If Howard Wilkinson has his way, professional coaches in England will eventually have to obtain an official qualification. Bernd Huck explains how the system works in Germany
Karlheinz Riedle never wanted to be a coach. But when Mohamed Al-Fayed sacked Paul Bracewell and asked Riedle to take charge at Craven Cottage, he agreed to do the Fulham owner a favour. “But only for a short time, because I’m really not the coaching type.”
As foreign coaches prosper in the Premiership, the reputation of British managers is not what it once was. Justin McCurry profiles Steve Perryman, one of the few currently enjoying success outside this country
Before Steve Perryman arrived as assistant coach to Ossie Ardiles at Shimizu S-Pulse in 1996, the British influence on the J-League had been minimal. Four years on, the former Spurs captain is one of the most popular figures in Japanese football, and his young, entertaining side looks set to mount another challenge for the championship this season.
Craig Brown talks to Jonathan Northcroft about his expectations for Euro 2000 and how is job as Scotland manager is affected by changing trends in international football
Which countries do you expect to do well at Euro 2000?
If I had to pick a winner, I’d choose France. My top four favourites are France, the Czech Republic, England and Holland – in that order. People might be surprised I’m putting England that high, but I feel that when Kevin Keegan gets his squad away from club distractions, their performances will improve. There’s so much at stake at English club level these days, it’s bound to have an effect. If you’re a Manchester United player, for example, you naturally concentrate on the Champions League and winning the Premiership during the season. Get the players away at the training camp, where Keegan will be very good, where he can get the motivation bubbling up, and it’ll be different. The French have obvious qualities – they won the World Cup with a great team and none of those players has since gone over the hill. Indeed they’ve strengthened their squad by bringing in quality young players like Johan Micoud. Laurent Blanc’s still in great form, aged 34, and Didier Deschamps still battles in midfield. Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet are great striking options. And Zidane is still the man, for me. They’re the closest the world’s got to a complete team: as well as their skills, they’ve got great athleticism and just look at the size of them. The fact they struggled a little in qualifying was just a natural reaction to coming back to earth after winning the World Cup.
The worsening football violence in eastern Europe is out of sight and out of mind for the west, says Simon Evans. But not for long
While possible violence at Euro 2000 occupies the minds and column inches of the west European media, the continent’s other half, as usual, is dealing with much more real and pressing problems. The second weekend of April saw serious crowd violence in St Petersburg, Budapest, Lodz and Bucharest. These were not western-style scuffles or skirmishes. Hooliganism in eastern Europe is proper stuff: rubber batons and tear gas, head-splitting and hospitalising. The most serious clashes were in St Petersburg, where one fan died during the latest in a series of full-scale riots that have greeted the start of the Russian season.
The murder conviction of an Atletico Madrid fan has focused attention on Spain's indulgence of far right hooligan gangs. Phil Ball reports
On the night of December 8, 1998, outside one of the turnstiles of Atlético Madrid’s Vicente Calderón stadium, someone shoved a 9cm steel blade into the heart of Aitor Zabaleta, a 27-year-old Real Sociedad fan. Lost in the middle of a ruck of Atlético fans who had suddenly surrounded him and cut him off from his girlfriend, he was dead by the time she managed to get back to him.