In the high-stakes world of international football, a manager’s influence can be the decisive difference between success and failure. However, with the success of seemingly pragmatic international managers such as Didier Deschamps, Gareth Southgate, and Roberto Martinez, who arguably stifle their teams’ creativity and quality, we ask what the key to success in international football is.
In football discourse, fans and pundits generally understate the role of international managers in the success of their national teams, focusing instead on the individual quality of the players in international tournaments rather than the manager’s tactics.
This contrasts with club football, where fans and pundits revere names such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Carlo Ancelotti for their tactical acumen. We will highlight the success of 3 international managers of differing backgrounds, all of whom have impacted their national teams but have not received the acclaim they deserve.
Didier Deschamps – France’s Saviour
The French team were in disarray before the appointment of Didier Deschamps in 2012. Numerous critical players revolting against their manager, Raymond Domenech, compounded France’s embarrassing exit in the Group Stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Tensions in the camp boiled over, with Captain Patrice Evera having to calm down key players such as Nicolas Anelka and Florence Malouda after disagreements with Domenech. The following regime under Laurent Blanc came up short, with the French suffering a disappointing defeat to Spain in the European Championships in 2012.
However, Didier Deschamps has revolutionised the French National Team. His emphasis on close relationships with the players and their families has been a far cry from the previous regimes. Antoine Griezmann, a key cog to the success of the team in recent years, has emphasised the importance that Deschamps places on relationships not just with himself but with the wider backroom staff as well, creating a club-like atmosphere, which can be all the difference in an international tournament.
Deschamps, alongside his trusted backroom staff, can calm down the players during big pressure moments, allowing them to play to their abilities and work as a team. His team talks during the half-time of the 2022 World Cup Final illustrate his ability to ramp up his team and recover whenever they are in perilous positions during the game.
Tactical Acumen
His tactical acumen has also played a crucial part in their success. Deschamps’ simple focus on players with “fast sprinters, accomplished dribblers and quick decision makers” has played to the strengths of his key men, such as Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
His traditional 4-2-3-1 system allowed players like Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba to feel confident to maraud forward, with the comfort of players like Adrien Rabiot and Ngolo Kante behind them.
His focus on traditionally conservative right-sided fullbacks such as Benjamin Pavard and Jules Kounde in these euros has allowed added solidity when defending transitions, as well as allowed the left-sided wing back to stride forward to support the attack.
Although Deschamps has had world-class players at his disposal during his tenure as the Manager, his ability to bring the players together and his smart tactical decision-making should be emphasised as much as Kylian Mbappe’s brilliance when analysing France’s recent success.
Zlatko Dalic – The leader of a Golden Generation
Hired in 2017, Zlatko Dalic is one of the longest-standing international managers in Europe. He has also been incredibly successful, finishing as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and taking bronze and silver at the 2022 and 2023 UEFA Nations League, respectively. Although he has had some Croatian greats in their prime, such as Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, he has played a pivotal part in the success of the national team.
His story of the team’s preparation before the World Cup in 2018 symbolises his flexibility and importance. The team’s preparation encountered challenges when the coach allowed some players to leave a U.S. training camp early, acknowledging the pressures from their clubs during critical periods like the Champions League knockout stages.
Despite the absence of key players in the second game, Zalic used the team’s strong performance in the warm-up friendly against Mexico to emphasise that no one in the team was untrappable, not even players like Modric and Rakitic. He demonstrated the hard-headed discipline required by Dalic of his players in his handling of Nikola Kalinic’s refusal to come on as a substitute in the team’s first World Cup game against Croatia, ultimately leading to their success.
Win Against England in 2018
The team’s win against England in the 2018 World Cup Semi-Final was arguably this generation’s most memorable game. Kalic’s adaptability was demonstrated through his tactical approach before the game, dropping striker Andrej Kramaric for midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to bolster the midfield, starting with a 4-3-3 formation. Zalic’s focus on the full-backs due to England’s 5-3-2 formation was vital in developing a stronghold in the game. It ultimately led to them dominating the 2nd half and extra time and leading to arguably the country’s greatest-ever win.
As the old guard of Rakitic, Modric, and Perisic wrap up their international careers after this year’s disappointing group stage exit at the Euros, it will be interesting to see if Zalic’s impact will become even stronger in the national team’s success.
However, what is important to emphasise is Zalic’s off-the-field discipline and team culture, as well as his tactical changes, when looking at the success of the national team. A manager’s role is to get the best out of his best players, and Zalic has certainly done that since his appointment in 2017.
Gareth Southgate – Underrated or the cause of England’s woes?
The Euros has created an interesting dynamic between Gareth Southgate and England fans and media. The start of Southgate’s journey led to significant praise due to his pragmatic style and ability to drive his team to victory despite what some argue was a team incapable of reaching semi-finals and finals at international tournaments.
However, this tournament, with the development of key young players such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka entering into their prime years of careers, has created a newfound expectation for the England team, which has led some people to criticise Southate’s pragmatic style not getting the best out of this extreme talent.
Despite England making it to the Final of the European Championships for the 2nd consecutive tournament, most England fans would not like him to continue after the game. They believe the players have made the final despite Southgate, as opposed to because of him. However, this would be ignoring the minute details that Southgate has offered to this team, which are often overlooked by mainstream media.
For example, after the penalty shootout win vs Switzerland in the quarter-finals, it was revealed by the Athletic that Southgate had implemented a buddy system for the penalty shootout, with one player of the team being allocated a teammate to support and comfort during the penalty shootout.
Crucial Substitution
His crucial substitution of Ollie Watkins in the semi-final win vs the Netherlands, realising that Harry Kane was tired, led Watkins to score the last-minute winner and send England into the final. The introduction of Eberechi Eze and Ivan Toney changed the dynamic in the round of 16 win against Slovakia.
He has created a newfound atmosphere around the England camp, demonstrated in England’s YouTube channel, where we can regularly see players of rival clubs having fun and doing activities with each other, some of which ex-players have said were not present in the previous tenures of Fabio Capello and Steve Mclaren. Southgate has changed the fortunes of this English team on and off the field, with his tactical acumen still being underrated by the mainstream media.
The team’s evolution from a 5-3-2 formation in the 2018 and 2020 international tournaments to this tournament’s iteration of a 4-2-3-1, although not aesthetically pleasing, has given them the defensive stability to get them to another international final.
Conclusion
Although people want more of this England team, it is essential to acknowledge the influential impact that managers have on the fortunes of their international team. Maybe managers such as Zlatko Dalic, Didier Deschamps and Pep Guardiola should receive the same praise and adoration as their club counterparts. They carry the whole weight of their country’s shoulders on their backs and should receive as much credit when they do well as dismay when they fail to achieve.
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