The attention will be on the big stars in Russia this summer, but the men in the dugouts will play a significant role, too
GettyStanislav Cherchesov | Russia
The star goalkeeper for Spartak Moscow in the late 1980s and early 90s, Cherchesov won two Soviet league titles and then another two Russian crowns after the USSR’s collapse. He was even given the honour of being Russia’s first ever national team captain and featured at the 1994 World Cup and Euro 1995.
Success followed him outside Russia, too. After a brief spell in Germany he ended up in Austria and helped Tyrol Innsbruck end their 10-year title drought. It soon became three in a row with a cup final and two super cup victories to add to the mix.
Despite ending his career with a fourth spell at Spartak, he took his first coaching steps in Austria’s regional leagues before heading back to Innsbruck, where newly-formed Wacker had replaced his now-bankrupt former side.
Lasting just two years there, he returned to Moscow as Spartak’s sporting director, but quickly found himself in the dugout and leading their title challenge. They missed out on the last day of the season, however, and he was sacked after a year in the role.
He drifted around Russia for a while, but coaching success has only come to him recently. The former shot-stopper ended up at Legia Warsaw in 2015 and won the domestic double at the first time of asking with the Polish side.
The national team came calling just over a year into his Legia reign and he could not resist the chance to lead his side’s World Cup campaign on home soil.
AdvertisementGettyJuan Antonio Pizzi | Saudi Arabia
Juan Antonio Pizzi walked into a bizarre situation when he took the Saudi Arabia job in November 2017.
The Argentine was their third coach in just a few months, having seen compatriot Edgardo Bauza sacked two months and five games into his reign after replacing Bert van Marwijk, who navigated two qualifying rounds to seal a spot in Russia and left days later.
Pizzi, though, will feel he has what it takes to make their first World Cup in 12 years a good one. The former Barcelona player took Chile to Copa America success in his last job, beating Argentina on penalties on the final.
A journey to the Confederations Cup final the following year set La Roja up for a good World Cup qualifying campaign, but they were still not sure of a spot when the last game came around and a win over Brazil proved too big a challenge and Pizzi resigned in the wake of their failure.
Just six weeks later, he made the jump to Arabian Peninsula to ensure he does indeed get a ticket to Russia.
GettyHector Cuper | Egypt
In Hector Cuper, Egypt are under the guardianship of a man who has a talent for taking teams far in competitions but buckling on the big stage.
Since winning the Copa CONMEBOL with Argentine side Lanus, he has made it to the final of Champions League on consecutive occasions, Cup Winners’ Cup, Copa del Rey, Greek Cup and even Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt and lost them all.
He did, however, claim the Supercopa de Espana in 1998 with Mallorca and again the following year with Valencia. His spell at Los Che has been the most successful of his career, as he earned continental acclaim despite the crushing European final defeats to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
He then took charge at Inter and lost another final of sorts, seeing the title slip out of their hands on the last day of the season in 2002 and end up at Juventus. They then made it to the last four of the Champions League, losing to AC Milan.
Brief and obscure reigns have been the main theme of Cuper’s career since then, but he has shown promise with Egypt. Since their AFCON 2017 final loss to Cameroon, however, they have been on shaky form and the Argentine will be hoping Mohamed Salah is fit enough to help him go far on the big stage again.
GettyOscar Tabarez | Uruguay
The 71-year-old has been in charge of Uruguay for 12 years now and has earned the world’s respect for his role in bringing the national team back to great heights.
La Celeste were in ruin when he took over for the second time in 2006, but his reign saw the introduction of a new style that swept from the senior side down through the youth teams.
Four years later, a Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan-led side reached the semi-finals of the tournament, aided by the ever-controversial Suarez’s handball on the line. The following year, they beat Paraguay in the final to win the Copa America for the first time in 16 years.
Since then, Tabarez’s men have underwhelmed in competitions and their place in Russia this year was in doubt until the last qualifying game as they hit a worrying run of form, but Tabarez has made it through the worst part of it. He came close to leaving during that bad patch, but was persuaded to stay and will be hoping to restore his reputation by taking them back among the big guns.