Plenty of Coaching Misery To Go Around

If German manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who came face to face with his critics this week, ever feels like pouring out his heart he could always phone a friend -- Sven, Raymond, or Luis would do.

Klinsmann was a born winner on the pitch but the 1990 World Cup hero arguably had one of the toughest challenges of his professional life when he appeared before Bundesliga bosses at last week's showdown to defend his idiosyncratic training methods.

Klinsmann though is by no means alone in feeling the heat -- just ask England's Sven-Goran Eriksson, Raymond Domenech of France, or Spain's Luis Aragones. All three have to a greater or lesser degree been hauled over the coals as they've guided their teams through World Cup qualifying, criticism raining down despite two of the trio finishing top of their respective groups.

If the four managers were to ever form a self-help group to deal with the strains of leadership, Klinsmann would undisputedly be in the chair. For many the 41-year-old golden boy of German soccer has lost some of his shine since his appointment -- his first stab at management -- as Rudi Völler's successor after Germany's disastrous Euro 2004 campaign.

Promising start has turned sour

A creditable third to Brazil and Argentina in the Confederations Cup gave him breathing space, but the knives have come out in the wake of some pretty moderate performances with friendly losses to Slovakia and Turkey, a draw with the Netherlands and uninspiring wins over South Africa and China.

The main concerns are Klinsmann's refusal to base himself in Germany; his introduction of American-style training programs; his perceived over-reliance on skipper Michael Ballack; and a leaky defense.

"Klinsmann, why are we so bad?" asked the Bild tabloid bluntly after the Istanbul defeat. The Welt am Sonntag weekly wrote at the time: "The defence played as if they had just seen each other for the first time."

"Welcome to Germany, where you have nothing to fear from your hosts," was the caustic headline in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper and directed at teams from Europe, Africa and South America after the final round of World Cup qualifiers.

Eriksson knows the feeling

Last week's meeting with the country's top flight managers saw a compromise reached where a group of six senior German soccer officials, including two of Klinsmann's fiercest critics, Bayern Munich's Uli Hoeness and Schalke 04's Rudi Assauer, will offer the free-spirited former World Cup winning striker 'guidance'. If their broadsides in the days leading up to the meeting are any indication of the guidance they will provide, then it could be a bumpy coalition.

Attacks on Eriksson, while not as acute as those directed at Klinsmann, must nevertheless bemuse the Swede after he'd safely guided England to the finals as group winners though the ride through the qualifiers was hardly smooth, including a 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland in Belfast. The main gripe seems to be his soft approach and he gave his critics short shrift when asked if he could ever win them over.

"Some of them maybe not. Some of them think I should resign tomorrow," he said. "But we have won our group and we have a good team, the best since I came to this country. I would be an extremely bad manager (coach) and a bad professional if I resigned tomorrow. I have absolutely no intention of doing that whatsoever."

1998 champs underperforming?

Over in Paris, Domenech's tenure as France coach has also come under critical scrutiny despite the 1998 champions sealing their passage to Germany as winners of their group.

"Whether France qualifies or not, there has to be a huge question mark over his place in French soccer and his method of management given the performances of the team in qualifying," was France Football magazine's damning verdict on his reign.

Yet Domenech, booed before the final 4-0 qualifier win over Cyprus, can find some comfort from an opinion poll in Le Journal du Dimanche in which 79 percent believed he should carry on in the hot seat.

And as for Aragones, who was fined last year for racist comments about Thierry Henry, he has a tense few weeks ahead of him as he prepares Spain, constant underachievers on the international stage, for the play-offs.

You can almost hear the sound of knives being sharpened up and down the country.