performances in these tournaments were average but if you take into account the amount of talent that is produced by the English Premier League, the national team’s performances can be termed as below par under Sven. Nonetheless, Sven was replaced after the 2006 World Cup by his assistant manager Steve McLaren.
Steve was England’s first English coach in around about five years and but his tenure was even a bigger disaster than Sven’s. Under McLaren, England failed to qualify for the European Championships of 2008, this failure resulted in Steve’s immediate dismissal as the English national team manager.
Fabio Capello was then contacted by the English Football Association and the Italian national took England to the FIFA 2010 World Cup, where they were disappointing again as the Three Lions exited the tournament after a horrible four goals to one defeat to Germany in the round of sixteen in South Africa. Capello has been retained as the English national team manager till 2012 but the ex-Juventus manager has made it clear that after 2012 he will be retiring from management altogether.
Football Association has hinted that the next England manager will be an English national. Many people and reputed professionals have come out and backed Harry Redknapp to succeed Capello as the English national team manager in 2012 after the European Championships have taken place. One man differs with that and that man is none other than the Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelloti. Ancelloti told the media that FA should not rule out the possibility of signing up a foreign coach again.
He said that, FA can appoint an English manager or a foreign one, it is ultimately their own choice but he emphasized the fact that there are many foreign coaches who are qualified enough to do the English national team job. Speaking on the lives of English players, Carlo explained that as a manager he is not interested in the player’s private lives. He said that players have to respect their club’s identity off the field but Ancelloti went onto say that he cannot control what his players do in their private lives.
On the other hand, Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger, who has been associated with the English national team job in the past said that the next manager for the English national team has to be an English citizen. He said that FA should assign someone from England because that is a representation of the country. Arsene explained that according to him this is the best way to go forward for the England football team.
Several media outlets in Britain have criticized the lack of tactical and strategic skill that English coaches possess. After the World Cup, English football as a whole has come under scrutiny as their strong held belief in old formations and style of play as quite often become the sole reason for the national team’s downfall at the international arena.
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