“It’s Time to Prepare for the 2006.” The Managers of 19 Countries Were Fired.

Was the 2002 Korea Japan World Cup a grave yard for managers?

There were 19 countries out of the 32 countries competed in the World Cup changed their managers not even a month passed by since the end of the World Cup, which had exceptionally many unusual happenings and ups and downs.

The managers of three Asian teams such as Korea, Japan, and China left the teams completing their contracts, and the manage of Spain Jose Antonio Kamacho left the team by himself even though there were canvass for stay with team. The manager Rose Romero of France, who was dropped out in the first round, and 9 other managers were fired.

The managers of the 8 countries, who were to stay, not to mention the other unsure 5 managers, cannot guarantee to participate in the 2006 Germany World Cup. They can get a discharge notice if they will not meet the expectation in the 2004 European Championship.

On the other hand, the manager Guus Hidink, who led the Korean team to the semi final in the World Cup, Louis Pelipe Scholary, who gave the championship trophy to Brazil, and Rudy Koller, who leached the final won tremendous popularity as much as super stars did.

The most noticeable manager, who stays with the team, is Giovanni Trapatoni of Italy. He made the adverse criticism of refereeing in the round of sixteen against Korea although they lost game, and was noticed to stay on the 17th in the face of a lot of controversies. .

The Manager Sven Goran Erikson of England, who is from Sweden and the first foreign manager of English football history, is to remain until the 2006 Germany World Cup, and the manager Rudy Koller, who surprisingly led the German team to the final, received a strong credence.

And the manager Senol Gunes of Turkey, which reached to the semi final along with Korea, Bruce Arena of the US, which reached the quarter final through all sorts of hardships and privations, Morten Olsen of Denmark, Michael Mechash of Ireland, and Javier Aguire of Mexico extended their lives as managers of the national teams.

In the cases of the fired managers, the hero of the disturbance Bruno Mechu of Senegal is shocking. He was under fire from the press of Senegal since he signed the contract with Al Ain Club Team of the Arab Emirate with a blitz right after the World Cup. The manager Bruno insisted, “I got one year vacation from Senegal and I was to work only for that time at the club team,” but the Senegal Football Association gave him a letter of dismissal right away.

France, which dropped out in the first round without a goal and disgraced the Champion of the previous championship itself, entrusts Jacque Santini with the mission of reforming the French football. The manager Santini worked as the manager of Lion since 2000 and won the 2001 League Cup and the League Championship last year.

Other than that, the co-host of the World Cup with Korea, Japan appointed the Brazilian football hero, ‘the white Pele’ Zico as a successor to Phillip Trusier, and started to consolidate its system earlier than other 2 Asian countries. Poland fired the manager Jerzy Engel, who was the sacrificial offering for the first win of Korea, and appointed its own football hero of the 70’s and 80’s Zbigniew Boniek as the new manager. Spain quickly appointed Inaki Saez in succession to Kamacho, and Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Belgium also appointed new managers right after the World Cup, and started to reform their teams.

Meanwhile, Argentina, who dropped out from the ‘deadly F group’, is contemplating about appointing a successor of Marcelo Bielsa. The African countries such as Cameron, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tunisia are also mediating on appointing new managers.

Keuk-In Bae bae2150@donga.com