Jurgen Klopp leading the German national team and Zinedine Zidane being announced as the new head coach of the French national team has raised the opinion that international football is becoming a new destination for top world strategists.
However, reality is not necessarily like that. Although more and more big names are switching to leading national teams, international football is still mainly the choice of coaches who want to seek opportunities to start over after failures at the club level, or want a less stressful working environment.
With Klopp and Zidane, this can be seen as an opportunity for them to return to football after a period of rest since leaving Liverpool and Real Madrid. The work at the national team level allows both to continue pursuing their passion without having to endure the harsh intensity of work like when leading top European clubs.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil), Thomas Tuchel (England) and Mauricio Pochettino (USA) have all accepted to lead the national team after leaving clubs. When there are no longer corresponding offers from big teams, they choose to try their hand in a new environment. However, if there is a suitable opportunity after the 2026 World Cup, it is possible that all three will return to the coaching bench at the club level.
That also explains why Pep Guardiola quickly rejected the opportunity to lead Italy right after closing a decade of journey with Manchester City. The Spanish strategist affirmed that he has no intention of switching to coaching at the national team level.
Meanwhile, Italy is facing many difficulties in finding a successor to Gennaro Gattuso. Andrea Pirlo was removed from the list of candidates due to controversies related to a Russian betting company, while Ancelotti has extended his contract with Brazil. Currently, Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte are emerging as the two brightest candidates.
A similar situation also occurred in the Netherlands. After Ronald Koeman parted ways with the national team, the Dutch Football Federation has not yet found a replacement. Although Arne Slot was once highly appreciated, he is said to want to wait for an opportunity to return to the club environment. This makes Louis van Gaal, at the age of 74, a top candidate to lead the Dutch national team for the fourth time.
In addition, Erik ten Hag also refused to run, leaving the shortlist with only names like Ruud van Nistelrooy, John Heitinga, Peter Bosz and Michael Reiziger.
Reality shows that success at the national team level usually does not come from the most famous coaches. Luis de la Fuente helped Spain win EURO 2024 and World Cup 2026 after being promoted from the U21 team. Lionel Scaloni also led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup championship and two Copa America titles after growing up from the U20 team.
Similarly, Gareth Southgate has changed the position of the England team with two EURO finals and one World Cup semi-final after being appointed from the U21 team.
Didier Deschamps is also a special case. Although he does not have a too outstanding club-level coaching career, he still helped the French team win the 2018 World Cup and maintain the position of one of the strongest teams in the world.
After all, success at the national team level still often belongs to coaches who understand the training system, grasp the characteristics of young players and have time to build a team.
