Football

Which coaches were at the World Cup as players? The full list, led by Lionel Scaloni and Luis Enrique

Published

3 years ago

September 22, 2022

Jayden

Which coaches were at the World Cup as players? The full list, led by Lionel Scaloni and Luis Enrique

Getty Images

Participating in a World Cup as a soccer player is something that belongs only to a privileged few. As much as FIFA has expanded the list of men for each team to 26 names, barely there will be 832 footballers who will participate Qatar 2022. For those in the coaching profession, the filter is even greater: 32 are the coaches main groups, one for each group.

To have World Cup experience as a football player and as a coach It’s something few men have accomplished, let alone lifting the World Cup in both roles: Didier Deschamps in the last World Cup it became the third man from that list that only had the brazilian Mario Zagallo and in German Franz Beckenbach.

In Qatar 2022 There cannot be a fourth man who establishes himself as a coach after having done so as a footballerunless there is a last minute change, but there will be plenty of coaches on the bench who have experienced what it’s like to play in the World Cup.

Which Qatar 2022 coaches were at the World Cup as players?

Didier Deschamps - World Cup 1998

Nine of the 32 Qatar 2022 coaches they had World Cup experience as players. Some curious facts among them: there is no one who was a goalkeeper or a striker, only one scored at least one goal (Luis Enrique), only four played five games or more and only one reached at least the semi-finals (Didier Deschamps). Also, Deschamps is the only one who already has World Cup experience as a coach.

Didier Deschamps (France)

Choice: France
Position: Midfielder
Tournaments played: France 1998
Games played: 6
Goals: 0
Final position: Champion

Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)

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Choice: Argentina
Position: Defender
Tournaments played: Germany 2006
Games played: 1
Goals: 0
Final position: Eliminated in the quarterfinals

Otto Addo (Ghana)

National team: Ghana
Position: Midfielder
Tournaments played: Germany 2006
Games played: 2
Goals: 0
Final position: Eliminated in the round of 16

Luis Enrique (Spain)

Getty Images

Choice: Spain
Position: Midfielder
Tournaments played: United States 1994, France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002
Games played: 12
Objectives: 2
Final ranking: Eliminated in the quarter-finals, group stage and quarter-finals.

Greg Burhalter (USA)

Getty Images

Choice: United States
Position: Defender
Tournaments played: Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006
Games played: 2
Goals: 0
Final score: Eliminated in the quarterfinals and group stage.

Rigobert Song (Cameroon)

National team: Cameroon
Position: Defender
Tournaments played: United States 1994, France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010.
Games played: 9
Goals: 0
Final score: Eliminated in the group stage in all four tournaments.

Aliou Cisse (Senegal)

Getty Images

National team: Senegal
Position: Defender
Tournaments played: Korea/Japan 2002
Games played: 4
Goals: 0
Final position: Eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Gareth Southgate (England)

Gareth Southgate, Euro 1996

Choice: England
Position: Defender
Tournaments played: France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002
Games played: 2
Goals: 0
Final score: Eliminated in round of 16 and quarterfinals.

Paulo Bento (South Korea)

Choice: Portugal
Position: Midfielder
Tournaments played: Korea/Japan 2002
Games played: 3
Goals: 0
Final position: Eliminated in the group stage.

Author:

Agustin Aboy

Source: Sporting News

Jayden

Hi, my name is Jayden James. I am a writer at Sportish, and I mostly cover sports news. I have been writing since high school and have been published in various magazines and newspapers. I also write book reviews for a website. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball.

Football

Gazzaev noted Galitsky’s contribution to the development of Russian football

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Jon

Gazzaev noted Galitsky’s contribution to the development of Russian football

President of the Krasnodar football club Sergei Galitsky made a significant contribution to the development of national football and showed an example of effective construction of a private club. This opinion was expressed by the former Moscow coach CSKA and the Russian national team Valeri Gazzaev.

December 29, President of Russia Vladimir Putin awarded Galitsky the Order of Friendship. The head of state noted his merits in the development of physical culture and sports, as well as many years of conscientious work.

“I really appreciate Sergei Galitsky’s contribution to the development of national football. He made a great contribution not only to the history of Krasnodar, but also to Russian football and sport in general. I believe that Sergei Galitsky is an example of how to build a private club. This is the most important thing, because the future of our football, in my opinion, lies in private clubs. Krasnodar has built a modern sports infrastructure, a strong children’s academy and in fact created a model of how a football club should develop, so this is an example for other teams,” Gazzaev said.

“Of course, the award received is deserved. I sincerely congratulate Sergei Nikolaevich, wish him good health, prosperity and further success, new achievements and strength to realize all his planned projects for the benefit of Russian football. He showed what a private football club could and should be. The future of our football lies in private clubs,” he added.

Galitsky is 58 years old. He founded Krasnodar in February 2008. In the 2024/25 season, the club became champions of Russia, winning the first trophy in history. In the current season of the World Cup – Russian Premier League, Krasnodar is in 1st place, gaining 40 points after 18 matches.

Source: Soccer Ru

Jon

I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.

Football

Dyukov plans to meet UEFA President Ceferin in January

Published

3 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Jon

Dyukov plans to meet UEFA President Ceferin in January

President of the Russian Football Federation (RFU) Alexander Diukov in a meeting with the head of the Union of European Football Associations (of UEFA) Alessandro Ceferino in January he wants to discuss his arrival in Russia.

In November 2024, Dyukov announced that he intended to invite Cheferin to the Russian national team match in 2025.

“We will also talk to Alexander Čeferin about his arrival in Russia. A football event is planned in January where we will also have the opportunity to communicate on this topic,” Dyukov said.

In February 2022 of UEFA and the International Football Federation suspended Russian clubs and national teams from participating in international tournaments due to the situation in Ukraine.

Source: Soccer Ru

Jon

I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.

Europa League

Vasily Kobin could go to Dnepr and play in the Europa League final

Published

8 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Jayden

Vasily Kobin could go to Dnepr and play in the Europa League final

football journalist Igor Tsyganyk He told the details of the long-standing transfer story regarding the possible transfer of Vyacheslav Kobin to Dnepr.

According to him, when Dnipro club had to choose between Artem Fedetsky and Vyacheslav Kobin, Kobin was the first choice to strengthen the squad.

Tsyganyk stated that the football player could really be transferred to Dnieper and noted that they made him an offer in the first place. According to the journalist, in the event of such a transfer, Kobin could even play in the 2015 Europa League final, but ultimately the transfer did not take place.

The journalist emphasized that the failure of the transition was not related to financial conditions. According to his information, salaries in Shakhtar and Dnepr were approximately the same. The reasons why the transfer did not take place lie on a different level, but the details of this situation are not reliably known.

According to Tsyganik, Dnepr considered Kobin as a priority option, but the transition was never implemented. Artem Fedetsky played for Dnepr from 2012 to 2016. In the 2014/15 Europa League final, Dnepr lost to the Spanish team Sevilla (2:3).

Source: Sport UA

Jayden