The Managers (Groups E-H)

Group E

Cameroon – Paul le Guen won 17 caps for France and three consecutive league titles as managed of Lyon. He had an ill fated five month stint as Glasgow Rangers boss. The 46 year old turned around Cameroon's qualification campaign after handing the captaincy Samuel Eto'o

Denmark – Morten Olsen is the longest serving manager at this world cup. He secured two Danish titles with Brondby and the double in Holland with Ajax. As a player he got 106 caps with 50 as skipper including leading the side out at Mexico 86.

Japan - Takeshi Okada is the first native Japanese coach of the national team for 14 years, Phillip Troussier, who took over after Okada’s first spell at the end of the 98 world cup, then Zico and finally Bosnian Ivica Osim had led them until his stroke in 2007. Okada as a player won 24 caps.

Netherlands – Bert van Marwijk despite only winning a solitary cap the midfielder has crafted out a great career as a coach. He managed Feyenoord twice, winning the Dutch Cup, and Uefa Cup in 2002, and Borussia Dortmund in Germany. He took over from Marco van Basten after Euro 2008. He had a 100% record in qualifying.

Group F


Italy – Marcello Lippi stood down after winning with Italy in 2006, but returned in 2008, yet again he will stand down at the end of this world cup with Fiorentina's Cesare Prandelli his replacement. He played for Sampdoria throughout the seventies but was never capped. As a boss he won five titles with Juventus and a champions league.

New Zealand – Ricki Herbert made three appearances at Spain 82 and has managed his nation since 2005. With a reported basic salary of £25,000, he may be the lowest paid coach at the World Cup. He is also the head coach of A-League side Wellington Phoenix. He scoured the globe for eligible players and converted several players to the Kiwi cause, having represented the likes of England and Denmark at youth levels.

Paraguay – Gerardo Martino is one of three Argentine coaches at the 2010 World Cup, Nicknamed 'El Tata'. On qualifying he graciously praised his predecessor, Anibal Ruiz, arguing he deserved credit for blooding many of the Paraguay’s rising stars.

Slovakia – Vladimir Weiss is the father of Manchester City’s young star, and son of a former Czech international in the sixties, they all share the name Vladimir. He managed Artmedia Bratislava in their 5-0 win over Celtic in 2005-06 Champions League qualifier. He will be the youngest coach at the world cup at 45 and played at Italia 90 for Czechoslovakia.


Group G


Brazil – Dunga amassed 91 caps and was the winning captain in 1994, he played in Europe for Fiorentina and Stuttgart. When he took over as manger he was a relative novice. After the disappointment of the 2006 World Cup things have improved, they won the 2007 Copa America and the 2009 Confederations Cup and they have only lost five matches in four years.

Ivory Coast – Sven-Goran Eriksson whilst in charge of England he took them only as far as the quarter finals twice but in 10 games there were 7 clean sheets and they only lost once in normal time. Since leaving the England job he coached Man City, winning 19 of 45 games and Mexico 6 wins and 6 loses. He is the only manager to complete domestic doubles in different countries, Sweden, Portugal & Italy.

North Korea – Kim Jong-hun is a difficult man to find information on! Rumoured to have accepted advice from leader Kim Jong-il, the coach has not denied this. Don’t expect all out attack: "While the global trend is attacking football, we stick to our largely defensively strategy with the 5-4-1 formation”.
"Perhaps there's no other team in the world who would be fighting with the same dedication to please the leader and to bring fame to their motherland."

Portugal – Carlos Queiroz is the former Real Madrid manager and no.2 to Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. Despite the difficulties Portugal have had during his second stint as national coach, Queiroz has only lost twice. They just squeezed past Bosnia & Herzegovina in the play-offs. Previously managed the UAE and South Africa.


Group H


Chile – Marcelo Bielsa had six years in charge of Argentina during which time he led them to Olympic gold in 2004 and is one of three Argentinians managing here. He has managed in Europe with Espanyol, and is nicknamed ‘El Loco’ - The Madman - due to his train-spotter like obsession. He has an encyclopaedic collection of games on video.


Honduras – Reinaldo Rueda is a Columbian by birth and never played professional football. He was granted Honduran citizenship in April in recognition of his achievement in steering the country to only their second World Cup. Rueda previously coached Colombia.

Spain – Vicente del Bosque succeeded Luis Aragones after Euro 2008 and began his reign with 13 consecutive wins. Previously, the 59-year-old led Real Madrid to its most successful spell in modern history with two Champions League titles and two Spanish league trophies in four seasons before being harshly sacked in 2003. As a player he played over 300 games for Madrid between 70-84

Switzerland – Ottmar Hitzfeld has won 19 major trophies as a manager, including two Champions League titles making him one of only three men to manage different clubs to victory in European Cup’s history. Born in Germany, he was a goal getter with Stuttgart during his playing career.