Coaches/Managers

(F) denotes foreign coach.

1. ANGOLA: Luis OLIVEIRA GONCALVES (Angolan) DOB – Jun 22, 1960 (46).
First World Cup Finals.

2. ARGENTINA: Jose PEKERMAN (Argentine) DOB – Sep 03, 1949 (56).
First World Cup Finals.

3. AUSTRALIA: (F) Guus HIDDINK (Dutch) DOB – Nov 08, 1946 (59).
Third World Cup Finals. 1998 – Managed NETHERLANDS – finished 4th; 2002 – Managed SOUTH KOREA – finished 4th.

4. BRAZIL: Carlos Alberto PARREIRA (Brazilian) DOB – Feb 27, 1943 (63).
Fifth World Cup Finals. 1982 – Managed KUWAIT; 1990 – Managed UNITED ARAB EMIRATES; 1994 - Managed BRAZIL – Won the Cup; 1998 – Managed SAUDI ARABIA.

5. COSTA RICA: Alexander GUIMARES (Costa Rican – Brazil born) DOB Nov 07, 1959 (46).
Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed COSTA RICA.
Played for COSTA RICA in 1990 (# 9) – Pre Quarter Finals.

6. CROATIA: Zlatko KRANJCAR (Croat) DOB – Nov 15, 1956 (49).
First World Cup Finals.

7. CZECH REPUBLIC: Karel BRUCKNER (Czech) DOB – Nov 13, 1939 (66).
First World Cup Finals.

8. ECUADOR: (F) Luis SUAREZ (Colombian) DOB – Dec 23, 1959 (46).
First World Cup Finals.

9. ENGLAND: (F) Sven Goran ERIKSSON (Swede) DOB – Feb 5, 1948 (58).
Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed ENGLAND – Quarter Finals.

10. FRANCE: Raymond DOMENECH (French) DOB – Jan 24, 1952 (54).
First World Cup Finals.

11. GERMANY: Jurgen KLINNSMANN (German) DOB – Jul 30, 1964 (41).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for GERMANY in 1990 (# 18) – Won the Cup; 1994 (# 18) – Quarter Finals; 1998 (# 18) – Quarter Finals.

12. GHANA: (F) Ratomir DUJKOVIC (Serbian) DOB – Feb 24, 1946 (60).
First World Cup Finals.

13. IRAN: (F) Branko IVANKOVIC (Croat) DOB – Feb 28, 1954 (52).
First World Cup Finals.

14. ITALY: Marcello LIPPI (Italian) DOB – Apr 11, 1948 (58).
First World Cup Finals.

15. IVORY COAST: (F) Henri MICHEL (French) DOB – Oct 28, 1947 (58).
Fourth World Cup Finals. 1986 – Managed FRANCE – finished 3rd; 1994 – Managed CAMEROON; 1998 – Managed MOROCCO.
Played for FRANCE in 1978 (# 11).

16. JAPAN: (F) Arthur Coimbra ZICO (Brazilizn) DOB – Mar 03, 1953 (53).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for BRAZIL in 1978 (# 8) – finished 3rd; 1982 (# 10) – Pre Quarter Finals; 1986 (#10) – Quarter Finals.

17. MEXICO: (F) Ricardo LAVOLPE (Argentine) DOB – Feb 06, 1952 (54).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for ARGENTINA in 1978 (# 13) – Won the Cup.

18. NETHERLANDS: Marco VAN BASTEN (Dutch) DOB Oct 31, 1964 (41).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for NETHERLANDS in 1990 (# 9) – Pre Quarter Finals.

19. PARAGUAY: (F) Anibal RUIZ (Uruguayan) DOB – Dec 30, 1942 (63).
First World Cup Finals.

20. POLAND: Pawel JANAS (Polish) DOB – Mar 04, 1953 (53).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for POLAND in 1982 (# 5) – finished 3rd.

21. PORTUGAL: (F) Luiz Felipe SCOLARI (Brazilian) DOB – Nov 09, 1948 (57).
Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed BRAZIL – Won the Cup.

22. SAUDI ARABIA: (F) Marcos PAQUETA (Brazilian) DOB – Aug 27, 1958 (47).
First World Cup Finals.

23. SERBIA & MONTENEGRO: Ilija PETKOVIC (Serbian) DOB Sep 22, 1945 (60).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for YUGOSLAVIA in 1974 (# 7) – Quarter Finals.

24. SOUTH KOREA: (F) Dick ADVOCAAT (Dutch) DOB Sep 27, 1947 (58).
Second World Cup Finals. 1994 – Managed NETHERLANDS – Quarter Finals.

25. SPAIN: Luis ARAGONES (Spanish) DOB Jul 28, 1938 (67).
First World Cup Finals.

26. SWEDEN: Lars LAGERBACK (Swede) DOB Jul 16, 1948 (57).
Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed SWEDEN jointly – Pre Quarter Finals.

27. SWITZERLAND: Jakob KUHN (Swiss) DOB Oct 12, 1943 (62).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for SWITZERLAND in 1966 (# 11).

28. TOGO: (F) Otto PFISTER (German) DOB Nov 24, 1937 (68).
First World Cup Finals.

29. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: (F) Leo BEENHAKKER (Dutch) DOB Aug 02, 1942 (63).
Second World Cup Finals. 1990 – Managed NETHERLANDS – Pre Quarter Finals.

30. TUNISIA: (F) Roger LEMERRE (French) DOB Jun 18, 1941 (65).
Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed FRANCE.

31. UKRAINE: Oleg BLOKHIN (Ukrainian) DOB Nov 5, 1952 (53).
First World Cup Finals.
Played for SOVIET UNION in 1982 (# 11) – Pre Quarter Finals; 1986 (# 11) – Pre Quarter Finals.

32. UNITED STATES: Bruce ARENA (US) DOB Sep 21, 1951 (54). Second World Cup Finals. 2002 – Managed UNITED STATES – Quarter Finals.

Teams and Rankings

Some interesting facts about the forthcoming World Cup.

Who are the strongest contenders? Defending Champions Brazil would be the first name that comes to most minds. Other favourites would include Germany as hosts and 2002 runners up, and Argentina, England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, in alphabetical order. Most neutrals would limit their choice to these countries, I suppose.

However, there are so many dark horses, so to speak. Did you know that the United States is now the 4th ranked (April 2006 FIFA Rankings) team in the world? They have achieved this position by performing consistently over the last few months. The 2nd ranked team, after Brazil, is the Czech Republic! Mexico, at 6th, is another surprise, to me, at least. For a ready reference, here is the April 2006 FIFA Ranking for all the 32 qualified teams:

[R = April 2006 FIFA Ranking, S = Seeding for World Cup, seedings were based on FIFA Rankings as well as performance in the last two cups, 2002 & 1998.]

Brazil: R – 1, S – 1
Czech Republic: R – 2, S – 16
Netherlands: R – 3, S – 10
United States: R – 4, S – 9
Spain: R – 5, S – 3
Mexico: R – 6, S – 5
France: R – 7, S – 6
Argentina: R – 8, S – 7
Portugal: R – 8, S – 17
England: R – 10, S – 2
Italy: R – 14, S – 8
Sweden: R – 16, S – 13
Japan: R – 17, S – 12
Germany: R – 19, S – 4
Tunisia: R – 21, S – 22
Iran: R – 22, S – 21
Croatia: R – 24, S – 14
Costa Rica: R – 26, S – 18
Poland: R – 28, S – 20
South Korea: R – 30, S – 11
Ivory Coast: R – 32, S – 27
Paraguay: R – 33, S – 15
Saudi Arabia: R – 34, S – 19
Switzerland: R – 35, S – 25
Ecuador: R – 39, S – 23
Ukraine: R – 41, S – 26
Australia: R – 44, S – 28
Serbia & Montenegro: R – 46, S – 24
Trinidad & Tobago: R – 47, S – 29
Ghana: R – 50, S – 30
Angola: R – 58, S – 31
Togo: R – 59, S – 32


Note: All the top 10 FIFA ranked countries are playing, but from the next 10 ranked teams, 6 are missing! They are # 11 Denmark, # 12 Nigeria, # 13 Turkey, # 15 Cameroon, # 18 Egypt and # 19 Greece. Egypt and Greece are current continental champions.