Below you’ll find a complete list of the 32 coaches at World Cup 2010. You’ll also find their nationality, and their age going into the tournament. Beneath that you’ll find some amateur hour number crunching I did with pen, paper and the calculator on my cell phone to work out a few statistics.

Before you look at the list of coaches and the numbers, do yourself a favour and have a guess at how those numbers pan out. What do you think the average age of the World Cup coaches will be? How many coaches are in their forties? What percentage of World Cup teams have a foreign coach? Which country has the most coaches at World Cup 2010? Ignore the image of three German passports above, take a best guess at those numbers and then read on for the answers…

Team – Coach (coach nationality) coach age
Algeria – Rabah Saâdane (Algeria) 64
Argentina – Diego Maradona (Argentina) 49
Australia – Pim Verbeek (Netherlands) 54
Brazil – Dunga (Brazil) 46
Cameroon – Paul Le Guen (France) 46
Chile – Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina) 54
Cote d’Ivoire – Sven-Göran Eriksson (Sweden) 62
Denmark – Morten Olsen (Denmark) 60
England – Fabio Capello (Italy) 63
France – Raymond Domenech (France) 58
Germany – Joachim Löw (Germany) 50
Ghana – Milovan Rajevac (Serbia) 56
Greece – Otto Rehhagel (Germany) 71
Honduras – Reinaldo Rueda (Colombia) 53
Italy – Marcello Lippi (Italy) 62
Japan – Takeshi Okada (Japan) 53
Mexico – Javier Aguirre (Mexico) 51
Netherlands – Bert van Marwijk (Netherlands) 58
Nigeria – Lars Lagerbäck (Sweden) 61
North Korea – Kim Jong-Hun (North Korea) 53
New Zealand – Ricki Herbert (New Zealand) 49
Paraguay – Gerardo Martino (Argentina) 47
Portugal – Carlos Queiroz (Portugal) 57
Serbia – Radomir Antić (Serbia) 61
Slovakia – Vladimír Weiss (Slovakia) 45
Slovenia – Matjaž Kek (Slovenia) 48
South Africa – Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazil) 67
South Korea – Huh Jung-Moo (South Korea) 55
Spain – Vicente del Bosque (Spain) 59
Switzerland – Ottmar Hitzfeld (Germany) 61
USA – Bob Bradley (USA) 52
Uruguay – Oscar Tabárez (Uruguay) 63

So let’s break this down. First by how many years these coaches have seen.

Seven World Cup coaches are in their forties. Fourteen World Cup coaches are in their fifties. Ten World Cup coaches are in their 60s. Just one World Cup coach is in his seventies.

Otto Rehhagel is that old man of the group at 71 years old. Even though he only looks about 50. Vladimír Weiss is the baby at 45 years old. The total ages of all coaches combined is 1,788 years. Which is a lot of experience. Average age is 55.875 years old.

Second, nationality. A total of 20 teams have native coaches. Those 20 teams are:
Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, North Korea, New Zealand, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, USA, Uruguay. Well done you guys.

A total of 12 teams have gone foreign, hiring non-native coaches. Those 12 teams are:
Australia, Cameroon, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire, England, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Nigeria, Paraguay, South Africa, Switzerland. Please try harder next time (though Switzerland gets a semi-pass since Ottmar Hitzfeld is considered almost Swiss by some).

So that means 62.5% of teams have native coaches, while 37.5% don’t. Native coaches are in the majority, but that 37.5% seems like a whole lot of foreigners.

Here are the nationalities with more than one coach at the World Cup:

3 – Argentina, Germany
2 – Brazil, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Sweden

It’s incredible to me that Argentinean coaches are well respected enough to be in demand by other nations, and yet Diego Maradona is in charge of the albiceleste. But perhaps the strangest fact is that there are three coaches at the World Cup who come countries whose team didn’t qualify. They are Sven-Göran Eriksson and Lars Lagerbäck of Sweden, and Reinaldo Rueda of Colombia. And here’s what you’ll want to say if you’re outraged by a foreigner managing your national team. Derka derb.

World Cup finals qualifiers Nigeria and Cameroon gave lacklustre performances in their friendly matches.

Well, that’s not entirely true, but there have been some unfavorable results for World Cup teams in the last couple of days, namely Portugal’s inability to beat Cape Verde (you can laugh), South Africa’s continued inability to beat anyone decent (you can’t), Takeshi Okada’s inability to resign and five World Cup teams running out a 0-4-2 record on Tuesday. Zero wins. These are supposed to be the best 32 teams in the world, correct? (Ireland is throwing something at the window.)

Of course there are a few good reasons: fatigue with European seasons ending along with coaches trialing formations, bubble players and new pregame hype music. Still, nothing can make up for coming into the tournament on a rousing run of form.

Quickies after the jump.

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Greece 2 – North Korea 2

Not much is known about North Korea as a whole, but plenty is known about Kawasaki Frontale’s prolific hit man, Jong Tae Se. That knowledge centers mostly around him being the business, and Greece got a first hand taste yesterday with two sublime goals on neutral soil in Austria. Geniunely, he’s legit.

Greece also got two goals off set-pieces. Leave your stereotypes at the door.

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Ireland 2 – Paraguay 1

In fairness, Ireland is a World Cup caliber team, the game was played in Dublin and reports say Paraguay “dominated possession”. However, and it’s a huge however, these now leaves Paraguay at…

Chile 2-1 L
Qatar 2-0 L
Netherlands 0-0
South Africa 0-0
North Korea 1-0 W
Ireland 2-1 L

…in friendlies since qualification ended. Having sent this to NASA for analysis, they’ve returned with the verdict: 1-2-3 ain’t good. Particularly not when that one win came via a dodgy penalty – it would be suspicious, but nothing’s ever suspicious when North Korea is involved. Hooray for stereotypes.

In other, blunt words: Paraguay needs to get its shit together. The good news is Lucas Barrios did score fresh off earning a passport, so there is hope.

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Nigeria 0 – Saudi Arabia 0, Georgia 0 – Cameroon 0

There are no highlights available as of yet, so you’ll just have to imagine the listless draws – one Lars Lagerback’s Nigeria debut – being played in your head. And…1…2…3…nap.

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US 2 – Czech Republic 4

(Better video if/when – and if someone could locate the time machine for the soundtrack, that’d be peaches.)

Hey! Goals!

The battle of the B teams, those of the US and Czechoslovakia, in the states didn’t go particularly well in the rematch from ‘06, but at least the US wasn’t on the wrong side of a Tomas Rosicky highlight. Connecticut hookers are another matter. Bob Bradley and Co. have declared they’ll name their 23 later today, but they may want to sleep on it another day or several.

The intermission is over, the lights have flickered and everyone’s back in their seats, wondering why the older, balder gentleman is making out with what looks suspiciously like a mail-order bride in the midst of the opera. No price too high for high class.

We’ve been offering up on a platter the national anthems, those catchy little tunes you’ll hear before the game, of each and every group. Group D happened way back then, and with the breather for a £10 Diet Coke over, we’re onto Group E, featuring Netherlands, Cameroon, Japan and Denmark.

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Netherlands – Het Wilhelmus (The William)

This should do nicely for the purposes of Group E: some consider the Dutch anthem to be the oldest national anthem in the world, while others say it’s the Japanese. The Dutch anthem was written in 1574, many, many moons ago, and has remained since, earning official status in 1932. The confusion comes in that the lyrics of Japan’s anthem were written as a poem in the 9th century, but music was added much later. Depends on your standard, I suppose.

The Dutch Royal House, as good a source as you’ll find, gives a very succinct assessment: “The Wilhelmus has 15 verses, the first letters of which together spell the name WILLEM VAN NASSOV (William of Nassau). Only the first and sixth verses are usually sung. The Wilhelmus was written during the Eighty Years’ War as a tribute to Prince William I of Orange, the leader of the Dutch revolt against Spanish domination. The writer is generally considered to have been Philip van Marnix, Seigneur of Sint Aldegonde (ca. 1538-1598), secretary to the Prince.”

The first and sixth verses:

William of Nassau
am I, of Dutch blood.
Loyal to the fatherland
I will remain until I die.
A prince of Orange
am I, free and fearless.
The king of Spain
I have always honoured.

My shield and reliance
are you, o God my Lord.
It is you on whom I want to rely,
never leave me again.
[Grant] that I may remain brave,
your servant for always,
and [may] defeat the tyranny,
which pierces my heart

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Denmark National Anthem: Der er et yndigt land (”There is a lovely land”)

Denmark are so musical they have two national anthems: Der er et yndigt land and Kong Kristian stod ved højen mast. However the latter is used primarily for royal outings – dinners, weddings, frolf, etc. – while Der er et yndigt land is used for your unholy gatherings, such as football. The words were penned in 1819 by Adam Oehlenschläger, who was a visionary hair stylist as well as lyricist, with music added 16 years later by Hans Ernst Krøyer.

Like so many anthems, it’s much longer than what is normally heard or will be heard this summer. In the case of Denmark, it’s the first stanza and the last three lines of the fourth and final stanza:

There is a lovely land
with spreading, shady beeches
Near Baltic’s salty strand
Its hills and valleys gently fall,
its ancient name is Denmark,
And it is Freya’s hall

Strong men and noble women still
uphold their country’s honour
With faithfulness and skill

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Japan National Anthem: Kimigayo (君が代)

(These were the clearest lyrics which could be found.)

For the lyrics being so old, a Waka poem written in the 9th century, Kimigayo is also so new – it was only passed as the official national anthem in 1999, even though music was added in 1880. It’s also awfully shorty, with the official Japanese a total of only 32 characters.

It’s also a bit controversial since the slight, or once, ambiguity of Kimigayo’s actual translation refers to the reign of the Emperor and thus past military matters. When it was officially named the anthem, the Prime Minister tried to clear this up: “Kimi” indicates the Emperor, who is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, and whose position is derived from the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens, with whom sovereign power resides. And, the phrase “Kimigayo” indicates our State, Japan, which has the Emperor enthroned as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people by the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens. And it is reasonable to take the lyric of Kimigayo to mean the wish for the lasting prosperity and peace of such country of ours.”.

The translation:

May your reign
Continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders
Lush with moss

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Cameroon National Anthem: Chant de Ralliement (The Rallying Song)

Since Cameroon is bilingual, the lyrics for the French and English additions vary, which makes it awfully confusing when trying to make the direct translation. In addition to the multiple sets of lyrics, it’s also known as O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers. So really it’s one set of music for two sets of lyrics with one name.

O Cameroon, Thou Cradle of our Fathers,
Holy Shrine where in our midst they now repose,
Their tears and blood and sweat thy soil did water,
On thy hills and valleys once their tillage rose.
Dear Fatherland, thy worth no tongue can tell!
How can we ever pay thy due?
Thy welfare we will win in toil and love and peace,
Will be to thy name ever true!
CHORUS:
Land of Promise, land of Glory!
Thou, of life and joy, our only store!
Thine be honour, thine devotion,
And deep endearment, for evermore.

From Shari, from where the Mungo meanders
From along the banks of lowly Boumba Stream,
Muster thy sons in union close around thee,
Mighty as the Buea Mountain be their team;
Instill in them the love of gentle ways,
Regret for errors of the past;
Foster, for Mother Africa, a loyalty
That true shall remain to the last.

CHORUS:
Land of Promise, land of Glory!
Thou, of life and joy, our only store!
Thine be honour, thine devotion,
And deep endearment, for evermore.

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