Coaches learn to cope with Cup tension

Klinsmann (Germany)

He has been reincarnated as the elated striker he was a decade ago, celebrating goals with athletic jumps high into the air, flailing arms and euphoric hugs. He began his coaching in 2004 with a studied seriousness, smiling and pumping a clenched fist after goals. But now he seems like a player once again, exploding with joy that seems to uncork tension after two years of battering from critics.

Scolari (Portugal)

The emotional Luiz Felipe Scolari has prowled his technical area like a tiger, bringing a heightened sense of “gamesmanship” by whipping up a storm and doing everything to give his team an advantage. “Sometimes it is like war…I am used to that,” the Brazilian-bron coach said after beating Netherlands 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

Lagerback (Sweden)

He remained the epitome of Scandinavian tranquility even after his fancied team were ousted by hosts Germany 2-0. Lagerback showed almost no emotion before flying home as his team’s golden era drew to a premature close, accompanied by a good old-fashioned bashing in the Swedish media. But Lagerback kept his cool, calmly fending off calls for his head.

Arena (US)

He will also not be forgotten soon. It did not require any special skill in lip-reading to understand the New Yorker’s expletive-filled shouts at the referee who flashed red cards at two of his players in their 1-1 draw with Italy. Arena’s use of four-letter commentary to the referee in their 2-1 loss to Ghana could also easily be understood by television viewers around the world.

Paqueta (Saudi Arabia)

Perhaps the most original coaching strategy in the dugout, though, was used by Marcos Paqueta, Saudi Arabia’s fifteenth manager in 12 years. He loved using gadgets. He diagrammed plays in the dugout on a magnetic board, wore small ear plugs and spoke into a tiny hand-held microphone.