MANAGING EXPECTATIONS<\/p>\n
The awesome thing about a World Cup is that \u2013 unlike the Premier League where almost every elite-grade head coach comes from the same scenic Spanish town \u2013 we get to enjoy some wonderfully varied managerial match-ups. Where else can we see grizzled international specialists against Big Cup-winning club gurus? Or retired national team legends opposite some bloke who got sacked by Everton? Or Ronald Koeman, who is both?<\/p>\n
England, Brazil and USA USA USA are the obvious examples of teams who\u2019ve splashed the cash on a gun-for-hire super-coach with no previous international managerial experience. And you can only imagine the relief if \u201cThe Professor\u201d Tuchel<\/a>, \u201cThe Eyebrow\u201d Ancelotti or \u201cThe Hair\u201d Pochettino are, at some stage, sent packing by a gritty Carlos Queiroz type, who will have protected his patch from these club-class dilettantes.<\/p>\n The Geopolitics World Cup delivers some fascinating face-offs in the coming days including Lionel Scaloni, who worked his way up the levels with Argentina before achieving glory, against Ralf Rangnick, gegenpress egghead and Manchester United legend [citation needed] who\u2019d strictly managed clubs before taking over Austria at age 63. Or Didier Deschamps \u2013 mega-successful France legend who still gets grief from Les Bleus fans for refusing to release le handbrake \u2013 versus Graham Arnold, who spent 90% of his career enjoying success with\/in Australia before thinking: where else next but Iraq?<\/p>\n Didier Deschamps with handbrake out of shot. Photograph: Franck Fife\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Mart\u00ednez against Fabio Cannavaro, who\u2019s won a Ballon d\u2019Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel \u2013 in his first international job with England \u2013 taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.<\/p>\n We could go on. But as fun as the random encounters are, there\u2019s an intriguing subplot. It\u2019s often said that club and international management require different skill sets. If the likes of Tuchel, Ancelotti and Pochettino thrive, that theory starts to look outdated. And maybe when a job comes up, federations will hire an up-and-coming club coach rather than going for a patriotic icon or pressing the big button marked Queiroz, Renard or Advocaat. Either the old order holds firm, or the GWC becomes the tournament that changes international management for ever. No pressure, chaps.<\/p>\n LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE<\/p>\n John Brewin comes out firing with minute-by-minute coverage of Spain 2-0 Saudi Arabia from 5pm BST (midday EDT), followed swiftly by Daniel Harris in the hot seat for Belgium 2-1 Iran at 8pm BST (3pm EDT). Beau Dure then brings you Cape Verde 1-3 Uruguay at 11pm BST (6pm EDT) before we go late\/early\/somewhere nearer the middle with Jonathan Howcroft for New Zealand 1-2 Egypt at 2am BST on Monday (9pm Sunday EDT).<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m completely exhausted myself, it was absolutely amazing. \u200bShe did so well, \u200cthere wasn\u2019t much \u200cI could say, I just had to help her work \u200cand get him out. I\u2019m proud, amazing. When I saw him for the first time, I was blown away. It\u2019s absolutely insane. I\u2019m \u200cso happy and proud. It\u2019s definitely the greatest thing I\u2019ve ever experienced\u201d \u2013 we\u2019re sure Leo \u00d8stig\u00e5rd\u2019s partner Aurora Eidmann is pretty exhausted herself, having given birth to their first child, with the Norway defender following from long distance over SnapTime<\/a>. Congratulations!<\/p>\n Leo \u00d8stig\u00e5rd scored in Norway\u2019s GWC opener against Iraq. Photograph: Jon Olav Nesvold\/Bildbyr\u00e5n\/ShutterstockON THE BALL<\/p>\n Big Website\u2019s app now features a special edition of On the Ball for the GWC. On the Ball: World Stage<\/a> invites you to guess the World Cup player in five attempts \u2013 and it\u2019s pretty tricky. You can have a go right now \u2013 and there are loads of other good puzzles to take up your time, too.\u200a<\/p>\n double quotation markI believe I must inform you that turkeys aren\u2019t flightless (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily<\/a>). Boston\u2019s beloved Scottish visitors have no doubt encountered the many wild turkeys on the streets in and around the metropolitan area. They fly into trees, on to buildings, across streets, and sometimes half a city block after a passerby who they believe has wronged them. I have seen people take shelter in buildings for minutes at a time waiting for their avian assailants to go away. As a New Englander whose father grew up in Istanbul, I have always taken pride in these birds. They\u2019re tough! They\u2019re fast! They yell back at Massachusetts drivers! Surely the example they set is one a soccer\/football team would be happy to emulate\u201d \u2013 Eileen Koven.<\/p>\n double quotation markCouldn\u2019t agree more with Thad Brown on choosing Spanish language coverage over English language coverage (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily letters<\/a>). Growing up in the 1960s in LA, I first learned soccer at a Spanish-language day camp, and so my first language of soccer was Spanish. Plus for years, the only international coverage you could get in LA was KMEX Channel 34. Since then I\u2019ve almost always chosen Spanish-language broadcasts for international tournaments. The best thing is that announcers unashamedly root for the Spanish-language teams. \u00a1El f\u00fatbol es mejor en espa\u00f1ol!\u201d \u2013 Peter Goldstein.<\/p>\n double quotation markI find this hard to believe, as a resident of Spain who regularly watches games on domestic TV. Unless you like listening to four people all trying to talk at the same time, it\u2019s impossible to watch Spanish TV coverage with the sound on. The RTVE commentators nearly missed the first goal in Bigger Cup final entirely as they were too busy yapping to each other to actually watch what was happening on the pitch; lead commentator (the legendary) Juan Carlos Rivero only just managed to interrupt as Kai Havertz was about to score. Oh for the days of Peter Alliss and Richie Benaud commentating on golf or cricket; you could go a comparative age without hearing a word spoken\u201d \u2013 Mark Purchase.<\/p>\n double quotation markAs an 89-year-old Wolverhampton expat in Canada, I recall many years ago watching Wolves win the 1949 FA Cup, and have been saddened by the team\u2019s more recent gradual decline. I also remember more vividly the summer of 1951, when at no charge, Billy Wright, Jimmy Mullen and Johnny Hancocks spontaneously drove in one small car to visit my UK boarding school in Brewood, Staffordshire, to coach our senior football team. Perhaps some older readers can imagine the impact on 14-16 year-olds of the Wolves and England captain, plus friends, coaching a rural school team!\u201d \u2013 Peter Froud.<\/p>\n If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s prizeless letter o\u2019 the day is \u2026 Eileen Koven. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here<\/a>.\u200a<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED LISTENING<\/p>\n