Former World Cup footballers who are now serving as managers

Ten managers of 32 countries competing at the 2022 Qatar World Cup are former players who also played in World Cup games. The list includes Didier Deschamps of France, Luis Enrique of Spain, Lionel Scaloni of Argentina, Gareth Southgate of the U.K., Rigobert Song of Cameroon, Dragan Stojkovic of Serbia, Aliou Cisse of Senegal, Gregg Berhalter of the U.S., Paulo Bento of South Korea, and Otto Addo of Ghana.

FIFA released an article on its official website, introducing 10 managers who also experienced World Cup games as athletes. Didier Deschamps, the manager of the French national team, appeared first on the list as he is the only one among the 10 managers who won the World Cup both as a player and a manager. Deschamps was the captain and a defensive midfielder of the national team in the 1998 French World Cup and led his team to the win.

Deschamps has been managing the French national team since 2012, when he retired as a player. He lost against Germany, the winner of the World Cup that year, in the 2014 Brazil World Cup quarterfinals, but led his team to win the 2018 Russia World Cup, holding the World Cup trophy as a player and a manager. “Deschamps is the third footballer, following Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, to win the final as a player and manager,” said FIFA. “He won the World Cup again as a manager 20 years after his win as a player in 1998.”

Two managers scored in World Cup games as players – Luis Enrique of Spain and Dragan Stojkovic of Serbia. Enrique, who played in three consecutive World Cup games from the 1994 U.S. World Cup to the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, scored two goals as a multiplayer. Stojkovic scored three goals in World Cup matches.

Paulo Bento, the manager of the South Korean national team, also experienced the World Cup as a player. Bento played as a midfielder in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup but failed to advance to the round of 16 as the then-South Korean national team’s Lee Young-pyo and Park Ji-sung scored goals in the final group match.


hun@donga.com