The International Managerial Carousel

By: chris | December 6th, 2007

It has been a big day for 3 of the participants (kinda) of World Cup 2006. A couple of positions have opened up out in Eastern Europe while a position has just been closed down under.

Javier Clemente Given His Walking Papers:

After failing to reach the final of the European champions in Swissaustria, Spaniard Clemente has been relieved of his duties at the helm of the Serbian national team which he has had roughly since the close of Germany 2006. And this before his contract runs up at the end of December, so it appears somebody wants to get a head start on finding a new gaffer. His job security probably wasn’t helped by the failures against Armenia (draw) and Kazakhstan (loss), both the antithesis of powerhouse on the international scene. Despite the successes in World Cup qualifying, which had the Famous Four defense comprised of Goran Gavrancic, Nemanja Vidic, Mladen Krstajic, and Ivica Dragutinovic (1 goal conceded in 10 games), they fizzled out of the big tournament - probably not helped by the loss of Vidic - after conceding a whopping 10 in three group games, including an embarrassing 6 to Argentina. And then, right before Javier signed on, they lost an entire country, going from Serbia & Montenegro to plain old Serbia. How is a guy supposed to come back after losing a country? He always had an uphill battle.

Oleh Blokhin Steps Down:

Oleh has valiantly fallen on his sword after always having an outside shot in the Euro qualifying Group of Death including Berlin finalists France and Italy.

“This was a hard decision, it wasn’t easy…After four years with the team, I am resigning because I think, I have nothing more to give to the national team. I’m not putting the blame for the team’s failure on anyone but myself.”

Hard to blame Oleh for anything here, despite the hopes of qualifying for Ukraine’s first ever European Championships (2012 will be their first as co-hosts with Poland). He has had what can only be considered the most successful run in the very brief history of the Ukrainian national football team. They had never made a major tournament since their inception in 1992, and during their first they made to quarterfinals before being ousted by the eventual champions. Of course, there’s also speculation that this has to do with more than “having nothing left”:

“Media reports said Blokhin, whose contract expires at the end of the year, was seeking a four-year extension so he could coach the team on home soil at the 2012 finals, but Ukrainian FA chief Hrigory Surkis would only offer a two-year deal. Blokhin wanted more security with Ukraine also facing an uphill battle to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals after being drawn in a tough group with Croatia and England.”

Seems pretty logical, yeah? Either way, ’twas a good run for Oleh.

Australia Hearts The Dutch:

We’ll keep this short because Daryl has the full story over on the WorldCupBlog.org. After the huge success in Germany under Dutch master Guus Hiddink, then subsequent letdown from homeboy Graham Arnold in the Asian Cup, the Socceroos tried to hire Dutch coach Dick Advocaat unsuccessfully (kinda), and now successfully lured Dutchman Pim Verbeek. Clearly going Dutch. Can you blame them?