As global standards rise, Europe is no longer the only source of top football managers. A new generation of influential coaches are making a name for themselves from outside of Europe.
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00:00There are a lot of great managers in football right now, and there's an emerging generation of younger coaches, making a strong case of being ranked among the elite.
00:10Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti are all household names, but let's take a look at the coaches around the world who are hot on their heels.
00:19Hello and welcome to Football Now. On this week's episode of the show, we're taking a look at some of the managers who are making a name for themselves around the world.
00:33Last week we looked at some of the rising stars within Europe, now it's time for us to go international to see who exactly is catching the eye.
00:42It's fair to say that European football is the pinnacle for managers and players alike. However, breaking into one of those top five leagues from outside the continent can be really difficult.
00:54In fact, only 12 managers born outside of Europe have ever coached in the Premier League. So why is it so difficult to get a seat at the table?
01:03I think there are a few reasons behind this. I think one of them is, first of all, the qualification process. So you've got the AFC licences and UEFA licences.
01:12AFC recognises UEFA licences, whereas I don't think UEFA at this point actually recognises AFC licences to the same level.
01:20The other thing you could look at is also languages, you know, and whether coaches themselves are willing to sort of step out. Let's say you've got a top Japanese coach, someone like a Toru Oniki for example,
01:29whether he's actually willing himself to go over and try his luck somewhere in, I don't know, England, or whether they are quite comfortable in their own countries.
01:37You know, they're successful there, let's say in J League, they're successful, they're winning titles, they're pretty comfortable in those moments.
01:43So perhaps there isn't quite that push or that desire to go overseas to try their luck. Another thing could be just the lack of familiarity.
01:50Teams in Europe aren't quite sure about their backgrounds, so they'd rather go with known quantities, go with coaches that they're familiar with.
01:57So I think those are just some of the reasons as to why it's sort of difficult really to step out and make that big push into Europe.
02:06In Africa, Roulani Mokwena has recently been appointed the coach of WIDA Casablanca, having won the inaugural African Super League with the South African club Mamelodi Sundowns last year.
02:16No list would be complete without mentioning Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fay.
02:20The French national played for Côte d'Ivoire for seven years before moving into management and brought glory to the nation by winning the 2023 African Cup of Nations,
02:29despite only taking charge of the team midway through the tournament.
02:34One thing I can say about Emerse Fay, I think he brought a togetherness within the squad.
02:38But like the Ivory Coast squad, it was disarray at the start of the tournament.
02:41I was lucky to be in Abidjan for the whole tournament, so I saw it firsthand.
02:44Because the football didn't really change. I think it was the togetherness with the country, the players, and they all came together for one cause and ultimately got it done in the end.
02:51So Emerse Fay is one to look out for because especially now, I think Ivory Coast are a good team.
02:55They're one of the powerhouses of sub-Saharan Africa.
02:58And when we see them in the World Cup, we'll see Emerse Fay there as well.
03:01I think that will help in a sense because Ivory Coast have got a lot of good youngsters coming up.
03:04If Emerse Fay can be the manager that sees these players go on to have a good tournament,
03:09other countries will start looking at him or other clubs will start looking at him
03:13because there's a massive lack of African coaches, especially in the top five leagues.
03:18Let's take a look at Asia.
03:19Singapore's Gavin Lee is only 33 years old but works simultaneously as manager of Singapore Premier League club Tampines Rovers
03:27and as the assistant coach of the Singapore national team.
03:31Over in Japan, Makoto Hasebe has recently retired after spending 10 years playing for German team Eintracht Frankfurt.
03:38He earned the respect of the club and the fans, so much so that he was automatically offered a spot on the managerial side.
03:45He is now working with the club's under-21 team.
03:48No Asian manager has ever taken charge of a notable European club.
03:52Could Hasebe be the one to break the trend?
03:55Well, first of all, he was a top professional as a player and Eintracht Frankfurt sort of gave him a contract,
04:00essentially it was a rolling contract and extension year-on-year
04:03and then they wrote into it there as well that if you want to have a coaching job, it's yours.
04:07So he's going to be coaching the under-21 level but he still has a lot to prove.
04:11The club is familiar with Hasebe, what kind of qualities he brings as a person.
04:16He knows German football, he spent most of his career there and now he wants to step into that world of coaching
04:22and he's in the right environment, he's going to get the right sort of support
04:25and he's a different case to a lot of these coaches.
04:28Well, given Argentina's raging success on the international stage,
04:32it's really easy to forget that their coach Lionel Scaloni is only 46 years old.
04:38Early days then when it comes to his managerial career, but he does know European football inside out,
04:44having played for clubs in Spain, Italy and England.
04:48There's still plenty of road ahead of him when it comes to management,
04:51but just how impressive are his achievements to date?
04:54Argentinian football was in a crisis when Scaloni took over and again,
04:58he was only meant to take over in the interim.
05:00It was just an interim appointment, it was just meant to be a few games,
05:02they won those few games and then eventually he led them to a Copa America
05:06and then a World Cup and a Copa America.
05:08It's not easy to, I think, handle a group even as talented as Argentina
05:12and Scaloni has got it right, he's made big calls as well when he needed to.
05:15There's very few managers that I can think of that have won multiple continental titles
05:19and a World Cup and to do it at such a young age,
05:22and also he doesn't really seem that he wants the limelight,
05:25he really puts himself forward, he's not the special one or the lucky one or whatever,
05:29he just goes about it quietly and Argentina are all the better for it.
05:33Yes, it's tough to break into European football from other areas of the world,
05:38but keep an eye on the coaches that we think have great potential.
05:42Let us know who you think should be on our list using the hashtag
05:46FootballNowInternationalCoaches.
05:48That's all we've got time for from our studio here in Doha,
05:52we'll see you next time, bye for now.